North Carolina Workers Compensation Act and History
The North Carolina Workers Compensation Act passed the legislature in 1929. Before then, the only remedy that workers got when they became injured on the job was through common law. At common law, the worker had a right to a jury trial, but did not have a speedy remedy. Over time the legislatures in many states decided that it was necessary to pass a Workers Compensation law which would provide reasonable results for both employers and employees. The employees needed to be paid fairly and quickly for their injuries. In addition, the employers needed to be able to have limited liability. The Workers Compensation Act did not take away all common law rights and remedies, but limited them to acts outside of employment.
Under the North Carolina Workers Compensation Act, the employee no longer needs to prove negligence on part of the employer. The driving philosophy behind this act is to treat injuries and accidents as a cost of production. The purpose is to make the industry take care of its own problems and injuries. This Act, however, was certainly not meant to provide general health insurance for workers. The most important aspect of the Act explained that the injury must arise out of and be in the course and scope of employment in order to be compensable.