Truck Driver's Workers' Compensation in NC
Key Takeaways
- North Carolina truck drivers may qualify for workers’ compensation for job-related injuries and occupational illnesses, including medical care and wage benefits.
- Employee drivers and many owner-operators are covered under specific state laws when operating USDOT-licensed commercial vehicles.
- Injured truckers must report workplace injuries within 30 days to protect eligibility for workers’ comp benefits.
- Workers’ compensation can cover medical treatment, wage replacement, vocational rehabilitation, and permanent disability benefits.
- Insurance companies may challenge claims by disputing when or how the injury occurred or blaming pre-existing conditions.
- Legal guidance can help protect benefits if a claim is denied, delayed, or undervalued by an employer or insurer.
Do truck drivers get workers’ compensation benefits when they are injured on the job? In North Carolina, the answer is yes in many situations. Employee truck drivers can recover workers’ compensation benefits from their employers for workplace injuries and occupational illnesses.
Truck drivers in North Carolina are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits under specific rules that apply to truckers whose vehicles are licensed by the U.S. Department of Transportation and under federal regulations that govern motor carriers.
How Workers’ Compensation for Truck Drivers Works in North Carolina
Workers’ compensation insurance for truck drivers functions the same as workers’ compensation for any other employee in North Carolina.
Workers’ comp insurance will pay for reasonable and necessary medical treatment of injuries arising out of your job duties or that occur while you are performing your job. You may also be entitled to partial wage replacement benefits if your doctor keeps you off work or restricts you to light-duty work that pays less than your regular position.
If you are a trucker who was injured on the job, you should first seek medical treatment. You have 30 days to report your injury in writing to your employer, and if you miss the notification deadline, you may be ineligible for benefits. Even though you have the 30 days, it is best to give notification as soon as possible. A text message to a dispatcher or supervisor is sufficient. Make sure to save or screenshot the message.
North Carolina Workers’ Comp Laws for Trucking Companies
Trucking companies in North Carolina are required to provide workers’ compensation insurance if they have three or more employees. The rule applies whether the company is a corporation, a limited liability company, a partnership, or a sole proprietorship.
In addition, North Carolina has specific laws (North Carolina General Statutes 97-19 and 97-19.1) that govern workers’ compensation for truck drivers. The statutes apply specifically to commercial motor vehicle drivers whose vehicles the U.S. Department of Transportation must license. If the truck does not have to be licensed by the USDOT, North Carolina’s regular workers’ compensation laws apply.
Under state law, owner-operators and independent contractors whose vehicles are licensed by the USDOT are considered employees and are covered by the workers’ compensation system. If the truck driver did not buy their own insurance, the trucking company that hired them must provide workers’ comp coverage. That is true regardless of whether the company has three employees, and coverage applies to all levels of contractors: principal, intermediate, and subcontractors.
Ambiguity in North Carolina Laws Regarding Truck Drivers
An ambiguity that currently exists in the law has to do with an exception to the rules in NCGS 27-19.1. If the trucker is an owner-operator driving under their own USDOT number, the carrier for whom they drive may not need to cover their workers’ comp insurance. Small owner-operators can go without coverage to save some money. However, driving without owner-operator workers’ comp coverage is risky and can end up costing much more than the money saved on premiums.
What Does Workers’ Compensation Cover for Truck Drivers?
Workers’ compensation for truck drivers in North Carolina provides reasonable and necessary medical benefits to treat your work injury, including:
- Doctor visits
- Hospital stays
- Diagnostic Studies—X-Rays, CT Scan, MRI, etc.
- Surgery and associated costs
- Physical therapy
- Medication
- Mileage reimbursement for medical appointments
- Vocational Rehabilitation if the injury requires the worker to find new employment and obtain additional training to be able to return to work
You may be eligible for partial wage replacement benefits if your doctor keeps you off work. These include temporary total disability benefits (TTD), paid at two-thirds of your pre-injury average weekly wage, up to a maximum cap. TTD benefits begin after you are off work for seven days. If you are off more than 21 days, you may be compensated for the first seven days off. TTD benefits are available for 500 weeks. You must prove that you have sustained a total loss of earning capacity to receive these benefits after 500 weeks have passed.
If you can return to part-time work that pays less than your pre-injury average weekly wage, you can be paid temporary partial disability (TPD) benefits. These benefits are two-thirds of the difference between your average weekly wage and your current pay.
You may also be entitled to permanent partial disability (PPD) benefits. PPD benefits are paid to compensate an injured worker if his or her injury has resulted in permanent damage to a body part. You can read more about PPD benefits here. BE CAREFUL with PPD benefits—it is common for the insurance company to offer this payment when the injured worker could be entitled to significantly more. Do not sign anything to accept this benefit without first speaking to an experienced workers’ comp attorney.
Should you be unable to return to your pre-injury occupation, vocational rehabilitation may be available to help you learn new skills so you can transfer to a different type of work.
Common Situations Where Truck Drivers’ Claims Are Challenged
Truck drivers often have legitimate injuries they sustained during the course of their employment. However, insurance companies and employers may attempt to deny trucking workers’ comp for a variety of reasons, such as:
- You reported the injury late. Perhaps you thought that a twinge in your back was only a temporary ache that would disappear with over-the-counter medication and rest. It turned out that the pain would not go away and is now affecting your ability to drive your truck, but you did not report it in time. The insurance carrier might argue that you missed the deadline and are no longer entitled to benefits.
- The employer believes the injury did not happen at work. A report of an injury that occurred on the first day back to work after a weekend or a vacation might come under greater scrutiny than one that occurs during the workweek. Employers and insurers may believe the injury occurred elsewhere, and you reported it as a work injury to get benefits.
- You have a pre-existing condition. Prior work injuries or other conditions you knew about before the accident may cause the insurer to deny your claim. Insurance companies will do all they can to blame the current symptoms on the pre-existing condition so they can escape paying benefits.
You need our experienced NC workers’ compensation attorneys to fight for your best interests if your employer or their insurer attempts to deny or undervalue your claim based on invalid arguments.
If you have further questions about North Carolina workers’ compensation, our FAQs provide clear answers to some of the most common concerns injured workers face.
Our NC Workplace Injury Attorneys Are Ready to Help Injured Truckers
Truckers’ workers’ compensation insurance is complicated. Fortunately, you do not have to figure out how the system works on your own. Instead, you can contact the experienced North Carolina truck accident lawyers of Kornbluth Ginsberg Law Group, P.A., for help understanding your rights and seeking the benefits you deserve.
We have decades of combined experience in standing up to employers and insurance companies, and our results reflect that experience. We have secured millions for our injured clients. We are also dedicated to treating our clients the same way we would like to be treated.
Now, it is your turn. Call us 24/7 at 919-980-9895 or contact us online today for a free initial consultation about your workers’ compensation case.
