How to File a Form 18

A Form 18 (Notice of Accident to Employer and Claim of Employee) establishes your legal claim of work-related injury.  It is filed with the N.C. Industrial Commission which is the governing agency over most workers’ compensation claims in North Carolina.   The Form 18 must be filed within 2 years of the date of the injury but can also serve as the required 30 days written notice if submitted to your employer within that time frame.

Although an employer has to file a Form 19 with the Industrial Commission if the injured employee misses more than 1 day of work or has incurred more than $2,000.00 in medical treatment, the employee still must file a Form 18 in order to preserve their claim.  Thus, do not be led into a false sense of security that your claim has been filed just because your employer has filed a Form 19.

Click here to see an example of a completed Form 18.  Once you have filled out your form 18 (either typed or handwritten in black ink), you will:

• Send a copy to the Industrial Commission (address listed on the Form 18)
• Send a copy to your employer
• Keep a copy for your files

Some other things to know about filling out a Form 18:

• If you do not know who your employer’s insurance carrier is, you can call the Claims Administration Office at the N.C. Industrial Commission at 1-800-688-8349 to obtain that information.
• You are not required to fill in the spaces in the upper right-hand corner of the form unless you happen to know the I.C. File Number, Employer Code Number, Carrier Code Number, or Employer Federal Employer Identification Number.  Many of these numbers can be obtained from the Form 19 if your employer has filed said form.  If not, the Industrial Commission will supply these numbers when you receive a copy of the Form 18 once the Industrial Commission has filed it.
• When listing the days you have missed from work, you should count partial days as well as whole days you have missed.

If you hire an attorney to handle your workers’ comp claim for you, your attorney will handle filling out all of this paperwork.  All of the information on this site is to be used for general information purposes only.  These materials do not, and are not, intended to constitute legal advice.  You should not act upon any such information without seeking professional legal advice.  You can call us for a free consultation at 1-877-847-4804.

Share This