Wondering if you have to return to work after getting paid workers’ compensation? Attorney Shannon Warf Wilson is a Board-Certified Workers’ Compensation Specialist, and she knows everything there is to know about seeking workers’ comp in North Carolina. Read the following transcript to learn the answer to this frequently asked question.

Attorney Shannon Warf Wilson:
Yes and no. Do you have to return to work? No, you never have to return to work. Do they have to pay you for staying out of work? Not necessarily. And that just comes down to if you’ve been out of work and your doctor releases you to return to work with restrictions, and your employer says, “I have this job that complies with your restrictions,” and you just don’t want to do it, but it falls within those restrictions, then I’m going to say, “Okay, the caveat to you not going back to work is they don’t have to pay you for continuing to stay out of work.”

Speaker 2:
That makes sense.

Attorney Shannon Warf Wilson:
So we always look at when the doctor says, “These are your restrictions,” and the employer says, “This is a job that we want you to come back to,” we make sure that those restrictions match up to that job and aren’t going to let you go back to work to something that’s not suitable because we don’t want you to get reinjured or do something that’s going to make your condition worse.

If you were hurt while working, you have rights! Our champions at Lewis & Keller are here to fight for them. We’ll help you seek every dollar you deserve and work on your case on your behalf while you focus on recovering. It only takes one call to get started, so don’t wait. Contact us today for your free case review.