Hearing that a disputed claim is "going to the Industrial Commission" can make it sound like the case is immediately headed for a courtroom. In reality, disputed North Carolina workers' compensation claims generally move through several stages, including mediation, before a formal hearing takes place.…
A worker pulled from under a pallet jack or a piece of shifted machinery can sometimes stand up, talk normally, and seem largely fine in the first hour after the accident. That impression can be dangerously misleading. Crush injuries are notorious for looking milder in…
Losing a finger, hand, or limb changes daily life immediately, long before any paperwork gets filed. Getting dressed, driving, holding a child, or doing the job that provided a paycheck the day before can all become difficult or impossible overnight. The physical healing is only…
Two workers exposed to the same industrial solvent can end up filing completely different types of claims. One might suffer a single bad afternoon, a spill, a ventilation failure, an obvious acute reaction, and file an injury claim within days. The other might work around…
Most people picture heat stroke as a summer construction-site problem, something that happens to a roofer or road crew on the hottest afternoon of the year. But workplace heat illness is not limited to outdoor jobs. OSHA data shows that a substantial share of non-fatal…
Two workers can have the same herniated disc, diagnosed by the same kind of doctor, and still receive dramatically different workers' compensation settlements. In many cases, the biggest difference comes down to one factor: whether surgery was required. That decision affects impairment ratings, recovery time,…

