If you’ve been injured while working in Durham, North Carolina, call Riddle & Riddle Injury Lawyers to discuss your legal rights and options. You may qualify to collect workers’ compensation benefits through your employer and/or file a personal injury lawsuit, but the process is often more complicated than it should be. Working with our experienced Durham workers’ compensation lawyers can help you secure the case results you deserve.
Riddle & Riddle Injury Lawyers is a fierce legal advocate for workers and families across the State of North Carolina. As award-winning civil trial attorneys with 190+ years of combined experience, we’re not afraid to take the tough cases and go toe-to-toe with multinational corporations on behalf of our clients. The results we achieve - exceeding $850 million in damages - speak volumes about our dedication and tenacity at the negotiating table and in the courtroom.
Now, we’re here to help you force your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance company to do right by you, too. Call 800-525-7111 or contact us for a free consultation. Members of our legal team are always standing by to help.
Injured in Durham? Contact Us Today!
How Riddle & Riddle Injury Lawyers Can Help You Make the Most of Your Claim for Workers’ Compensation Benefits in Durham, NC
You have enough on your plate right now without the stress and headache of a contested legal claim for monetary benefits. What should be a relatively easy process is often made much more difficult because the insurance company will always prioritize profits over your rights. Fortunately, you don’t have to fight for workers’ compensation benefits on your own.
Hiring an experienced Durham personal injury lawyer can make your life easier and increase the odds of getting a maximum financial award.
Choosing Riddle & Riddle Injury Lawyers puts a top-rated legal team with nearly two centuries of collective legal experience right in your corner. The fact that we’re consistently recognized as National Trial Lawyers Top 100, Super Lawyers, AV Preeminent litigators by Martindale-Hubbell, and members of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum is a testament to our excellence in personal injury law.
We’re ready to handle your claim for workers’ compensation benefits so that you’ll get the money you deserve and have time to focus on getting better.
Expect us to:
- Coordinate a thorough independent investigation into your workplace accident
- Identify all potential legal options for recovering compensation
- Gather evidence and documentation needed to support a strong claim for benefits
- Notify your employer of your intent to pursue benefits within the appropriate time frame
- Help you obtain an Independent Medical Examination (IME), if necessary, to dispute any claims regarding the extent or severity of your work-related injuries
- Engage the insurance company in meaningful negotiations about your benefits package
- Represent you during any claim-related hearings or appeals
We won’t rest until the insurance company has covered your medical bills and paid you the maximum lost wage benefits to which you’re legally entitled under state law.
Our workers’ compensation lawyers in Durham, NC, represent clients on a contingency fee basis. There’s never a cost to hire our personal injury law firm until we win compensation for you. Contact us today for a free case review.
How Does Workers’ Compensation Protect Help Injured Workers in Durham, NC?
When you get hurt on the job in Durham, NC, it can have immediate and catastrophic consequences. Even if you have some vacation or sick days built up to soften the blow of missing time at work, PTO will only last so long. For many, paid time off is a luxury that simply was not offered as part of their employment. Even if you have PTO, you shouldn't have to use it to make ends meet as you recover from a workplace injury.
You also shouldn’t have to gamble the time and cost of a lawsuit to help you stay afloat financially. North Carolina, recognizing the value of its workers, established a workers’ compensation system to help bridge the gap.
Workers’ compensation is a private insurance system that employers must opt into when they have three or more employees. The system gives employees the ability to receive limited insurance benefits when they suffer work-related injuries or are diagnosed with an occupational disease.
Ultimately, workers’ compensation offers a potentially quick path to economic benefits that can alleviate a lot of the financial stress a workplace injury can cause.
Do I Qualify For Workers’ Compensation?
Not all workers in Durham qualify for workers’ compensation benefits.
You should qualify if:
- You’re an employee (rather than a contractor)
- You work for an employer who is required to maintain a workers’ compensation policy
- You suffer an injury in the course of your employment
As long as you’re an employee who gets hurt while carrying out job-related tasks or responsibilities, you should be eligible for benefits through your employer.
Can I Receive Workers’ Compensation Benefits if I’m Blamed for My Workplace Accident?
Yes. Workers’ compensation is a private system to which North Carolina’s harsh contributory negligence rule won’t apply.
So, you can receive monetary benefits even if you are partly or fully responsible for your workplace injuries. There are only exceptions in specific circumstances, such as if you injure yourself intentionally.
At the same time, you waive the right to sue your employer for damages, even if they were partly to blame for your workplace accident. There are exceptions here, too, for rare cases.
Importantly, however, you can potentially sue a third party - such as a property owner, equipment manufacturer, negligent motorist (in a car accident), or a co-worker - in a related personal injury lawsuit. You can recover potentially much more than what workers’ comp can provide you with if you file a lawsuit, such as non-economic damages for things like your pain and suffering.
In these situations, North Carolina’s contributory fault law will apply. If you’re found to bear any responsibility for your injuries, you’ll be unable to recover compensation through that lawsuit.
What Types of Benefits Does Workers’ Compensation Pay?
Workers’ compensation offers two primary types of economic benefits: medical expenses and lost wages.
Medical Expenses
Any necessary and reasonable costs of medical care should be covered by your employer’s insurance company, including:
- Transportation to the hospital
- Emergency room care
- Laboratory test
- Diagnostic tests, such as MRIs, CT Scans, and X-rays
- Surgery
- Hospitalization
- Medication
- Medical devices
- Medical equipment
- Chiropractic care
- Dental care
- Follow-up care
However, only treatment from plan-approved healthcare providers will be covered by workers’ compensation. This can limit your ability to choose your doctor or have a say in your course of treatment.
Wage Replacement Benefits
Wage replacement benefits can be awarded if:
- You’re unable to work in any capacity for more than 7 days after you get hurt on the job (Temporary Total Disability “TTD”)
- You’re able to return to work in a limited capacity, but can’t earn as much money as you did before you got hurt (Temporary Partial Disability “TPD”)
- You suffer a permanent physical disability - such as the loss of a limb or the use of a body part - because of the extent of your workplace injury (Permanent Partial Disability “PPD”)
- You can’t return to work in any capacity because the nature of your injuries is catastrophic (Permanent Total Disability “PTD”)
Wage replacement benefits for PTD and TTD typically equal two-thirds of your average weekly wage (AWW), which is calculated using the money you earned before you suffered an injury at work in Durham. However, they’re subject to limitations, as established by North Carolina state law. For claims filed after January 1, 2025, the maximum weekly benefit is $1,380.
Death Benefits
When a workplace injury is fatal, surviving family members might qualify for death benefits, which can include wage replacement benefits and burial expenses. Typically, spouses, children, and other family members who were wholly dependent on the deceased worker can qualify to receive these monetary benefits.
How Long Will I Have To File a Claim For Workers’ Compensation Benefits in North Carolina?
As long as you notified your employer about your work-related injury within 30 days of getting hurt, you’ll have two years from the date of your injury to file a claim for workers’ compensation benefits. If you’re eligible to file a personal injury lawsuit, that time limit is typically three years.
The statute of limitations can potentially be tolled if there was some delay in discovering your injury or occupational illness. However, exceptions are few and far between.
If you miss the filing deadline for your claim, you’ll lose the ability to recover monetary benefits to pay for your medical care and offset your sudden loss of income while you recover. Contact our lawyers as soon as possible to get legal help filing your claim on time.
Schedule a Free Consultation With an Experienced Durham Workers’ Compensation Attorney
You have rights as a worker in Durham, NC. Don’t stress about how to move forward after a workplace accident. Instead, call Riddle & Riddle Injury Lawyers and discover how our Durham workers’ compensation attorneys can help you fight for a meaningful monetary award.
Your employer’s insurance carrier won’t put your best interests first. They’ll try to pad their bottom line and increase revenue by denying your claim. We won’t let them dictate the terms of your case or stand between you and a just financial recovery.
Count on us to fight for you, just like we’ve fought for thousands of clients before you.
We offer a free consultation, so contact us at our law office in Durham today to get started.
Courtrooms in Durham
- Durham County Courthouse - 510 S Dillard St, Durham, NC 27701
Hospitals in Durham
- Duke University Hospital - 2301 Erwin Rd, Durham, NC 27710
- North Carolina Specialty Hospital - 3916 Ben Franklin Blvd, Durham, NC 27704
- Select Specialty Hospital - 3643 N Roxboro St 6th Floor, Durham, NC 27704
*Disclaimer – we do not endorse these companies or profit from having them listed on our website.