Greensboro Workers’ Compensation Lawyer
A workplace injury can threaten your health and your paycheck at the same time. A Greensboro workers’ compensation lawyer can protect your claim, handle the required filings, and deal with the insurance carrier while you focus on recovery.
Lewis & Keller Injury Lawyers represents injured workers throughout Guilford County from our Greensboro office. We’ll help you meet North Carolina’s strict deadlines, respond to insurer disputes, and pursue the medical and wage benefits available through workers’ compensation.
Call (336) 490-4278 or use our online form for a free case review of your Greensboro work injury claim.
Table of contents
- Greensboro Workers’ Compensation Lawyer
- Why Choose Lewis & Keller Injury Lawyers for a Greensboro Workers’ Compensation Claim
- How Do You File a Workers’ Compensation Claim in Greensboro?
- What Benefits Can You Receive Through Workers’ Compensation in North Carolina?
- What Greensboro Jobs Commonly Lead to Work Injuries?
- What Is a Third-Party Claim After a Work Injury?
- Why Workers’ Compensation Claims Get Denied
- Can a Greensboro Workers’ Compensation Lawyer Challenge a Denied Claim?
- Our Greensboro Workers’ Compensation Attorney
- FAQ for a Greensboro Workers’ Compensation Lawyer
- Get Help With Your Greensboro Workers’ Comp Claim
Why Choose Lewis & Keller Injury Lawyers for a Greensboro Workers’ Compensation Claim
Lewis & Keller Injury Lawyers brings decades of North Carolina experience and extensive workers’ compensation knowledge to injured workers in Greensboro. Our team has specific credentials that matter when an insurer disputes your benefits.
Board-Certified Workers’ Compensation Leadership
Attorney Shannon Warf Kovach leads our workers’ compensation department and is board-certified in workers’ compensation law in North Carolina, with more than three decades of experience. She has also been recognized by Best Lawyers for Workers’ Compensation Law – Claimants.
Decades of North Carolina Legal Experience
Founding Partner Mike Lewis has practiced law in North Carolina since 1970 and has spent decades representing injured people. He has earned Best Lawyers recognition since 1997, Super Lawyers recognition every year since 2009, and an AV Preeminent peer rating from Martindale-Hubbell.
Experience Seeing Claims From Both Sides
Attorney Jackson Odenwelder began his career at an insurance-defense firm. That experience gives our team firsthand insight into how insurers investigate, value, and challenge claims, which can help us anticipate arguments before they threaten your benefits.
Direct Communication
Lewis & Keller Injury Lawyers also emphasizes direct communication and access throughout the claim. A real person is available by phone 24/7. Call (336) 490-4278 or complete our online contact form for a free case review.
How Do You File a Workers’ Compensation Claim in Greensboro?
You file a Greensboro workers’ compensation claim by giving your employer written notice of the injury and filing Form 18 with the North Carolina Industrial Commission. These are separate steps, and completing only one can put your benefits at risk.
North Carolina law generally requires written notice to your employer within 30 days. You also generally must file your claim with the Industrial Commission within two years under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 97-24.
Copies of your notice, Form 18, medical records, and communications with the employer or insurer can help establish that you followed the required process.
A Greensboro workers’ compensation lawyer can handle these filings, track the deadlines, and respond if the insurer disputes when or how the injury was reported. That keeps a procedural problem from becoming another obstacle while you are trying to recover.
Getting Help
Is Easy
Wondering where to turn after an injury? Our team makes getting help easy for you. All you have to do is contact us, and we’ll take care of everything from there.
You Have
Rights
When you’re injured on the job, you have rights that deserve to be protected. We can help you seek the maximum compensation you are legally owed for your injuries and losses.
No Fees Unless
We Win
Many injured workers are already worried about their finances. We make seeking help accessible by offering a free case review and charging no fees unless we win.
What Benefits Can You Receive Through Workers’ Compensation in North Carolina?
North Carolina workers’ compensation can pay for medical care, part of your lost income, and compensation for certain lasting disabilities after a covered job injury. Some claims also involve vocational help or death benefits for qualifying family members.
The benefits available depend on how the injury affects your health and ability to work. Instead of paying one lump sum for every loss, workers’ compensation provides different benefits for different needs.
Benefits may include:
The main benefit categories include:
- Medical Benefits: Workers’ compensation can cover authorized doctor visits, hospital care, surgery, physical therapy, prescriptions, and other necessary treatment related to the injury.
- Temporary Total Disability (TTD): If your injury keeps you completely out of work, TTD benefits can replace part of your wages, generally at two-thirds of your average weekly wage, subject to state limits.
- Temporary Partial Disability (TPD): If you return to work but earn less because of your injury, TPD benefits can replace part of the difference in your earnings.
- Permanent Partial Disability (PPD): If you end up with a lasting impairment, PPD benefits can provide additional compensation based on the affected body part and your impairment rating.
- Permanent Total Disability (PTD): Certain catastrophic injuries can qualify for PTD benefits under North Carolina law.
- Vocational Rehabilitation: Some injured workers can receive help returning to suitable employment when they can’t go back to their previous job.
- Death Benefits: If a compensable work injury causes a worker’s death, qualifying dependents can receive weekly benefits and payment toward burial expenses.
What Greensboro Jobs Commonly Lead to Work Injuries?
Greensboro workers are often hurt in jobs tied to the city’s strong logistics, manufacturing, healthcare, construction, and distribution sectors. In 2024, more than 35,000 workplace injury and illness cases across North Carolina caused workers to miss work, transfer jobs, or work under restrictions.
A Greensboro workers’ compensation lawyer can use the details of your job duties, work environment, and medical records to show how the injury happened and why it should be covered.
Common Greensboro work settings that lead to injuries include:
- Logistics and Distribution: Jobs around Piedmont Triad International Airport and Bryan Boulevard can involve heavy lifting, forklift traffic, loading equipment, and repetitive movement.
- Manufacturing and Textiles: Factory and textile workers can suffer machine injuries, crush injuries, cuts, strains, and conditions that develop through repeated physical work.
- Healthcare: Nurses, aides, technicians, and other medical workers can face back and shoulder injuries from patient handling, needlestick injuries, and falls.
- Construction: Construction workers can be injured in falls, equipment accidents, struck-by incidents, and other hazards on active Greensboro job sites.
- Transportation and Delivery: Drivers and delivery workers on routes like Wendover Avenue can sustain crash injuries, lifting injuries, and other injuries while loading or unloading vehicles.
The type of job matters because an insurer can dispute whether your condition truly came from your work. Lewis & Keller Injury Lawyers can document your duties, gather medical and employment evidence, and build the connection between your Greensboro job and your injury.
See What Our Clients Say
What Is a Third-Party Claim After a Work Injury?
A third-party claim is a separate injury claim against someone other than your employer who helped cause your workplace injury. You can file one alongside a workers’ compensation claim to seek damages not covered by workers’ comp, including pain and suffering.
Potential third-party defendants can include:
- Negligent Drivers: A Greensboro delivery driver who was rear-ended on I-40 while working could have a claim against the driver who caused the crash.
- Equipment Manufacturers: A worker injured by defective machinery may pursue the company that designed, manufactured, or sold the dangerous equipment.
- Subcontractors: On a construction site, another contractor or subcontractor can be responsible when their unsafe work causes an injury.
- Property Owners: A property owner can sometimes face liability when a dangerous condition on the premises causes a worker’s injury.
- Outside Vendors or Maintenance Companies: A company responsible for servicing equipment, maintaining a property, or performing other work can be liable if its negligence contributes to the injury.
A third-party claim can be especially important because workers’ compensation doesn’t pay for every loss. A Greensboro personal injury lawyer can identify outside parties who may share responsibility and coordinate the personal injury case with your workers’ compensation claim.
Why Workers’ Compensation Claims Get Denied
Insurers deny workers’ compensation claims when they dispute where the injury happened, argue that you missed a deadline, or challenge the medical proof. A denial doesn’t end your case, but you need strong evidence to answer the insurer’s reason for rejecting it.
The Insurer Says Your Injury Didn’t Come From Work
The carrier can argue that something outside the job caused your condition or that your work didn’t aggravate it. A lawyer can use medical records, witness statements, job-duty evidence, and the timeline of your injury to show the connection.
You Reported or Filed Too Late
North Carolina sets deadlines for reporting a work injury and filing a claim. If the insurer claims you missed one, your lawyer can review the facts, determine whether an exception applies, and challenge the denial when the law supports it.
The Insurer Challenges Your Medical Evidence
The carrier can question your diagnosis, treatment plan, work restrictions, or impairment rating. Your Greensboro workers’ comp lawyer can gather stronger medical support, address gaps in the record, and push back when the insurer uses those disputes to reduce or stop benefits.
The Insurer Delays or Limits Benefits
Not every dispute starts with a formal denial. An insurer can delay treatment, push for light-duty work, or challenge your impairment rating at maximum medical improvement. Your attorney can step in before those tactics reduce your benefits.
Can a Greensboro Workers’ Compensation Lawyer Challenge a Denied Claim?
A Greensboro workers’ compensation lawyer can challenge a denial by identifying why the insurer rejected your claim, gathering evidence that answers that dispute, and representing you before the North Carolina Industrial Commission. You don’t have to accept the insurance company’s decision as final.
Lewis & Keller Injury Lawyers can handle the parts of a denied claim that become difficult to manage on your own, including:
- Identify the Reason for the Denial: We review the insurer’s position and determine what evidence or legal issue needs to be addressed.
- Strengthen the Medical Evidence: If the carrier disputes your diagnosis, work restrictions, or impairment rating, your lawyer can gather additional medical support and help pursue a second opinion when appropriate.
- Handle Filings and Deadlines: We prepare the required paperwork and keep the dispute moving through the Industrial Commission process.
- Build the Evidence: Medical records, employment information, witness testimony, and other evidence can help establish how the injury happened and how it affects your ability to work.
- Represent You at a Hearing: If the dispute reaches a hearing, your attorney prepares your case and presents the evidence to the deputy commissioner.
Lewis & Keller Injury Lawyers represents workers throughout Greensboro and the Triad, including with our Winston-Salem workers’ compensation lawyer team. That experience with North Carolina employers and insurers helps us prepare for the arguments that can arise after a denial.
Our Greensboro Workers’ Compensation Attorney
Our Results Speak For themselves
$
7000000
Motorcycle accident resulting in paralysis.
$
3000000
Auto accident resulting in post-traumatic stress disorder.
$
1393000
Workplace accident resulting in a traumatic brain injury.
FAQ for a Greensboro Workers’ Compensation Lawyer
Do I Need a Greensboro Workers’ Compensation Lawyer?
Consider getting legal advice if your workers’ comp claim is denied, your benefits stop, the insurer challenges your treatment, or you receive an impairment rating you don’t agree with. You can learn about your options with a free consultation with Lewis & Keller Injury Lawyers.
Can My Employer Fire Me for Filing a Workers’ Comp Claim?
North Carolina law prohibits an employer from retaliating against you for filing or pursuing a workers’ compensation claim. That doesn’t protect you from every legitimate employment action, but your employer cannot fire, demote, or otherwise punish you because you exercised your workers’ compensation rights.
What Happens if My Employer Disputes That My Injury Happened at Work?
You can still pursue workers’ comp benefits when your employer or its insurer disputes whether the injury came from your job. Medical records, written notice, witness statements, and details about your work duties can help establish the connection between your employment and the injury.
Does Workers’ Comp in North Carolina Cover Injuries That Develop Over Time?
North Carolina workers’ compensation can cover certain occupational diseases and other qualifying conditions that develop because of your work, not just injuries caused by a single accident.
The rules depend on the condition and how it developed, so medical evidence connecting the condition to your job often plays a central role.
How Soon Should I Report a Work Injury in Greensboro, NC?
Report a work injury in writing as soon as possible. North Carolina generally requires written notice within 30 days of the accident. Reporting promptly also creates a clearer record of when and how the injury happened if the insurer later disputes your claim.
Get Help With Your Greensboro Workers’ Comp Claim
A work injury can leave you dealing with medical care, missed income, and an insurance company that controls the benefits you depend on. Lewis & Keller Injury Lawyers can step in, protect your claim, and help you move through the workers’ compensation process with a clearer path forward.
Call (336) 490-4278 or use our online form to get a free consultation. Our Greensboro office is at 204 Muirs Chapel Road, Suite 100, Greensboro, North Carolina 27410.
