Serious Help for Serious Injuries

When you are out of work with an authorized treating physician’s note, North Carolina workers' compensation pays two-thirds of your average weekly wage (including overtime) for the 52 weeks before your injury. The North Carolina Industrial Commission sets the maximum weekly benefit at $1,446 for 2026 injuries. Payments are entirely tax-free, so most injured workers find that the benefit closely approximates their actual take-home pay.

Workers' compensation in North Carolina covers a job injury even when the employee caused the accident. The compensability standard under Chapter 97 of the N.C. General Statutes requires only that the worker was acting within the course and scope of employment when the injury occurred.

Workers' compensation covers occupational diseases and work-related illnesses listed as scheduled conditions under Chapter 97 of the N.C. General Statutes. Attorney Perry Morrison has personally handled more than 150 occupational disease claims in North Carolina, including cases involving workplace hearing loss from prolonged noise exposure.

Yes — North Carolina workers' compensation recipients may simultaneously apply for and receive Social Security Disability benefits. However, the Social Security Administration applies an offset rule that reduces SSDI payments when combined benefits exceed 80 percent of the claimant's average pre-disability monthly earnings. Attorney Perry Morrison advises to come in for a free consultation BEFORE applying for Social Security Disability while your Workers Compensation claim is ongoing. There is something very important you should know.

Social Security Disability Insurance is a Title II benefit funded by an applicant's own payroll tax contributions while working. SSI is a Title XVI benefit drawn from federal revenues and reserved for disabled people who meet the Social Security Administration's income and asset poverty thresholds, regardless of work history.

Social Security denied approximately 62 percent of all initial disability applications in fiscal year 2024, typically because the agency determined the applicant retains some capacity for substantial gainful activity. High SSA caseload backlogs drive that rate, making representation by an experienced Eastern North Carolina disability attorney essential from the first denial. I am located in Wilson, but I regularly represent people from about 18 counties in Eastern North Carolina.

Yes — most initial Social Security disability applications are denied regardless of condition severity, and appealing is nearly always the right path. Claimants must file a Reconsideration request within 60 days of the denial letter. An experienced Wilson disability attorney strengthens the case at reconsideration and every stage that follows.

As of early 2025, Social Security disability appeals in North Carolina average about 26 months from beginning to end, take 3 to 9 months at the Reconsideration stage and an average of 9 months thereafter to reach an Administrative Law Judge hearing. Claimants who reach multiple appeal levels should expect the total process to span over three years.

Hiring attorney Perry Morrison for a Social Security disability or workers' compensation claim costs nothing unless you win. Social Security disability attorney fees are capped by federal law at 25 percent of past-due benefits, and there is a further limiting cap of those fees that is tied to the COLA received by SSD recipients each year. Workers' compensation fees are similarly regulated and approved by the North Carolina Industrial Commission (generally at 25 percent) before payment.