Employees may travel, drive routes, install equipment, attend meetings, work remotely, or move between states. When an injury occurs outside North Carolina, the accident location is important but is not the only fact that can determine whether a North Carolina compensation claim is available.

An out-of-state accident does not answer jurisdiction by location alone; the employment contract, employer’s principal place of business, employee’s principal place of employment, other-state proceedings, and filing record must be mapped.

Read North Carolina’s out-of-state provision

G.S. 97-36 addresses accidents occurring while an employee is employed outside North Carolina and identifies connections involving the contract of employment, the employer’s principal place of business, and the employee’s principal place of employment. It also addresses compensation or damages received under another state’s law.

Create an event geography record

  • Exact injury location, task, customer, project, route, lodging, and travel purpose
  • Where the employee began and ended the trip or shift
  • Where instructions, dispatch, supervision, and work records originated
  • Emergency care, follow-up providers, witnesses, reports, and physical evidence by state
  • Temporary assignment, recurring route, permanent transfer, remote work, or isolated travel

Create an employment geography record

  • Where the offer was made, accepted, and documented
  • Employer and related-company legal names and principal business locations
  • Employee’s home, assigned office, regular reporting point, customers, routes, and work-time distribution
  • Payroll, tax withholding, unemployment, benefits, policies, and workers’ compensation notices
  • Managers, staffing companies, general contractors, and other possible employers

Map every policy and claim number

Collect North Carolina and other-state policies, self-insurance records, occupational accident coverage, administrator identity, claim acknowledgments, reservations, denials, forms, and payment history. A multistate company can use different programs for different employees or operations.

Do not ignore another state’s proceeding

Record every report, filing, payment, medical authorization, hearing, agreement, and decision in another state. G.S. 97-36 addresses total compensation for the same injury. Coordination requires the gross amounts, covered periods, benefit type, and legal basis—not just the existence of another claim.

Preserve North Carolina filing time

G.S. 97-24 contains the North Carolina claim-filing bar and identified provisions. Filing or communication in another state should not be assumed to satisfy North Carolina requirements or extend its time.

Use the correct current forms

The Industrial Commission forms resource provides Form 18 and other current forms and filing options. Identify all employers when more than one relationship may exist and retain delivery proof.

Coordinate treatment and work restrictions

Out-of-state care can create authorization, network, billing, travel, record-access, and return-to-work questions. Preserve referrals, restrictions, proposed duties, work location, travel requirements, wage records, and each program’s written position.

Preserve distant evidence immediately

Identify the incident report, existing photographs or video, equipment and vehicle records, travel records, jobsite records, witness contacts, customer documents, and government reports before distance or project completion makes access harder. Preserve material you can lawfully access and record the custodian of anything held elsewhere. Do not remove equipment, bypass access restrictions or enter an unsafe site to collect evidence.

Address remote work as a separate location problem

The related remote-work injury guide explains assigned activity, time and place, personal deviations, notice, medical evidence, and multistate connections.

Rosensteel Fleishman Car Accident & Injury Lawyers provides information about multistate workers’ compensation questions involving North Carolina.

Sources