North Carolina General Statutes 97-17. Settlements allowed in accordance with Article
(a) This article does not prevent settlements made by and between the employee and employer so long as the amount of compensation and the time and manner of payment are in accordance with the provisions of this Article. A copy of a settlement agreement shall be filed by the employer with and approved by the Commission. No party to any agreement for compensation approved by the Commission shall deny the truth of the matters contained in the settlement agreement, unless the party is able to show to the satisfaction of the Commission that there has been error due to fraud, misrepresentation, undue influence or mutual mistake, in which event the Commission may set aside the agreement. Except as provided in this subsection, the decision of the Commission to approve a settlement agreement is final and is not subject to review or collateral attack.
(b) The Commission shall not approve a settlement agreement under this section, unless all of the following conditions are satisfied:
(1) The settlement agreement is deemed by the Commission to be fair and just, and that the interests of all of the parties and of any person, including a health benefit plan that paid medical expenses of the employee have been considered.
Terms Used In North Carolina General Statutes 97-17
- Commission: means the North Carolina Industrial Commission, to be created under the provisions of this Article. See North Carolina General Statutes 97-2
- compensation: means the money allowance payable to an employee or to his dependents as provided for in this Article, and includes funeral benefits provided herein. See North Carolina General Statutes 97-2
- employee: means every person engaged in an employment under any appointment or contract of hire or apprenticeship, express or implied, oral or written, including aliens, and also minors, whether lawfully or unlawfully employed, but excluding persons whose employment is both casual and not in the course of the trade, business, profession, or occupation of his employer, and as relating to those so employed by the State, the term "employee" shall include all officers and employees of the State, including such as are elected by the people, or by the General Assembly, or appointed by the Governor to serve on a per diem, part-time or fee basis, either with or without the confirmation of the Senate; as relating to municipal corporations and political subdivisions of the State, the term "employee" shall include all officers and employees thereof, including such as are elected by the people. See North Carolina General Statutes 97-2
- employer: means the State and all political subdivisions thereof, all public and quasi-public corporations therein, every person carrying on any employment, and the legal representative of a deceased person or the receiver or trustee of any person. See North Carolina General Statutes 97-2
- following: when used by way of reference to any section of a statute, shall be construed to mean the section next preceding or next following that in which such reference is made; unless when some other section is expressly designated in such reference. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
- Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
- Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
- person: means individual, partnership, association or corporation. See North Carolina General Statutes 97-2
- Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
(2) The settlement agreement contains a list of all of the known medical expenses of the employee related to the injury to the date of the settlement agreement, including medical expenses that the employer or carrier disputes, and a list of medical expenses, if any, that will be paid by the employer under the settlement agreement.
(3) The settlement agreement contains a finding that the positions of all of the parties to the agreement are reasonable as to the payment of medical expenses.
It is not necessary, however, to satisfy the condition in subdivision (2) of this subsection when in the settlement agreement the employer agrees to pay all medical expenses of the employee related to the injury to the date of the settlement agreement.
(c) In determining whether the positions of all of the parties to the agreement are reasonable as to the payment of medical expenses under subdivision (3) of subsection (b) of this section, the Commission shall consider all of the following:
(1) Whether the employer admitted or reasonably denied the employee’s claim for compensation.
(2) The amount of all of the known medical expenses of the employee related to the injury to the date of the settlement agreement, including medical expenses that the employer or carrier disputes.
(3) The need for finality in the litigation.
(d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the application of N.C. Gen. Stat. § 44-49 and N.C. Gen. Stat. § 44-50 to funds in compensation for settlement under this section.
(e) Nothing in this section prevents the parties from reaching a separate contemporaneous agreement resolving issues not covered by this Article. (1929, c. 120, s. 18; 1963, c. 436; 2001-216, s. 2; 2001-487, s. 102(b); 2005-448, s. 3; 2011-287, s. 4.)