If you are injured in a work-related accident in North Carolina, you have the right to file a workers’ compensation claim with your employer. Workers’ compensation benefits provide coverage for your medical costs and pay a portion of your average weekly wages until you are able to resume work duties.
To understand the full benefits that you are entitled to following a work-related injury or illness, speak to a workers’ compensation lawyer at Ted A. Greve & Associates in Wilmington, NC today. Our highly trained and knowledgeable lawyers will ensure that you are pursuing the full benefits you are entitled to. Contact us today for your free consultation!
How Long Can You Receive Workers’ Comp in North Carolina?
If you are injured on the job in Wilmington, your workers’ compensation benefits are a critical lifeline when seeking treatment and trying to get back to normal. If your benefits were to run out, your whole financial future would be put in jeopardy, which raises an important question for those seeking workers’ compensation benefits in NC: Just how long do the benefits last?
Unfortunately, this is a question that doesn’t have a simple answer. Complex formulas are used for determining the length and amount of workers’ compensation benefits. Depending on the extent of your injuries, you could be entitled to receive benefits for several weeks, months, years, or even the rest of your life.
Here are the 4 types of disability-based compensation which injured workers in North Carolina may be entitled to along with the duration that they are provided.
Temporary Total Disability (TTD) Compensation
If an employee is unable to return to work due to a workplace or work-related injury or illness, he/she is eligible to receive Temporary Total Disability (TTD) benefits while recovering, which provides 66 and 2/3 percent of a worker’s average weekly wage pre-injury.
TTD benefits are provided for a period of 500 weeks from the date of first disability.
Temporary Partial Disability (TPD) Compensation
If an injured employee is able to return to work while recovering in a limited or partial capacity and receives lower wages or works fewer hours during this period, he/she is eligible for Temporary Partial Disability (TPD) benefits. TPD benefits provide 66 and 2/3 percent of the difference between the worker’s pre-injury and post-injury average weekly wage.
TPD benefits are provided for a maximum period of 500 weeks.
Permanent Total Disability (PTD) Compensation
If an employee suffers a workplace or work-related injury or illness and completely and forever loses his/her wage-earning ability then he/she would be eligible for Permanent Total Disability (PTD) benefits.
Permanent Total Disability is presumed if:
- A worker suffers a loss of 2 key members or a combination of members of the body such as legs, hands, arms, eyes, feet.
- A worker suffers a spinal injury that involves severe paralysis of both legs, arms, or the trunk.
- A worker suffers 2nd -or 3rd -degree burns to 33% or more of the total body surface.
- A worker suffers a severe brain or closed head injury.
Permanent Total Disability benefit payments are made indefinitely and are calculated based on the wages earned during the 12 months prior to the disabling injury or illness.
There is no limit to the number of weeks that PTD benefits are payable.
Permanent Partial Disability (PPD) Compensation
If an employee recovers from a workplace or work-related injury or illness but suffers a permanent partial impairment, he/she may be eligible for Permanent Partial Disability (PPD) benefits. The total amount paid out for PPD benefits depends on several factors, which include the type of injury and the severity of the disability.
The North Carolina Industrial Commission (NCIC) maintains a schedule of injuries that lists the percentage of average weekly wages to be paid along with the number of weeks the benefits will be paid. A schedule loss typically involves the loss of use of an upper extremity (finger, hand, arm), lower extremity (toe, leg, foot), back, hearing, or eyesight.
To understand the full benefits that you are entitled to and the length of time you can expect to receive these benefits following a workplace or work-related injury or illness, speak to the experienced workers’ compensation lawyers at Ted A. Greve & Associates in Wilmington, NC today!
Need a Workers’ Compensation Lawyer in Wilmington?
If you have suffered a workplace or work-related injury or illness and need to discuss the types of workers’ compensation benefits that may be available to you and the length of time you can expect to receive them, contact us today.
At Ted A. Greve & Associates, we represent workers’ compensation clients throughout Wilmington, North Carolina. We have a team of highly trained and knowledgeable workers’ compensation lawyers who will ensure that you pursue the full benefits you are entitled to.
Contact us today for your free consultation!
