Hurt at work in North Carolina? Deadlines, weekly benefit and how to file

Tell your employer in writing within 30 days. File your claim within 2 years.

Temporary total disability (TTD) compensation can pay two-thirds of your gross (before-tax) wages, up to $1,446 a week in 2026.

Your employer's insurer, not the state, usually decides first. If they deny or delay, the free help listed here can explain your options.

In North Carolina, temporary total disability pays part of your lost wages while your work injury keeps you from working. Your employer's insurance carrier (or a self-insured employer) handles the claim, and disputes are decided by deputy commissioners and the Full Commission of the North Carolina Industrial Commission.

What are my deadlines?How much will I get?Who is my doctor?Claim denied?

Checked against official sources: October 31, 2026.

Deadlines are strict. If you are near one, call the state agency or free help today.

Free tools for North Carolina

Free tools that run in your browser. Nothing you enter is saved or sent until you download, copy or print a document.

Deadline helper

Worked out in your browser. Nothing you enter here is saved or sent.

If you are not sure of the exact day, use the earliest day you think it could be.

Enter the date of injury

We add the number from the law to your date. Nothing is saved.

Benefit estimate calculator

This estimate uses the rule in North Carolina's data: a share of your average weekly wage, up to the state maximum.

Worked out in your browser. Nothing you enter here is saved or sent.

Gross pay per week, as the insurer would figure it. Include regular overtime and tips if they were part of your pay.

Enter your pay

We apply the rule in the law. Nothing is saved.

Written notice to your employer

A letter that tells your employer, in writing, that you were hurt or made sick by your work.

Where the reply should be sent.

Required when you mail it. Not needed if you hand it in person.

In your own words, in English. Keep it short and factual. Do not guess why it happened.

It goes into the letter as you type it.

Other formats

Claim checklist: what to gather and do

A printable list of papers to keep and steps to take.

What you already have

North Carolina
Other formats

Your checklist

Deadlines in North Carolina

Tell your employer
30 days
File your claim
2 years
Waiting period

No wage benefits are paid for the first 7 calendar days of disability. Medical care is paid from the start.

All the details →

Weekly benefit in North Carolina

What it pays
Two-thirds of your gross (before-tax) wages
Maximum
$1,446 a week in 2026
Minimum
$30 a week in 2026
Minimum rule

The weekly benefit is never less than $30 a week.

Applies to
Injuries in 2026 (the maximum for the year of injury applies for the whole claim)

Law: N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 97-2(5), 97-29(a)-(c)

Source: ic.nc.gov

All the details →

Who is your doctor in North Carolina?

Who chooses
Your employer or its insurer chooses

Your employer or its insurance carrier chooses the treating doctor and directs your medical care, subject to orders of the Industrial Commission. In an emergency, if the employer does not provide care, the Commission can order the employer to pay a doctor you called.

You can ask the Industrial Commission to approve a doctor of your own choosing or to order a change of doctor or treatment. You must show the change is reasonably necessary to cure you, give relief, or shorten your disability; first ask in writing. You may also ask your employer in writing for a second-opinion exam; if it refuses or you cannot agree on a doctor within 14 days, you can ask the Commission to order one. If your claim is denied, you may go to any doctor you choose.

Law: N.C. Gen. Stat. § 97-25

Source: ic.nc.gov

Who is covered in North Carolina

Size of employer

In general, any employer that regularly employs 3 or more employees in North Carolina must carry workers' compensation insurance or be approved to self-insure. Corporate officers count as employees for this purpose.

Special rules
  • Work involving radiation: Employers with one or more employees whose work involves the use or presence of radiation must have coverage.
  • Farm labor: Farm laborers are not covered unless the employer regularly employs 10 or more full-time, non-seasonal farm laborers.
  • Trucking owner-operators: Certain trucking owner-operators must be covered even if they are independent contractors; if the owner-operator has no coverage, the motor carrier must provide it, whatever the number of employees. Owner-operators individually licensed by the U.S. DOT who drive the vehicle themselves are an exception.
Not covered
  • Employers that regularly have fewer than 3 employees (unless they buy coverage anyway)
  • Casual employees
  • Domestic servants (household workers)
  • Farm laborers, when fewer than 10 full-time non-seasonal farm laborers are regularly employed
  • Sole proprietors, partners and LLC members, unless they choose coverage for themselves
  • People who sell farm products for producers on commission
  • Federal government employees and railroad employees are covered by federal law, sometimes in addition to state law
Contractors

Principal contractors must get a certificate of coverage from subcontractors; if a subcontractor has no coverage, the contractor above it can be responsible for injuries to the subcontractor's workers. You can report employee misclassification to the Industrial Commission's Criminal Investigations and Employee Classification Division (919-716-1733).

If your employer has no insurance

An employer that must have coverage but does not is still responsible for your benefits: you can claim workers' compensation from that employer at the Industrial Commission or sue it in court, at your choice. The Commission also fines uninsured employers. You can report an uninsured employer to the Commission at fraudcomplaints@ic.nc.gov or 888-891-4895.

Check your employer's insurance

Law: N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 97-13, 97-19, 97-19.1, 97-94

Source: ic.nc.gov

If your claim is denied or delayed in North Carolina

First step

If the carrier denies your claim, you can call the Commission's Information Specialists (free; they explain procedures and forms but cannot give legal advice).

Form
Form 33 Request that Claim be Assigned for Hearing

All the details →

Fired or punished for filing in North Carolina

No one may fire, discriminate or retaliate against you because you, in good faith, filed or threatened to file a workers' compensation claim, started a proceeding, or testified or gave information about one.

The law
Retaliatory Employment Discrimination Act (REDA), N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 95-240 to 95-245
What you may get

If the case goes to court, you can get your job back (or an equal job), your benefits and seniority restored, and lost wages and other money losses (tripled if the violation was willful), plus reasonable costs and attorney fees.

Where to file

File a written complaint with the North Carolina Department of Labor (Commissioner of Labor), online, by mail or by e-mail. You can sue in superior court only after the Department gives you a right-to-sue letter; you then have 90 days to file.

Deadline

Within 180 days of the retaliation.

Law: N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 95-241(a)(1)a., 95-242(a), 95-243

Source: labor.nc.gov

Lawyers' fees and other benefits in North Carolina

The Industrial Commission must approve every attorney fee in a workers' compensation case. An approved fee is taken out of your compensation and paid directly to your attorney by the employer or carrier. Taking a fee the Commission has not approved is a crime.

North Carolina workers' compensation also pays medical care, temporary partial disability, permanent partial disability for lasting impairment (with a right to one second opinion on the rating), vocational rehabilitation, mileage for medical trips of 20 miles or more round trip, death benefits for up to 500 weeks, and up to $10,000 for funeral expenses.

Free help in North Carolina

State agency

North Carolina Industrial Commission

Phone
1-800-688-8349
Address
1240 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1240
Find an office

Free help

Good to know in North Carolina

  • Your employer's injury report is not your claim; you must file your own Form 18 with the Industrial Commission within 2 years.
  • Your right to medical care ends 2 years after the last medical or wage payment unless you apply for more medical care before then (NCIC Bulletin; G.S. 97-25.1).
  • If your claim is denied, you may see any doctor you choose, but the employer can still ask for an independent medical exam.

Changes in 2024–2026

The maximum weekly benefit rose to $1,446 for 2026 injuries (from $1,380 in 2025 and $1,330 in 2024). Session Law 2026-14 (ratified June 11, 2026) raises the minimum weekly benefit from $30 to $50 and raises some fixed dollar amounts in the schedule of injuries (for example, the most the Commission can award for loss of or damage to an important organ not listed elsewhere goes from $20,000 to $40,000), for claims arising on or after July 1, 2027.

Questions about workers' comp in North Carolina

How long do I have to tell my employer about a work injury in North Carolina?

Tell your employer about the accident right away, in writing. The law says written notice must be given immediately or as soon as practicable, and no later than 30 days after the accident.

How long do I have to file a workers' comp claim in North Carolina?

You must file your own claim with the Industrial Commission, usually on Form 18, within 2 years after the accident.

How much does workers' comp pay in North Carolina?

Temporary total disability (TTD) compensation can pay two-thirds of your gross (before-tax) wages, up to $1,446 a week in 2026.

Can I choose my own doctor for a work injury in North Carolina?

Your employer or its insurance carrier chooses the treating doctor and directs your medical care, subject to orders of the Industrial Commission.

Can my employer fire me for filing a workers' comp claim in North Carolina?

No one may fire, discriminate or retaliate against you because you, in good faith, filed or threatened to file a workers' compensation claim, started a proceeding, or testified or gave information about one.

What if my workers' comp claim is denied in North Carolina?

If the carrier denies your claim, you can call the Commission's Information Specialists (free; they explain procedures and forms but cannot give legal advice).

Not about a work injury?

Not about a work injury? Unpaid wages → Wage Claim Map · Hurt in a car crash → Accident Claim Map · A medical bill → Medical Bill Map · Unemployment benefits → Unemployment Claim Map · Other problems → robinclaim.com

Nearby states

Sources