Are you missing out on workers’ comp benefits?

Debra* walked into our office with a pile of papers. She wanted every penny that she was owed from her workers’ compensation carrier, and she intends to get it. We combed over the information and asked her what checks she had been receiving since she went out of work for her knee injury four months ago. It took only a few minutes before we discovered what Debra was missing.

NC workers’ compensation benefits are meant to replace income. Injured workers should receive two-thirds of the pay they received over the last year when they are out of work. Many times that is easy to figure out: just divide by 52 weeks to get a number, and take 2/3 of that number. But many things can make the equation more complicated. What if the injured worker had not worked a full year? Or had just become permanent after working in a low-paying internship? Or what if the worker had, like Debra, taken time off to care for a family member?

The problem with Debra’s pay was that she was receiving only about half of her pay, instead of two-thirds. The insurance company had taken her last year’s wages and divided them by 52. What they should have done was divide them by 39. The difference was about $200 every week.

If you think you could be missing money from your workers’ compensation check, don’t hesitate to contact Valerie Johnson at Johnson & Groninger. We are here to help.

*”Debra” is a combination of real situations and not the real name of a client. We take client confidentiality very seriously.