A North Carolina workers’ compensation claim begins with health, notice, employer and employee classification, and a filing record. Reporting an event to a supervisor is important, but it is not the same as filing the employee’s claim with the Industrial Commission.

An employer’s internal incident report and Form 19 do not replace the employee’s Form 18 claim with the Industrial Commission.

Confirm whether the Act covers the employment

G.S. 97-2 defines employment, employee, injury, wages, and other terms used throughout the Act. The general three-employee rule has statutory exceptions and special categories. The company name on a uniform, check, schedule, or jobsite sign may not identify every employer, staffing company, contractor, or carrier involved.

  • Legal names of the hiring company, payroll company, staffing firm, supervisor, jobsite owner, and contracting tiers
  • Offer, onboarding, schedule, time records, pay records, job description, tools, instructions, supervision, and right of control
  • Insurance carrier, policy period, self-insured status, claim administrator, claim number, and written coverage position
  • Whether an exclusion, election, independent-contractor dispute, federal program, or other special rule may apply

Get appropriate medical care and report the event accurately

Seek care appropriate to the symptoms and describe the work event and symptoms to the provider, including any uncertainty about their connection. Give the employer an accurate oral and written report that identifies the date, place, mechanism, body parts, witnesses, and symptoms without guessing about facts that are unknown.

G.S. 97-22 calls for written notice immediately or as soon as practicable and contains a 30-day rule, subject to the statute’s knowledge, incapacity, fraud, reasonable-excuse, and prejudice provisions. Do not rely on a possible exception when prompt written notice is available.

File the employee’s Form 18

The Industrial Commission’s Form 18 and instructions direct an employee to file the claim with the Commission, send the employer a copy, and retain a complete copy. The employer or carrier’s Form 19 reports the event to the Commission; Form 19 is not the employee’s claim.

G.S. 97-24 contains the general two-year filing bar and separate language for medical-payment and occupational-disease situations. A deadline should be calculated from the actual claim history and current statute, not from the date of an internal report alone.

Create a traceable early-claim file

  • Form 18, written employer notice, internal report, Form 19 if available, Commission acknowledgment, claim number, and carrier correspondence
  • Scene photographs, video requests, equipment, witness identities, communications, safety and training records, and prior incident information
  • Emergency and follow-up records, work status, restrictions, referrals, authorizations, bills, mileage, medications, and missed appointments with explanations
  • Wage records, concurrent employment, missed time, light-duty offers, actual duties performed, and payment history
  • Acceptance, payment-without-prejudice, partial denial, full denial, and the exact issue requiring correction, evidence, or hearing

The related North Carolina employer-coverage guide explains how to verify insurance and respond when a covered employer may have failed to secure payment.

Rosensteel Fleishman Car Accident & Injury Lawyers provides information about working with a Charlotte workers’ compensation attorney at the start of a claim. A useful review produces a written issue list, filing record, evidence plan, medical chronology, wage calculation, and next deadline.

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