Well, we have NC Workers’ Compensation rules. Finally. On October 16, 2014, the North Carolina Rules Review Commission approved the final ten proposed Industrial Commission Rules. Since no letters of objection were received these rules will go into effect on November 1, 2014. In addition, the remainder of NC workers’ compensation rules and and NC vocational rehabilitation rules, which have been in abeyance, some since 2012, also go into effect on November 1, 2014.
These rules were the result of a lot of hard work by officials of the North Carolina Industrial Commission, the North Carolina Advocates for Justice and representatives of business and industry. While no one likes everything in the final version of these revised NC workers’ compensation rules that is always the case with compromise agreements.
These NC workers’ compensation rules deal with among other things:
* pre-hearing discovery between the parties;
* the process for obtaining medical treatment when the parties disagree on what treatment should be provided;
* appeals of North Carolina Industrial Commission decisions;
* the fees and costs that can be charged by the North Carolina Industrial Commission and the respective responsibility for paying them;
* the rules that guide the provision of vocational rehabilitation in North Carolina Workers’ Compensation cases;
* amendments to various NC Industrial Commission forms including the Form 21 (Agreement for Payment of Compensation), Form 26 (Payment of Additional Compensation) and Form 26A (Admission to right to Permanent Partial Disability).
Workers’ compensation law in North Carolina is comprised of the NC General Statutes (primarily Chapter 97), the North Carolina Workers’ Compensation Rules adopted by the North Carolina Industrial Commission and approved by the Rules Review Commission, and decisions by the appelate courts, the North Carolina Court of Appeals and the North Carolina Supreme Court. The North Carolina Workers’ Comp Rules primarily address procedural issues in NC workers’ comp cases. The North Carolina Industrial Commission applies its NC Workers’ Compensation Rules in the litigation of NC workers’ comp claims.
An effective NC workers’ comp lawyer has to understand all three sources of law as well as the interplay between them. If you have questions about NC workers’ comp law in NC please call or email for your free consultation with a Raleigh NC area workers’ comp lawyer.
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