[trinnity99@yahoo.com]

MY husband hurt his back at work, had surgery. The doctor says he has about 30% lost. He has been going to therapy. They have told him that he can never run again, he will try to go back to work soon. SHould we contact a lawyer or wait and see what they offer. What would be a good amount to ask for. He is a LPN right know, was going to work on RN but this has held him down. He makes about 40K a year and is about 30 Years old.

[Mr. Knowitall]

There are a huge number of factors that go into settlement. The best person to make this assessment is a lawyer who knows the details of your case and medical history.

You may be able to get some information from other injured workers, in this forum.

[TalkingHead]

Trinity,

I am able to pass along some general information regarding NC's Worker's Comp. law. An attorney specializing in WC will be able to guide you through the process. For more detail, you should review North Carolina General Statutes, Chapter 75, especially 75-31 for "scheduled injuries." Also, the website of the N.C. Industrial Commission may be helpful.

To start, you should know that the employee has a duty to notify the employer of the injury within 30 days. I'm assuming that this is met since you are talking about a possible settlement. This is most commonly satisfied by an accident report. Next, you should be aware that the employee has 2 years from the time of the accident to file a claim with the North Carolina Industrial Commission. If you settle between now and then, obviously no need to file your claim.

A difficulty in cases of back injury is the requirement that there be a "specific traumatic event" that caused the injury. In other words, if your husband was lifting a heavy tray of medical instruments and had an onset of paid and reproted it, this would be met. But, it would not be good news if your husband experienced gradual pain over time.

To your question about settlement value, since your husband will not likely suffer any wage loss in the future due to this injury (I'm guessing he can still perform his job, since they are sending him back to work?), you would probably be best looking to N.C.G.S. 97-31 for your remedy. Under 97-31, your husband is entitled to 2/3 of his wages (NOT TAXED) for 100 weeks (the back is listed at 300 weeks and a 30% disability = 100 weeks).

2/3 of weekly wage * 100 weeks is a good guideline. You should note that your husband is entitled to this amount under 97-31 no matter how soon he returns to work.

Hopefully, the employer has been paying for the rehab and medical treatments already, but if not, the employer will be liable for this as well.

Hope that this gets you started.