If you have been injured on the job in North Carolina, you need to know your rights and the steps that must be taken to ensure your rights are protected.

Just because you are hurt on the job, you are not automatically going to receive money from your employer’s insurance company. Instead, there are certain documents that must be filed in order for you to pursue a workers’ compensation claim.

The first step in pursuing a workers’ compensation claim is the filing of a Form 18 with the North Carolina Industrial Commission. The Form 18 can be found here.

The Form 18 is the Notice of Accident to Employer and Claim of Employee, Representative, or Dependent. What this really means is this form is the official notification to your employer that you were injured by an accident at work. The form asks for your personal information, including your name, address, and information about your injury and your job. You must disclose the date, time, location, and nature of injury. You must also list your weekly wage and average hours and days worked per week.

One of the most crucial parts to the Form 18 is this: it must be filled out and submitted to the NC Industrial Commission within two years from the date of injury. If the form is not submitted during that time frame, you may lose your opportunity to recover money from your injury.

Additionally, if you do not accurately and completely list out the injuries you sustained at work then your employer’s insurance company could try to deny coverage of those injuries later on down the road.

A properly completed Form 18 is critical to the success of your workers’ compensation case. If you have been injured at work then it usually makes sense to at least set up a consultation with an experienced workers’ compensation attorney in your area.