Form 33 in North Carolina Workers’ Compensation: How to Request a Hearing Before the Industrial Commission

What Is Form 33 In A North Carolina Workers’ Compensation Claim?

Form 33 is the Commission’s form for requesting a hearing. Its title is “Request that Claim be Assigned for Hearing,” and it is posted on the Commission’s forms page as a PDF. The right it invokes comes from § 97-83: if the employer and employee “fail to reach an agreement in regard to benefits under this Article within 14 days after the employer has written or actual notice of the injury or death, or upon the arising of a dispute under this Article, either party may make application to the Commission for a hearing.” The hearing is held “in the city or county where the injury occurred, unless otherwise authorized by the Commission.”

Two phrases matter. “Either party” means the carrier can file a Form 33 too, for example to argue your disability has ended; when it does, the response form below is yours to file. And “upon the arising of a dispute” means the hearing right is not limited to outright denials; any disagreement about benefits under the Act is enough. The Commission’s guidance to injured workers points straight to this form: if your claim is denied and you want to pursue benefits, you may request a hearing before a Deputy Commissioner by filing a Form 33.

Workers’ compensation is no-fault. North Carolina’s contributory negligence rule, which bars an ordinary injury claim over even 1% of fault, does not apply to a Chapter 97 claim (the exceptions are the § 97-12 intoxication and willful-injury bars). At a Form 33 hearing the questions are whether the injury arose out of and in the course of employment, what disability it caused, and what benefits are owed, not whether you were careless.

When Should I File A Form 33?

Whenever the carrier has done, or refused to do, something you cannot fix by asking. The common triggers:

• The claim was denied on a Form 61. Under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 97-18(c) the denial must state detailed grounds and tell you of your right to request a hearing under § 97-83. The Form 33 is that request; the denied-claim chapter explains how to read the grounds first.
• Benefits are unpaid or were stopped. A Form 33 puts the whole question of what is owed before a Deputy Commissioner (for a simple late check in an accepted claim, the faster route below may fit better).
• Treatment is disputed: surgery not authorized, a referral refused, a change of doctor denied. The medical-motion route under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 97-25 is often quicker.
• The impairment rating is disputed. After your own rating exam under § 97-27(b), if the carrier will not pay the higher rating, a Form 33 puts both ratings before the Commission.
• The average weekly wage is wrong, which lowers every check under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 97-29.
• Compensability is admitted but a body part or condition is not. A Form 60 admits the injury, not that every later condition is related.

What Must The Form 33 State?

The form is short: who the parties are, which claim you mean, and what you want the Deputy Commissioner to decide. A well-prepared Form 33 identifies the employee, the employer and its carrier (with the Commission’s file number if there is one), states the date and nature of the injury in the same ordinary language used on the Form 18, and then describes the dispute: the benefits you contend are owed and the carrier’s position. If the request concerns treatment, name the treatment; if unpaid compensation, state the period; if a rating, state both ratings.

The description of the dispute is what matters. A Deputy Commissioner decides the issues the parties put before the Commission, so a Form 33 that says only “claim denied” invites a narrow hearing, while one that lists compensability, temporary total disability from a stated date, and authorization of a named surgeon’s treatment frames the case the way it should be tried. When the carrier files the Form 33 instead, its stated issues tell you what it intends to prove, and your response should add every issue you want decided at the same time.

What Is The Form 33R Response?

The other side answers on a Form 33R, “Response to Request that Claim be Assigned for Hearing” (PDF). It mirrors the request: the responding party states its position on each issue raised and adds any of its own. When a carrier files a Form 33R to your request, read it as closely as the Form 61; it is the carrier’s theory of the case in writing, and the grounds in the two documents should match. When they do not, remember the inconsistency.

The form works in reverse too. If the carrier files a Form 33 against you, for example to end compensation, the Form 33R is how you contest its position and raise your own issues, such as unpaid medical bills or an understated average weekly wage, so everything is decided in one proceeding. A third form, the Form 33I, exists for intervenors such as a medical provider seeking to be heard on unpaid charges.

What Does Filing A Form 33 Trigger?

Mediation, before anything else. Under the Commission’s rules, 11 NCAC 23G .0101(b), “in any case in which the Commission receives a Form 33 Request that Claim be Assigned for Hearing, the Commission shall order the case to a mediated settlement conference unless doing so would be contrary to the interests of justice.” The order is automatic on receipt of the form.

Under 11 NCAC 23G .0102, the parties may select a certified mediator within 55 days of filing the Form 33, and the conference must be scheduled within 120 days of the mediation order; if the parties do not choose, the Commission appoints one. The employer or carrier pays the $200 Report of Mediator fee under the Commission’s rules. Many claims resolve here, because it is the first time the carrier, its lawyer and the worker sit in one room with a neutral and a full set of records. One exception protects workers without a lawyer: under 11 NCAC 23G .0101(j), unless an unrepresented plaintiff asks to mediate, the Commission enters an order dispensing with mediation.

How Long Until The Deputy Commissioner Hearing, And What Happens There?

If mediation fails, the case is set for an evidentiary hearing before a Deputy Commissioner, ordinarily where the injury occurred. Under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 97-84 the Deputy Commissioner hears the parties “in a summary manner,” decides “based upon the preponderance of the evidence in view of the entire record,” and files an award with findings of fact and rulings of law within 180 days of the close of the hearing record unless extended for good cause. The Commission describes the result as an Opinion and Award with detailed findings and conclusions.

It is a real trial, with sworn testimony, exhibits and usually medical evidence taken by deposition after the live hearing, which is why the record often closes weeks after the hearing date. Either party may appeal to the Full Commission within 15 days of notice of the award under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 97-85, by letter or Form 44, and from there to the Court of Appeals within 30 days under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 97-86, on questions of law only. The hearing-process chapter covers preparation, testimony and appeals.

When Is A Medical Motion Better Than A Form 33?

A Form 33 is the tool when compensability or entitlement is disputed. When the only fight is about treatment inside an accepted claim, § 97-25 is faster. Under § 97-25(b), you may ask the employer in writing for a second-opinion examination; if it is refused or there is no agreement within 14 calendar days, you may ask the Commission to order one at the employer’s expense. Under § 97-25(c), you may ask the Commission to approve a provider of your own choosing if the change is reasonably necessary to effect a cure, provide relief, or lessen the period of disability; request that authorization in writing before you self-refer, because the Commission may give less weight to a provider you saw first. Under § 97-25(f), medical motions are decided by the Commission’s Executive Secretary within 30 days, and emergency motions within five days.

Two more shortcuts exist for accepted claims. For a late check, the Commission’s guidance directs a motion under § 97-18(e) and (g) to the Executive Secretary’s Office for an order compelling payment plus the 10% late-payment penalty. For compensation that was stopped, § 97-18(k) provides a Form 23 application to reinstate, with 14 days for the employer to object and then an informal telephone hearing. Choosing the right track is often the difference between treatment next month and treatment next year; the benefits chapter explains what each benefit is worth.

How Does A Lawyer File The Form 33, And How Is The Lawyer Paid?

A lawyer files the Form 33 on your behalf, frames the issues so the hearing covers everything owed, handles the mediation, takes the medical depositions and tries the case. A carrier’s Form 33R is written by its lawyer; yours should be too.

Fees are not set by the lawyer. Under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 97-90, attorney fees are subject to the approval of the Industrial Commission, which weighs the time invested, the amount involved, the results achieved, whether the fee is fixed or contingent, the customary fee for similar services, and the attorney’s experience and skill. There is no fee unless benefits are recovered. The Act also has a rule for carriers that fight without cause: under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 97-88.1, if the Commission finds a hearing was defended “without reasonable ground,” it may assess the whole cost of the proceedings, including the worker’s attorney fees, on the carrier. Joshua E. Palmer, Attorney at Law reviews denials, stopped benefits and treatment refusals from anywhere in North Carolina for free and will tell you plainly whether a Form 33 or a medical motion is the right next step.