Can I Be Paid for Travel Expenses During My Workers' Compensation Case?
Yes, a claimant may fill out a Form 25T and request to be reimbursed for travel expenses and mileage incurred due to medical treatment visits. However, not every trip will be reimbursed. In order to collect on mileage, the trip for the medical treatment must be more than 20 miles roundtrip. Moreover, special consideration for totally disabled claimants may be made per individual case.
How much are you able to be reimbursed per mile? This is mandated through the North Carolina Industrial Commission and the amount awarded is stipulated on the Form 25T. How much is awarded is dependent on the time frame during which one drove for the medical treatment. For instance, starting July 1, 2011, a claimant is awarded $.555 per mile. If the traveling occurred from January 1st to June 30, 2011, the claimant received $.51 per mile. The amount awarded does change from year to year. Therefore, it is important to check an updated Form 25T to determine the appropriate mileage reimbursement amount. You can do that by checking out this section of the North Carolina Industrial Commission’s website.
If you believe you are not being paid the compensation you deserve then you should contact an experienced workers’ compensation attorney.
Can I Get A Second Opinion On My Workers' Compensation Injury?
You can get a second opinion on an injury that occurred while at work.
When you are injured at work, the initial doctor that you see must be approved by the employer themselves or their workers compensation insurance agency. They will typically tell you to go to a physician who is under their workers’ compensation plan and who they use on a regular basis. You can, in fact, get a second opinion if you feel like it is necessary. If you feel like a second opinion is necessary we typically encourage you to contact a workers’ compensation attorney.
If you are located in North Carolina, you can get a second opinion from a licensed physician by requesting it from the insurance company and, if denied, by going to the North Carolina Industrial Commission. If the physician is located outside of the state of North Carolina, you must get approval from the Industrial Commission before the examination takes place. A downside to using a physician in a different state is that the employee is required to pay any travel expenses that are incurred to get to that doctor unless there is a reasonable explanation for why that doctor must be visited.
When you go to another doctor for a second opinion, the original physician or their representative has the right to be present. Also, everything that is found in this new exam must be disclosed. None of the information in this visit it privileged and must be shared with the employer, the original treating physician and the insurance agency.
There is a chance that you can begin to use the doctor who gave the second doctor as your primary doctor from the remainder of the treatment. To do this, you must have approval from the Industrial Commission. If you do get the approval, the employer must pay all expenses related to this doctor, including any travel expenses that it costs to get you to the office.
What Happens if I Don’t Receive My Workers’ Compensation Payments on Time?
Your temporary total disability check is processed each week by the workers’ compensation insurance carrier, and the check is usually processed on the same day, e.g. Friday, each week. As a result, you can anticipate consistently receiving your temporary total disability check around the same day each week.
If you do not receive your weekly check from the workers’ compensation insurance company, you may want to wait a couple of days before contacting your workers’ compensation attorney. Often a delay is caused by the insurance company having a glitch in processing the check for the week or it may simply be a delay caused by the postal service. If you have not received your check within a couple of days of the date it is expected, contact your workers’ compensation attorney’s office to let them know the check has not arrived. Your attorney will contact the workers’ compensation insurance claims adjuster to determine the status of your temporary total disability check. The problem is usually quickly corrected and the check arrives within a couple of days.
Although the delay can is frustrating and may even impact your ability to pay your bills, it is rare that an insurance company intentionally delays the payment of temporary total disability. However, if the check has not been received in a reasonable period of time, your workers’ compensation attorney can file a motion with the Executive Secretary’s Office of the North Carolina Industrial Commission requesting a 10% late penalty be assessed against the employer. The Industrial Commission is obviously concerned if an employer or their insurance company is not paying workers’ compensation checks on a timely basis. As a result, contact your attorney if there is ongoing problem with receiving your temporary total disability checks.
Can I Collect Unemployment and Workers' Compensation Benefits at the Same Time?
You cannot receive unemployment and workers’ compensation payouts or benefits at the same time. The principal behind workers compensation is that you are getting reimbursed for the wages you are missing because you are injured. Therefore, you should not be receiving any unemployment payments because then you would be theoretically getting paid two wages at one time.
Trying to collect unemployment can also affect the credibility of your workers compensation case. In theory, you can claim workers compensation because you are unable to work because of a job related injury or illness. The idea is that while you would like to work but are physically unable to do so. The policy behind employment compensation on the other hand is that you are fully willing and ready to work, however you are unable to find a paying job. So if you collect unemployment while you have an outstanding workers compensation claim it is almost like telling one government agency that you are physically ready and willing to work, while simultaneously telling another government agency that you should be collecting money because you physically cannot work.
The only exception to this rule would be if your workers compensation claim has been denied, yet you are unable to work in your old job because of your injury so you were forced to resign. If you are applying for new jobs that would be considered light work, or less physically demanding than your old job, and you are still unable to find work, then you may collect unemployment while collecting workers compensation benefits. This however is not very common and collecting unemployment can potentially have a very detrimental effect on your workers compensation case. So as a general rule you may not and should not collect unemployment while also collecting workers compensation benefits.
