I Got Hurt During My Company’s Trip – Is that Workers’ Compensation?

 

Many companies have a yearly company trip where alcohol is flowing freely, and judgment can be compromised by a “party” atmosphere.  So, what happens if you get injured during the company trip?  Is your injury covered under workers’ compensation?  If you slip and break your collarbone because you slipped on the hotel’s steps, there are factors which dictate whether this is workers’ compensation or not.  The workers’ compensation laws of North Carolina and South Carolina construe what is in the course of your employment very broadly.

 

Factors that come into play for an injury that occurred at a company outing include:

• Whether the outing was paid for by your employer.
• Whether you were paid wages while on the trip.
• Whether the outing was considered a fringe benefit of your job.
• Whether attendance was mandatory.
• Was the purpose of the outing was to benefit the employer.

 

So, if you have been hurt on the job during a company trip, pick up the phone and call Tippens & Zurosky, so we can be your voice, answer all of your questions, and file your claim!  Tippens & Zurosky has knowledgeable, experienced attorneys who can fight for your rights during this often long and difficult workers' compensation process.  Call us at 704-343-0018, for a free consultation. Let us help you!

Why is my Workers’ Compensation Doctor in such a rush?

Workers’ Compensation and Medical Care

In workers’ compensation, your employer, or their workers’ compensation insurance company are responsible for paying all of your medical bills one hundred percent if they accept your case as compensable under the law.  The rub on this is that they get to direct your medical care to a doctor of their choice, not your choice.  This quirk of the law would seem to be a built in conflict of interest in that the person responsible for paying your bills gets to send you to whomever they choose.

Quite often, companies choose to send injured workers to urgent care clinics that “specialize” in workers’ compensation injuries.  These organizations are the gatekeeper to an injured worker seeing a true specialist.  The prime directive of these organizations is to keep the costs of medical care down, and to get the injured worker back to work as soon as possible.  It stands to reason if the person paying the bill wants a certain result, you can bet the medical provider will do what they can to make that happen.  The built in conflict of interest part comes in where the medical provider wants to keep getting business from the employer, or workers’ compensation insurance company.  Naturally, they are afraid of doing something the employer, or workers’ compensation insurance company doesn’t want them to do: like recommend an expensive MRI, take the injured worker out of work, or refer the injured worker to see a surgeon.  We have had clients that were told by these types of medical facilities that they “weren’t allowed” to take them out of work, or “couldn’t” recommend an MRI.  So, if the company, or their workers’ compensation carrier, is the one driving the medical care bus, you can imagine why your workers’ compensation doctor may be rather dismissive.

The other thing which sometimes can result in speedy physicians in and out of an exam room is the fee schedule.  The fee schedule is set by the state and determines what the physician is paid for his, or her, services.  The amount of money set by the fee schedule is usually less than that of what the physician gets paid for the same services from other sources such as private health insurance.  Thus, in workers’ compensation it is not unusual to hear of a physician, triple or quadruple booking the same hour for workers’ compensation patient appointments.  If this happens to you don’t be discouraged from asking questions and getting the care you need, and deserve.  The doctor has a professional obligation to be there for you, and answer your questions!

Tippens & Zurosky is here to serve your auto accident and workers’ compensation needs, and has skilled and compassionate attorneys available to answer any and all questions that you might have about your case.  Tippens & Zurosky has represented people involved in auto accidents, or hurt on the job in North Carolina and South Carolina for nearly twenty years.  Let us answer any of your questions regarding any automobile accident, or work-related injury.  Call us toll free at (877) 372-3580, or 704-343-0018 to schedule a consultation so that we may assist you.

Should I Give a Recorded Statement Without Being Represented by a Lawyer?

What is a Recorded Statement?

When you are injured on the job in North Carolina or South Carolina, the insurance adjuster for your company’s workers’ compensation insurance company wants to get a recorded statement from you about exactly what happened.  In cases where you were hurt by a co-worker’s negligence, or the negligence of a third-party, giving a recorded statement will most likely not be fatal to your case being accepted, or denied as to compensability.  If you were hurt as a passenger in a work vehicle that your co-worker smacked into the back of someone else, or a tree, there is not a lot of wiggle room as to the facts.  Likewise, if some other third-party hit you while you were in the company vehicle.

But, even in this circumstance, you should not give a recorded statement without being represented by a lawyer.  Things in your medical history that you think are minor may be a big deal to the workers’ compensation insurance company.  The insurance adjuster may also ask you questions that have nothing to do with the case, or would not be deemed admissible in court, that you unknowingly answer, and cause harm to your case.

With certain workers’ compensation cases, there is a very fine line in what makes your case one they accept responsibility for and one that they do not.  The words you use to describe an accident on the job can make all the difference.  Unfortunately, there are also some adjusters that ask you questions in such a way that your answers lead to your claim being denied.  Of course this is wrong, but insurance companies are in the business of making money for their shareholders, and the fewer claims they pay out, the more profits they will have for those shareholders.

So, if you have been injured in an automobile accident, or hurt on the job, don’t speak with the insurance company, and especially don’t give a recorded statement, until you have had the chance to consult with an attorney.  Tippens & Zurosky has knowledgeable, experienced attorneys who can fight for your rights if you have been injured on the job, or in an automobile accident in North Carolina, or South Carolina.  Call us toll-free at 877-372-3580, or at 704-343-0018, for a free consultation.  Let us help you!

Injured By a State Employee? What is the Tort Claim Act?

Both North Carolina and South Carolina have Tort Claims Acts, which governs tort, or more simply negligence actions, against the respective States, and every county and governmental entity within them.  For example, the Tort Claim Act of North Carolina would apply if you were injured by the negligence of a North Carolina State Trooper.  Essentially, any governmental function in any county, city, or town is protected by the Tort Claims Act.  The Tort Claims Act of both North Carolina and South Carolina are limited remedies.  The reality of the Tort Claims Acts is that they limit the liability of the States for the negligence of their employees, agents, and entities.

The South Carolina Tort Claims Act has a damage cap of $600,000 for any one single event, no matter how many governmental agents were involved in the action that caused the harm, or how many innocent people were hurt.  Of this $600,000, a cap of $300,000 is set on the recovery for a single individual.  In North Carolina, the Tort Claims Act is capped at $1,000,000.  In South Carolina, the statute of limitations for filing a complaint is generally two years, but can be extended to three years if certain requirements are met.  In North Carolina, the statute of limitation is generally three years, but is two years for a wrongful death action.  Each state has available to it a number of defenses and exceptions, making the filing of Tort Claims actions quite complicated.

If you have been injured by an employee of the State of North Carolina, or the State of South Carolina, please give us a call so that we may assess if you have a claim under the applicable state Tort Claim Act.  Tippens & Zurosky represents people injured on the job and in automobile accidents in North Carolina and South Carolina.  Call us toll-free at 877-372-3580, or at 704-343-0018, for a free consultation.  Let us help you!

Can undocumented workers get workers’ compensation?

The number of undocumented immigrants working in the United States has been a hot-button issue in recent years. In North Carolina and South Carolina, businesses have relied on undocumented workers to fulfill their employee needs in the areas of agriculture, construction, shipping and receiving, and manufacturing. But what happens when an undocumented worker gets injured on the job? Undocumented workers are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits in North Carolina and South Carolina. But, these workers often feel caught between a rock and hard place in pursuing a workers’ compensation claim.

The threat of deportation may cause an undocumented worker to not report an injury, and risk the job that is providing for their family. But, if the injured undocumented worker does not report the injury, their company, or the workers’ compensation insurance company, will not pay for medical bills, or provide benefits to allow the injured undocumented worker to support his or her family, while they are unable to work due to the workplace injury. Companies save money by hiring undocumented workers in terms of cutting safety costs because they know that undocumented workers are far less likely to report and file for workers’ compensation. The fact remains -- immigration status has no effect on an injured workers’ ability to file and collect workers’ compensation.



Workers’ compensation benefits are for all the workers in North Carolina and South Carolina. If you are an undocumented worker, and get hurt on the job you have rights! Don’t let an unscrupulous company intimidate you into not filing a claim. Companies do what is best for companies, and if you get hurt on the job, you need to do what is best for you! Tippens & Zurosky represents people injured on the job and in automobile accidents in North Carolina and South Carolina. Call us toll-free at 877-372-3580, or at 704-343-0018, for a free consultation. Let us help you!

Cold Weather Can Lead To Injuries On The Job and On The Road

Winter is Coming…Oh Wait It is Here!

North Carolina and South Carolina are seeing some of the coldest temperatures, and severe weather that has hit the area in decades.  The freezing temperatures and inclement weather have brought hidden and obvious dangers to job sites, warehouses, parking lots, and other workplace common areas.  Parts of North Carolina and South Carolina have seen record amounts of water, ice, and snow that make areas such as roadways, sidewalks, bathrooms, hallways, and parking lots hazardous to your footing.  It is an absolute must to take extra care in these areas at your workplace that now may have hidden dangers to them that you are not normally used to having to worry about.

Likewise, at home if you need to use a supplemental heater that uses kerosene, or oil, make sure you do so safely.  And, if your power, and/or heating sources all go south because of the weather from the north, please do not try to tough it out.  Seek shelter as soon as possible so you don’t become a news story, or a statistic.  Plan ahead for the weather, and above all be safe because Spring is just a few short months away!  Tippens & Zurosky represents people injured on the job and in automobile accidents in North Carolina and South Carolina.  Call us toll-free at 877-372-3580, or at 704-343-0018, for a free consultation.  Let us help you!

I Got Hurt During My Company’s Vegas Trip – Is that Workers’ Compensation?

Many companies have a yearly outing to Las Vegas, or another similar destination where alcohol is flowing freely, and judgment is often compromised by a “party” atmosphere.  So, what happens if you get injured during the good times?  Is your injury covered under workers’ compensation?  If you slip and break your collarbone because you slipped on the casino’s marble steps, there are factors which dictate whether this is workers’ compensation or not.  The workers’ compensation laws of North Carolina and South Carolina construe what is in the course of your employment very broadly.

Factors that come into play for an injury that occurred at a company outing include: 

• Whether the outing was sponsored, and paid for by your employer.
• Whether you were paid wages for attending.
• Whether the outing was considered a fringe benefit of employment.
• Whether attendance was mandatory, and whether there would be a penalty for not attending.

And, whether the purpose of the outing was to benefit the employer, such as improving employer/employee relations.

So, if you have been hurt on the job during a company outing, pick up the phone and call Tippens & Zurosky, so we can be your voice, answer all of your questions, and file your claim!  Tippens & Zurosky has knowledgeable, experienced attorneys who can fight for your rights during this often long and difficult workers' compensation process.  Call us toll-free at 877-372-3580, or at 704-343-0018, for a free consultation.  Let us help you!

Can a Manager File For Workers Compensation?

Managers and Supervisors Get Hurt on the Job Too!

In many companies, managers and supervisors have their compensation and bonus structure tied to the amount of accidents that occur on the job on their watch.  So naturally, these managers and supervisors will often discourage their charges from making workers’ compensation claims.  At the very least, they will try to avoid being the one that documents the injury so it won’t fall on them.  But, what happens when managers, or supervisors, get hurt on the job in North Carolina or South Carolina?

Unfortunately, in our experience, we see managers, or supervisors that either, do not report their own injuries for fear of reprisal, or try to work outside medical restrictions and just “tough” it out.  Then, they have a shocking realization when the company that they have been loyal to, is not loyal to them.  The district manager, or owner that they attended company business meetings with, and even considered a friend, no longer take their calls, or answers any emails or text messages.  The reality of the matter is that highly paid employees, such as managers, or supervisors, have high compensation rates that make their workers’ compensation cases very expensive to their company.  So, the company does what is in the best interest of the company, and quite often cuts their losses, and moves on from their loyal employee.  Don’t let this happen to you!   

Workers’ compensation cases can be confusing, especially when your company is just doing what is best for it!  You need someone to look out for you, so call Tippens & Zurosky, so we can be your voice, answer all of your questions, and file your claim!  Tippens & Zurosky has knowledgeable, experienced attorneys certified in North Carolina and South Carolina, who can fight for your rights during this often long and difficult workers' compensation process.  Call us toll-free at 877-872-3580, or at 704-343-0018, for a free consultation.  Let us help you!

Can You File For Workers’ Compensation If You Are In a Car Accident On The Job?

Automobile Accidents on the Job

We get lots of calls from injured workers who are in an automobile accident on the job, wondering if they have a workers’ compensation case, or not.  The confusion lies in the set of facts where the worker has completed the job at the work site, and is on the way back to the company office, or terminal to drop off the work truck when the accident happens.  If the accident happens in the company work truck on the way back to the company office, this is a compensable workers’ compensation case.  If you are the driver of the truck, and as part of your job duties you pick up other employees, and drop them off at their houses, and an accident occurs, this too is a compensable workers’ compensation case.

We have heard of supervisors telling injured workers that because they had left the work site that it wasn’t workers’ compensation, which is simply not true.  A lot of times workers that are injured in auto accidents on the job are worried about filing a claim because they are afraid they are going to lose their jobs.  The law says that in an automobile accident on the job that the employer, or their workers’ compensation carrier, must pay for medical care, time out of work under the law’s guidelines, and permanent disability.  With liens being filed by more and more hospitals, the last thing an injured worker needs to worry about is getting stuck with an expensive hospital bill that is not paid in full! 

If you have been hurt in an automobile accident on the job, you will get an opinion on what you should do from your supervisor, friends, and family.  You need to protect yourself, and the first step in that is calling us! Tippens & Zurosky has knowledgeable, experienced attorneys certified in North Carolina and South Carolina, who focus on workers' compensation and automobile accidents.  Call us toll-free at 877-872-3580, or at 704-343-0018, for a free consultation.  Let us help you!

Was Your Workers’ Compensation Case Denied? Tippens & Zurosky Can Help.

Was Your Case Denied Because You Weren’t Sure Exactly When You Hurt Your Back?

If you injure your back on the job, the law requires you to have been injured in a “specific traumatic event,” which is defined as injuring yourself as a direct result of the work assigned to you such as lifting up a box, or pallet.  The law does not, however, require you to know the exact hour, or even day that the injury happened.  But, some employers and their workers’ compensation insurance companies have a rather different take on the law.

We hear of injured workers getting their workers’ compensation claims denied simply for not knowing the exact second, minute, or hour they hurt their back lifting up a box.  Literally, the injured worker was not looking at his watch while lifting the box, and tried to keep working through it the rest of his shift.  When he couldn’t give the exact time he was lifting the box that injured his back, his case was denied.  His case should have been accepted by simply reporting to his supervisor that he lifted a box, and felt pain in his back.     

Don’t let your company, or the workers’ compensation insurance company, tell you what the law is on back injuries!  Call Tippens & Zurosky so that we may help you get the answers you need about your workers’ compensation case.  Tippens & Zurosky has represented people involved in auto accidents, or hurt on the job in North Carolina and South Carolina for nearly twenty years.  Let us answer any of your questions regarding any automobile accident, or work-related injury.  Call us toll free at (877) 372-3580, or 704-343-0018 to schedule a consultation so that we may assist you today. 

If I Get Hurt At a Company Event Can I Claim Workers Compensation?

I Got Hurt at My Company Picnic, or Outing – Is that Workers’ Compensation?

Many companies have summer picnics, or social activities, but what happens if you get injured at this summer outing.  Is your injury covered under workers’ compensation?  If you slip and break your ankle because you slid into home plate at the company’s annual summer softball game, there are factors which dictate whether this is workers’ compensation or not.  The workers’ compensation laws of North Carolina and South Carolina construe what is in the course of your employment very broadly.

Factors that come into play for an injury that occurred at the summer outing include:

Whether the party was sponsored, and paid for by your employer.

Whether you were paid wages for attending, and whether attendance was taken.

Whether the party was considered a fringe benefit of employment.

Whether you were required to work if you didn’t go to the outing.

Whether attendance was mandatory, and whether there would be a penalty for not attending, i.e was it really mandatory.

Whether there was a known company custom for attending the outing.

And, whether the purpose of the party was to benefit the employer, such as improving employer/employee relations, and the kind of event where awards were given, and speeches were made that were connected to the company’s work, and that of the employees.

So, if you have been hurt on the job during a company outing, pick up the phone and call Tippens & Zurosky, so we can be your voice, answer all of your questions, and file your claim!  Tippens & Zurosky has knowledgeable, experienced attorneys who can fight for your rights during this often long and difficult workers' compensation process.  Call us toll-free at 877-372-3580, or at 704-343-0018, for a free consultation.  Let us help you!

Workers’ Compensation and Choosing Your Doctor

Utilization/Peer Reviews and Your Workers’ Compensation Case

If you are injured on the job, and your claim is accepted by your self-insured company, or your company’s workers’ compensation carrier, your employer is responsible for paying your medicals bills, time out of work, and possibly compensation for a permanent injury.  Your employer or their workers’ compensation insurance carrier gets to dictate what doctors you see in exchange for paying the bill.  But, sometimes, the workers’ compensation carrier seeks an opinion that second guesses the doctor they picked to send you to in the first place!

Called utilization, or peer review, if your authorized treating doctor recommends performing a surgery, or other treatment that the workers’ compensation insurance company doesn’t want to pay for, your records get sent to yet another doctor.  Peer review doctors have never seen you, have contracts with the insurance company that pays them by the review, and often are retired, or do not have an active practice anymore, surgical or otherwise.  Naturally, if someone is paying you to do something, you are going to make sure that they get what they want.  It is no different with peer, or utilization reviews.  Generally, the workers’ compensation insurance companies get what they pay for, and that is where you need an attorney that will fight for your rights, and in particular for the treatment the doctor says you need!         

Workers’ compensation claims can be quite frustrating without someone on your side!  You need someone to look out for you, so call Tippens & Zurosky, so we can be your voice, answer all of your questions, and file your claim!  Tippens & Zurosky has knowledgeable, experienced attorneys certified in North Carolina and South Carolina, who can fight for your rights during this often long and difficult workers' compensation process.  Call us toll-free at 877-872-3580, or at 704-343-0018, for a free consultation.  Let us help you!

Hurt On The Job By A Third Party? What Are Your Rights?

If you are injured in an accident on the job in North Carolina or South Carolina, and that injury is caused by a third party, your company’s workers’ compensation insurance company is not relieved of its obligations under the law.  If you are hurt on the job by a third party, your company’s workers’ compensation insurance company still must provide medical care, weekly benefits if you are written out of work, and a settlement if you have a permanent injury, scarring or disfigurement, or other impairment.  Once your workers’ compensation case is concluded, you can then seek compensation from the third party that hit you.

For example, if you are working inside your company building and a third party drives through the building and strikes you causing you to suffer a broken leg, your company’s workers’ compensation insurance company must step in first to take care of you.  When your workers’ compensation case is concluded you would go after the third party driver’s liability insurance company.  But, keep in mind, your company’s workers’ compensation company is given a lien by both North Carolina and South Carolina law to recover from the third party liability insurance company for what they paid out on you, the injured worker’s behalf. Navigating this scenario can be very confusing, and intimidating.

Tippens & Zurosky is available to serve both your auto accident and workers’ compensation needs, and can help you if you have been injured on the job by a third party.  Tippens & Zurosky has represented people involved in auto accidents, or hurt on the job in North Carolina and South Carolina for nearly twenty years.  Let us answer any of your questions regarding any automobile accident, or work-related injury.  Call us toll free at (877) 372-3580, or 704-343-0018 to schedule a consultation so that we may assist you. 

Injured At Work Due to a Co-Workers Joke? You May Have a Case.

The Joke Was On You At Work – Can You Recover If You Got Injured?

Since the time human beings have been on the planet, and been engaged in some sort of employment, there have always been those instances where one co-worker for whatever reason decides to play a joke on another co-worker.  The examples are many from the simple pulling out the chair in the meeting room as the person goes to sit down, to the complicated booby trap in the storage facility, to the knocking over of the co-worker occupied portable toilet at the construction site.  But, what happens if you are that innocent co-worker and get injured in the process?

The laws of both North Carolina and South Carolina have generally held that the innocent victim who gets injured by this “horseplay” has a compensable workers’compensation case.  The theory behind holding these cases as compensable is that being the subject of workplace “horseplay” is a recognized hazard of employment.  Of note, the courts of both states have frowned on the aggressor of the “horseplay” who injures himself in failed “horseplay” on another in certain circumstances.

If you have been injured in an automobile accident, or hurt on the job by “horseplay,” please reach out to our firm so we can put our years of experience to work for you.  Tippens & Zurosky has knowledgeable, experienced attorneys who can fight for your rights if you have been injured on the job, or in an automobile accident in North Carolina, or South Carolina.  Call us toll-free at 877-372-3580, or at 704-343-0018, for a free consultation.  Let us help you!

How Does a Drug Test Affect a Workers’ Compensation Claim?

They Did Inhale – How a Positive Drug Test Affects a Workers’ Compensation Claim

In North Carolina, a workers’ compensation case can be denied if the on the job injury was caused by being under the influence of an intoxicating substance.  However, there are several factors to consider when a worker has a positive drug test.  An injured worker’s case cannot be denied if that intoxicating substance was provided, or supplied by the employer, or his agent in a supervisory capacity to the employee.  A classic example of this would be attending a work function where it is expected and enforced that alcohol be consumed to entertain potential clients, or other business contacts, and the worker then gets hurt due to his company supplying alcohol.

The workers’ compensation insurance company, or self-insured company also has to show that the worker was intoxicated, which is not necessarily so cut and dry.  For example, a positive drug test for marijuana, cocaine, and other drugs does not indicate a level of impairment like an alcohol blood test does.  Marijuana and cocaine can stay in a person’s system for days, or weeks after the drug was used.  There is no level of “stonedness” that can be measured.

Additionally, the workers’ compensation insurance company, or self-insured company must show any intoxication proximately caused the work injury.  So, if there is a positive drug test for cocaine, and the worker is injured when an automobile driven by a unrelated third-party crashes into the work vehicle the worker is a passenger in – the workers’ compensation insurance company will have an extremely difficult time proving that any intoxication was the proximate cause of the work accident.  However, even in the set of facts above workers’ compensation benefits are often denied based on the drug test alone.  

If you have been injured on the job, and had your workers’ compensation case denied for a positive drug test, please reach out to our firm so we can put our years of experience to work for you.  Tippens & Zurosky has knowledgeable, experienced attorneys who can fight for your rights if you have been injured on the job, or in an automobile accident in North Carolina, or South Carolina.  Call us toll-free at 877-372-3580, or at 704-343-0018, for a free consultation.  Let us help you!

Can pre-existing Injuries Can Hurt Your NC Workers’ Compensation Claim?

If you have worked for a long time in a physically demanding job, such as an order picker in a warehouse, or in the construction industry, you may have been hurt on the job before.  The older you get the more injuries you may have suffered on the job.  So, what do you do when you fill out your new job application and they ask you about your physical condition and previous injuries?  

If you are worried that disclosing your past injuries will prevent you from getting a job, you may choose to not tell your prospective employer about your past injury history.  N.C.G.S 97-12.1 governs willful misrepresentation when applying for a job.  If a worker is found to have knowingly and willfully made a false representation as to their physical condition, compensation for their workers’ compensation case may be barred.

Often a worker has worked past his previous restrictions, or has gotten clearance from a subsequent doctor to do the job.  However, they still might find their case denied by their company’s workers’ compensation insurance company.  The employer also must show they relied upon the false representation in the hiring process, and there was a causal connection between the false representation, and the injury.  Some workers will be literally facing the choice of feeding their children, or having their medical history keep them unemployed.  There are no easy answers for these folks, who are simply trying to be productive members of society.

If you have been injured in an automobile accident, or hurt on the job, please reach out to our firm so we can put our years of experience to work for you.  Tippens & Zurosky has knowledgeable, experienced attorneys who can fight for your rights if you have been injured on the job, or in an automobile accident in North Carolina, or South Carolina.  Call us toll-free at 877-372-3580, or at 704-343-0018, for a free consultation.  Let us help you!

If You Get In a Fight At Work Can You Claim Workers Compensation?

Fighting on the Job and Workers Compensation. 


Most of us have had situations in our working lives where we have really wanted to punch a co-employee in the nose. But, if you did punch your co-employee, and knock them to the ground where they broke their arm, can they file workers’ compensation? The rule is if one worker injures a fellow co-worker because of a dispute about the manner in which work is being performed then the injured worker’s injuries are compensable under workers’ compensation. For example, if in the midst of a discussion about how to properly stack widgets so that the manager will not write them up for incorrect procedure, one worker strikes another with the widget and injures them, those injuries are compensable.


However, if one employee assaults the other solely from anger, revenge, hatred, or sheer vindictiveness and is not motivated by an incidence of employment, it is not compensable. For example, one co-worker was in the habit of insulting another’s mother, and finally in defense of mom, the miffed co-worker slammed his co-worker in the face with a hammer. Another common instance is romantic rivals fighting over a newly found out personal relationship. Just because work was a convenient venue for the assault to occur, it does not make it a compensable worker’s compensation case.


So, if you have been hurt on the job because of a work-related dispute report it immediately, and then pick up the phone and call Tippens & Zurosky, so we can be your voice, answer all of your questions, and file your claim! Tippens & Zurosky has knowledgeable, experienced attorneys who can fight for your rights during this often long and difficult workers' compensation process. Call us toll-free at 877-372-3580, or at 704-343-0018, for a free consultation. Let us help you!

Is It Workers’ Compensation If I am Travelling for Work?

On the Road Again – Is It Workers’ Compensation If I am Travelling for Work and Get Hurt in North Carolina or South Carolina?

If your job involves travelling away from your employer’s premises, you are generally found to be within the scope of your employment continuously.  For example, injuries you might suffer out of the obvious need to sleep in a hotel, or motel, and eat in a restaurant are usually held to be compensable workers’ compensation cases.   Likewise, injuries you suffer travelling between your hotel and a restaurant, for example in a car accident, are also generally held to be compensable.  You are also considered on the job as you make your way back from where the work is to be performed as long as there is reasonable continuity between the travel and the employment. 

This rule holds true unless there is proof of a distinct and total departure on a personal errand, or the trip is made for primarily social, or personal reasons.  For example, taking off for the weekend on a personal vacation in a company vehicle and socializing with a company contact, but not at the direction of your employer, but for personal reasons is not typically going to be found compensable.  The reality of this subsection of workers’ compensation law is that nothing happens exactly in the same way, and the blurring of personal versus business can be a fine line between a compensable case and a denied one!      

So, if you have been hurt on the job while travelling for your job report it immediately, and then pick up the phone and call Tippens & Zurosky, so we can be your voice, answer all of your questions, and file your claim!  Tippens & Zurosky has knowledgeable, experienced attorneys who can fight for your rights during this often long and difficult workers' compensation process.  Call us toll-free at 877-872-3580, or at 704-343-0018, for a free consultation.  Let us help you!

I Was Hurt In a Car Accident At Work. What Happens Next?

Auto Accidents on the Job

A common misconception is that when you are injured in an automobile accident on the job that the liability insurance company for the negligent person that caused the accident is solely responsible for your injuries.  If you are in the scope of your employment, your company’s workers’ compensation insurance company is still responsible for paying for your medical care, your time out of work at two thirds of your average weekly wage once you satisfy the waiting period, and potentially a settlement based on any permanent impairment you may have as a result of the auto accident.

Your company’s workers’ compensation insurance company has the right to be reimbursed from the liability insurance company for what they have paid out on your behalf.  But, the liability insurance company is no less responsible because you were in the accident on the job.  It can be quite intimidating and confusing to try and deal with both of these insurance companies when this situation arises, as they both are obviously concerned with what is in their best interest, and not yours!

If you have any questions about what to do after an auto accident, whether it happens on the job or not, contact Tippens & Zurosky toll free at (877) 372-3580, or 704-343-0018 to schedule a consultation so that we may assist you.  We will deal with the insurance companies for the person that hit you, workers’ compensation if it applies, and work to get both matters satisfactorily concluded for you!

Tippens & Zurosky has represented people involved in auto accidents in North Carolina and South Carolina for nearly twenty years.  Let us help you deal with the unexpected, and get your life back on track.  Call us toll free at (877) 372-3580, or 704-343-0018 to schedule a consultation so that we may assist you.   

How long do you have to file a workers comp claim in North Carolina?

The Early Bird Files a Claim

One of the most common scenarios we hear about is when a person gets injured on the job, but because of a fear of losing their job, the “encouragement” of their manager or supervisor not to file a claim, or simply not knowing how to file a claim, they have waited months after the accident to file a claim with the workers’ compensation insurance company for their employer.  It is absolutely crucial that you report your accident to your supervisor, or human resources immediately, and get a written accident report done to memorialize what happened.  Often, a delay causes the workers’ compensation insurance company to deny a claim because there is no documentation that the accident happened, and the injured workers’ company becomes “unsure” if anything ever happened.

A great example of this is when someone lifts boxes as part of their job, but on one particular day lifts a box and feels pain.  They may be used to having nagging aches and pains from doing this kind of work and thus did not report it.  Or, if they did actually report the injury, a supervisor will just ask them to work through it, or try to minimize what happened and not document the injury.   So, weeks or even months later, the injured employee, who has been trying to work through it, but now has a serious back injury that has gotten worse and worse, tries to report the claim.  And, to the injured employee’s great surprise, the claim is denied because he or she “never told anybody,” or because of the delay can’t honestly remember when they got hurt, or exactly how it happened.

So, if you have been hurt on the job report it immediately, and then pick up the phone and call Tippens & Zurosky, so we can be your voice, answer all of your questions, and file your claim!  Tippens & Zurosky has knowledgeable, experienced attorneys who can fight for your rights during this often long and difficult workers' compensation process.  Call us toll-free at 877-372-3580, or at 704-343-0018, for a free consultation.  Let us help you!