North Carolina Workers’ Compensation
North Carolina Workers’ Compensation, Explained
Hurt on the job in North Carolina and drowning in paperwork nobody explained? This is the plain-English home for how the system actually works — the forms, the deadlines, the wage math, and the videos where Bradley H. Smith, certified as a specialist in workers’ compensation law by the North Carolina State Bar, walks through real cases.
Start here: the one form that sets what your case is worth
Form 22 & Your Average Weekly Wage. Nearly every dollar in a workers’ comp case — your weekly check, your settlement — is calculated from one number on one form. In a real case, a corrected Form 22 raised a client’s rate from $775.01 to $1,254 a week — the statutory maximum for that year. Every NC weekly rate is capped at the Industrial Commission maximum for your year of injury ($1,446 for 2026), and every case turns on its own wage records. Watch the video and run the 5-step check.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
The five forms that run your claim
Five pieces of paper do most of the work in a North Carolina claim — four of them in the opening weeks, and one that shows up later. Here’s what each one actually is:
Form 18 — your notice
The form YOU file telling the Industrial Commission you were hurt. File it within two years of the accident or the claim can be barred. Don’t wait for anyone’s permission to file it.
Form 19 — their notice
The employer’s report of your accident to the Industrial Commission. It is not your claim — a Form 19 without your Form 18 protects nobody but them.
Form 22 — the money form
The wage statement your entire benefit rate is calculated from. The one covered in the guide above — and the one most worth checking.
Form 60, 61, or 63 Section 1/Section 2 — the answer
Generally, within 30 days the carrier will admit your claim (Form 60), deny it (Form 61), or start paying without admitting liability (Form 63 Section 1). A Form 63 Section 1 is not a definitive acceptance — it opens a 90-day window in which the carrier can still contest the claim and stop payments. Sometimes the carrier will file a Form 63 Section 2, which allows the carrier to simply pay for medical treatment but still reserve the right to deny your case. Which one you received changes everything about your next step.
Form 25C — the rehabilitation professional’s records authorization
Not a claim-opening form. You are asked to sign it when a rehabilitation professional (often a nurse case manager) is assigned to your claim, and it lets them obtain records of your current treatment related to your injury.
The three questions that bring people here
“My checks just stopped.”
Weekly benefits can lawfully stop several ways in North Carolina: you return to work, the case settles, the Industrial Commission approves a Form 24 or orders it, the carrier contests the claim inside a Form 63 without-prejudice window, or you reach the 500-week cap on temporary total disability. If none of those fits what happened to you, the stoppage may not have been legal — and a Form 23 is the application to get benefits reinstated.
“They made me a settlement offer.”
A settlement is a price for your future benefits — and the first offer is almost never the real number. Before you sign anything, read Should I Settle My Workers’ Comp Case in NC? and How Are Workers’ Comp Settlements Calculated in North Carolina?
“They’re ignoring me.”
Silence is a strategy — until the dispute is on the record. Here’s what actually happens at a workers’ comp hearing in NC — no jury, no courtroom drama, and most cases resolve before the hearing room.
Watch the guides
New videos publish every month. The current one: The 38% Form 22 Error — how one wage form underpaid a client by 38%, and the five checks to run this week.
More short answers from Brad: the Video Center.
When you’re past the reading
If you’re at stopped checks, a denial, a lowball rate, or an offer with a deadline — that’s no longer a paperwork problem. Talk to a Charlotte workers’ compensation lawyer. Bradley H. Smith is certified as a specialist in workers’ compensation law by the North Carolina State Bar and is licensed in NC and SC. No attorney’s fee unless we recover.
Common questions
Where do NC workers’ comp claims get decided?
Not in a civil court proceeding. Claims run through the North Carolina Industrial Commission, which has its own forms, deadlines, and hearing process — which involves presenting evidence by way of documents and testimony in front of a deputy commissioner – not exactly a TV courtroom.
How long do I have to report a work injury in NC?
Report it to your employer in writing within 30 days, and file a Form 18 with the Industrial Commission within two years of the accident. Miss the two-year window and the claim may be barred.
Do I need a lawyer for a workers’ comp claim?
Not always. But the carrier calculates your wage, pays your checks, and manages your medical care — and the errors run in their favor. Having the math checked costs nothing up front.
Last updated: July 28, 2026. This page is general legal information, not legal advice. Every case is different. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.