If you were hurt at work and are searching from Concord for a workers’ compensation lawyer, start with the North Carolina process. This guide points you to North Carolina’s five-form overview, explains how the wage statement relates to your benefit rate, and outlines the method behind a permanent partial disability rating calculation.
For a conversation about your questions, the contact below is for The Law Offices of Bradley H. Smith in Charlotte. You can read the guides first or call with the questions you want to discuss. Keep the North Carolina workers’ compensation hub open as your starting point for the fuller explanation.
How North Carolina workers’ comp works, in five forms
For the five-form overview, go to the NC hub’s entries on Form 18, Form 19, average weekly wage / Form 22, the NC wage statement, Forms 60/61/63, and Form 25C.
The wage statement matters because your benefit rate is calculated from it. Average weekly wage is the wage concept used in that calculation; the form number identifies the North Carolina paperwork. If your question is about the wages behind your benefit rate, start with that entry.
The questions Concord readers ask
Where should I start if I do not understand my benefit rate?
Start with average weekly wage, the wage concept behind your benefit-rate calculation. The North Carolina wage statement, labeled Form 22, supplies the wage information for that calculation. To understand the rate, begin with the wages used to calculate it. Read the average weekly wage guide.
What should I read if I had just started the job?
The NC hub’s companion guide covers the new-employee calculation question: read how workers’ comp is calculated for a new employee.
Where can I read about requesting a hearing?
For that process question, continue to the site’s North Carolina workers’ comp hearing-request guide.
How a permanent partial disability rating becomes money
Brad explains the rating calculation as a sequence: apply the disability rating percentage to the applicable number of scheduled weeks, then multiply the resulting weeks by the compensation rate.
Rating percentage x applicable scheduled weeks x compensation rate = rating calculation.
The percentage is one input. The weeks and compensation rate are the other inputs in that method. To follow the math, ask to see each input identified before the multiplication, then work through the steps in that order.
Use this method to organize your questions about the arithmetic. Ask a lawyer to identify the applicable North Carolina inputs before working through a calculation for your claim. If your next question concerns settlement, continue with how North Carolina workers’ compensation settlements are calculated and whether to settle a workers’ compensation case. Ask how the rating calculation fits into that discussion.
Working with a Workers’ Compensation Specialist from Concord
The contact point for this guide is The Law Offices of Bradley H. Smith, 3117 Whiting Avenue, Suite 211, Charlotte, NC 28205. Office visits by appointment only. Call (980) 281-9984.
Concord is a service area for the firm: clients from Concord are served from the Charlotte office, by appointment.
For your first call, use your questions to set the agenda. Make a short list before you call. You might start with what happened at work, the paperwork you have, and what you want to understand next. If your concern is the calculation, ask about average weekly wage. If you want to discuss a rating or a hearing request, raise that question at the start.
Ask what information to have ready and how to arrange an appointment. You can also read about Bradley H. Smith and use the contact page for the Charlotte office details.
Talk through your next question
Bring the questions you want answered, whether it concerns your average weekly wage, returning to work, or a second opinion on medical treatment.
Bradley H. Smith, Certified as a Specialist in Workers’ Compensation Law by the North Carolina State Bar. Licensed in NC and SC. No fee unless we recover. Call (980) 281-9984.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the office listed on this page?
The Law Offices of Bradley H. Smith is at 3117 Whiting Avenue, Suite 211, Charlotte, NC 28205. Office visits by appointment only. Call (980) 281-9984 to ask about an appointment. Use the contact page to review the Charlotte office information before planning a visit.
What should I read about average weekly wage?
Start with the average weekly wage guide, which addresses the wage statement used to calculate your benefit rate. The form that matters for this calculation is called a Form 22. If you had just started the job, continue with the separate new-employee calculation guide linked above.
How does a disability rating percentage factor into my settlement?
Brad’s method also uses the applicable scheduled weeks and your compensation rate. Apply the percentage to the weeks, then multiply by the rate. Ask to see those inputs when discussing the calculation. This page explains the sequence without supplying the North Carolina schedule or an estimate for your claim.
Last updated: September 22, 2026.
Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Case examples are shared with client details anonymized. This page is general information about North Carolina law, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case is different. Talk to a lawyer about yours.