What Are My Rights as an Injured Worker?
From lost wages to medical bills to disability payments, workers’
compensation can cover a wide range of needs after an accident. It also
allows you to recover from your injuries and to take care of your family,
even when you’re forced to stay off the clock.
It’s illegal for an employer to retaliate against you for seeking
these benefits or to actively prevent you from getting them when you have
a legitimate claim. As long as you were injured on the job or during a
work-related task, you could be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits.
Our attorneys can offer caring guidance and assistance on the following matters:
- Determining whether you qualify for benefits,
- Negotiating with the workers’ comp insurer,
- Performing calculations for your total compensation needs,
- Filing and completing your workers’ compensation forms on time, and
- Following the correct procedure for claims.
Emotional Distress in the Workplace
Emotional distress is a common type of anxiety that individuals face in
the workplace. It often begins with a singular traumatic incident that
occurred in the workplace. In some cases, the employer is partially or
fully responsible for the distressing incident. The situation can take
its toll on you in a big way and impact your daily life.
Should you sue your employer for the emotional distress this has caused
you? It depends. The situation is nuanced because the damages you have
suffered are not physical and you will need to be able to prove that your
employer’s direct actions or lack thereof have caused your emotional distress.
If the distress you have suffered is the result of negligence from someone
else and your employer could have acted in a way to prevent damage to
you, you may have grounds for a lawsuit.
There are two types of emotional distress that someone can face. These are:
-
Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress (NIED) - You can sue for NIED if the emotional distress you have suffered is
the result of negligence on the part of your employer.
-
Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress (IIED) - In the case that your employer’s intentional actions caused you
to suffer emotional distress, you can file a claim for IIED.
In simpler terms, if you are able to prove that your employer is directly
responsible for your emotional distress and that you have suffered damages
as a result, you may have grounds for a lawsuit.
Attorneys Who Are Board Certified in Workers’ Compensation
No matter how you sustained your injuries at work, our team is ready to
assist you with any workers’ compensation claims in Charlotte. With
three board-certified attorneys on
our staff, we understand the workers’ comp system in North Carolina and can
help you successfully navigate these waters. We can also counsel you if
you are dealing with pressure from your employer or simply need to share
your story with someone who cares.
We treat all our clients like family because that’s how we see them.
You won’t just get experienced legal counsel here: You’ll
receive a caring and warm smile every time you walk through the door and
attentive counsel both day and night.
We created an
infographic on statistics related to workers' compensation.
