Worker’s Compensation Insurance in Raleigh
Worker’s compensation insurance is a type of insurance policy that protects employers and provides benefits to injured workers who are involved in workplace injuries. An employer or company that has three or more employees is required to carry worker’s compensation insurance. However, if an employer has less than three employees, including themselves, they are not required to carry worker’s compensation insurance.
If the employer fails to provide for the employee’s treatment, they should immediately seek legal help and contact an experienced worker’s compensation attorney in Raleigh.
Independent Contractors
If someone is considered an independent contractor, they are often not covered by worker’s compensation insurance. The test to whether or not a person is an independent contractor is a legal test with many different factors at play. Stating that the independent contractor is an independent contractor does not necessarily alleviate any obligations should that person be found to be an employee.
A couple of factors that point to an independent include: an independent choice of their schedule, can hire help, and/or may be paid by projects or paid by jobs.
Without Insurance
If an employee is injured and their company did not have worker’s compensation insurance but should have, they can then be held liable as if they did. The company would have to be self-insured and liable for the employee’s damages, including medical expenses or lost wages. The employer may also be subject to criminal sanctions.
If a person is concerned their employer does not carry worker’s compensation insurance, they can ask their employer if they have the coverage. If the employer is unwilling to tell them, the North Carolina Industrial Commission keeps records of all employers required to have worker’s compensation insurance coverage in addition to having the name of their insurance company on file.
Importance of Having Company Coverage
If the company does not carry the insurance, the employer should not report any coverage issues unless they have been hurt. It is wise to inquire with an employer if they do not carry the coverage as to whether they carry the coverage and evaluate employment choices at that point.
It is important to discuss this, because if an individual is hurt the worker’s compensation insurance coverage would provide for medical care and lost wages. Oftentimes, people working and getting hurt at companies that do not have insurance, do not get the same type of medical care because there is not any money to pay for the required treatment or lost wages.
Medical Motions
A medical motion is a process by which an attorney will seek to have medical treatment that has been requested by a treating physician paid for and approved by the worker’s compensation insurance company. Worker’s compensation insurance companies do not have the last word as to the approval of medical care as long as the treating physician has authorized and requested the care.
Employees should seek legal help before filing any medical motions on their own. There are many things that an attorney does, including speaking with doctors to clarify their position on required treatment and providing that evidence to the North Carolina Industrial Commission on any decision based on the medical motion.
The medical motion is filed with the executive secretary’s office at the North Carolina Industrial Commission.
The medical motion gives that person who has received the denial of treatment an option to prevent the insurance company from dictating their care if the treating physician has requested certain procedures for care and the insurance company has denied them.
People should know that the medical motion form is a specific litigation tool used by attorneys. Prior to trying to do anything on their own, the injured worker should seek legal help from an experienced Raleigh worker’s compensation attorney.
