If you’re on workers’ compensation benefits, it’s really important that you continue looking for a job while out of work. It may be really annoying, and feel entirely pointless, but the truth is if you’re not actively looking for a job, you could lose your benefits.
There are three major ways you can prove disability:
- Your doctor has said you are unfit for any kind of work (and you have this in writing).
- You have returned to work at a lower salary (which means you will be earning temporary partial disability).
- You are unsuccessful in your job search due to your inability to work.
In North Carolina, unless otherwise specified by the Industrial Commission or your doctor, the responsibility to prove that you are unemployable falls with you, the injured party. Therefore, you need to be applying for jobs, even if you know you are physically unable to do them. Showing that you are making the effort will prove that your inability to find work is not because you aren’t trying, and instead because you are not unemployable.
When dealing with a workers’ compensation case, there are a lot of things like looking for a job that seem trivial when they are actually very important. The best thing you can do when dealing with a workman’s comp claim is to find an experienced attorney who can help guide you through the process. Don’t get tripped up by invisible red-tape or legality that you didn’t know about.
