North Carolina and South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Attorney
After suffering a serious injury during employment, many injured workers do not know how long it will take them to recover. In some instances, medical conditions aggravated or caused by work-related activities affect an employee for a lifetime. Workers’ compensation benefits are in place to help injured workers by providing income and medical benefits.
Many times, workers’ compensation insurance carriers want to settle an employee’s claim as quickly as possible. In these instances, an injured worker deserves to have an attorney on his or her side to ensure that the settlement is fair and adequate compensation for injuries sustained.
Attorney Brian Steed Tatum has worked with many injured employees in North Carolina and South Carolina during a worker’s compensation claim. While a settlement may be in an injured worker’s best interest, that worker still deserves to have an attorney completely explain and offer guidance regarding the claim.
Workers’ Compensation Settlements
Generally, a settlement is an agreement between an insurance company and an injured individual where the insurance company agrees to give that individual some money and the individual agrees to not file additional claims or lawsuits against the insurance company’s insured client.
A compromise settlement agreement is a complete and total settlement of a workers’ compensation claim. In this type of settlement, the injured employee accepts a lump sum of money and, in exchange, that employee agrees to give the employer a total release from any liability under the Workers’ Compensation Act. All states allow settlement agreements between an injured employee and an employer under the workers’ compensation laws, but the requirements may vary by state.
In North Carolina and South Carolina, the employer and the injured worker, or his or her family if the employee died during the course of employment, must come to an agreement regarding compensation under the Workers’ Compensation Act of each state. In uncontested workers’ compensation cases, a form is filed with either the North Carolina Industrial Commission or the Workers’ Compensation Commission in South Carolina. The form outlines the initial agreement to pay compensation to the injured worker or to his or her family. Usually, the injured worker will be paid while disabled and recovering from the injury. When the employee is healthy enough to return to work, no more benefits will be paid and the claim is deemed resolved.
If the workers’ compensation claim is contested, then reaching a settlement may be more difficult. In some instances, the NCIC or WCC will step in and make determinations regarding a person’s injury or disability.
Consulting a Workers’ Compensation Attorney
While a settlement may sound lucrative to an injured employee, it is always beneficial to have an attorney to review the claim and make sure a settlement offer is fair, taking into consideration the injuries sustained. The Tatum Law Firm has years of experience helping North Carolina and South Carolina’s injured employees and their families deal with the challenges they face after suffering an on-the-job accident.
Attorney Brian Steed Tatum is well experienced in workers’ compensation laws and can offer legal advice and guidance regarding a claim in North Carolina or South Carolina.
Please contact us online or by phone at (704) 307-4350 for a free case evaluation regarding your claim.