A person injured while performing assigned prison work does not enter the same workers’ compensation process as an employee working for a private company. The North Carolina statute creates a limited rule for prisoners, and the exact program, assignment, injury, custody status, discharge date, and continuing disability matter.

North Carolina gives work-injured prisoners a narrow statutory path, but the timing, benefit limit, assigned-work facts, and available remedy differ from an ordinary employee claim.

Start with the prisoner-specific statute

G.S. 97-13(c) generally excludes prisoners worked by the State or a subdivision from ordinary coverage, but creates a narrow exception for a prisoner assigned to the Division of Prisons of the Department of Adult Correction who suffers accidental injury or death arising out of and in the course of assigned work. For a surviving prisoner, the resulting condition must continue after lawful discharge to the point of disability under the Act.

The statute directs a discharged prisoner to apply to the Industrial Commission within 12 months after discharge and generally ties the compensation period to discharge rather than the accident. It also contains a $30 weekly limit for the subsection (c) category. Subsection (c1) separately addresses inmates employed through the Prison Industry Enhancement Program and uses the average-weekly-wage calculation referenced in G.S. 97-2(5). The program must be identified before calculating anything.

Richardson explains the remedy question

The North Carolina Supreme Court’s published Richardson v. North Carolina Department of Correction decision involved a prisoner whose legs were caught in a silage cutter during assigned farm work. The Court held that the Workers’ Compensation Act supplied the exclusive remedy for the work injury and barred the Tort Claims Act claim presented there.

That decision should not be converted into a universal statement about every injury in custody. The assigned-work relationship, accident, remedy asserted, statutory coverage, discharge, and continuing disability must be examined. An injury unrelated to assigned employment can present a different classification question.

Preserve the facts that determine the claim path

Keep documents already available to the injured person or family. If a facility controls incident reports, video, equipment or scene evidence, identify the custodian and use an authorized request or preservation process; do not enter restricted areas or handle equipment to gather proof.

  • Facility, custody dates, work assignment, supervisor, program, job description, schedule, pay or credit arrangement, and written orders
  • Equipment, training, warnings, protective gear, maintenance, scene photographs, incident reports, witnesses, video, and prior problems
  • Emergency care, diagnoses, surgery, restrictions, impairment, continuing symptoms, functional limits, and expected needs after discharge
  • Accident date, notice, grievance or internal report, release or discharge documents, applications, Commission records, and correspondence
  • Any non-State company, contractor, product manufacturer, property controller, or other participant whose separate role should be evaluated

Do not assume ordinary benefit timing or an ordinary tort claim

G.S. 97-10.1 states the general exclusivity rule when employer and employee are subject to and have complied with the Act. The prisoner statute expressly applies exclusivity and third-party provisions to prisoners and discharged prisoners entitled to compensation under its terms. Classification should precede any filing or release decision.

The related North Carolina workers’ compensation exclusivity guide explains the broader distinction among an employer, a special employer, a co-employee, and a true third party. Check the assigned work program and discharge date against the prisoner-specific timing and benefit limits rather than assuming the ordinary employee rules apply.

Rosensteel Fleishman Car Accident & Injury Lawyers provides information about consulting a Charlotte workers’ compensation lawyer about an assigned prison-work injury. The review should begin with the current statute, the actual work program, and the complete custody and medical chronology.

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