Ask a Lawyer: What Does Workers’ Comp Cover?

Are you a North Carolina worker who was hurt on the job? Board-Certified Workers’ Comp Specialist Attorney Shannon Warf Kovach can be your champion and help you seek the compensation you deserve. Read the following transcript to learn more about workers’ comp and your options.

Speaker 1:
What does workers’ comp cover, generally?

Attorney Shannon Warf Kovach:
Workers’ comp is… It’s set by statute. What it covers is if it’s a compensable claim, they pay for your time when you’re out of work, your lost wages. They pay for your medical bills. Then at the end of the claim, there may be a disability rating. Depending on what type of medical treatment you have, that would be covered. Then there’s ancillary expenses, out-of-pocket for a prescription, mileage, those sorts of things. Those are the main things.

Speaker 1:
Now, do they pay your wages dollar for dollar?

Shannon Warf Kovach:
They don’t pay dollar for dollar. What happens is they go back 52 weeks prior to your date of injury. They’re trying to get an average of what you earned a year prior to your date of injury. Then they divide that by 52 to come up with your average weekly wage. Then that’s reduced by two-thirds. Your lost wages or the amount that you get every week is 66 and two-thirds of your average weekly wage. It’s a little convoluted, but the wages that you get is, they’re not taxable. It kind of comes out in the wash. It’s probably close to what you were getting net anyway.

Speaker 1:
They try to get you as close to your take home. Is there some sort of a cap?

Attorney Shannon Warf Kovach:
For?

Speaker 1:
For wages, so a CEO, a millionaire isn’t going to get 66 and two-thirds of their wages.

Attorney Shannon Warf Kovach:
There is. The state sets a maximum comp rate per year and they also set a minimum. It kind of goes both ways.

Speaker 1:
Okay.

Attorney Shannon Warf Kovach:
But yeah, the high, high wage earners, there is a cap.

Speaker 1:
Okay.

If you were injured while working, you have rights. Let our champions at Lewis & Keller help you fight for them. Contact us today to get your free case review.