Injuries that have delayed symptoms can still be compensable pursuant to the North Carolina Workers’ Compensation Act. There is no rule or requirement that the injury a worker suffers results in immediate symptoms.
The issue, of course, is that workers’ compensation insurance companies will tend to attack the credibility of the injured worker if they do not report their workplace injury immediately. Although an injury may not seem severe at first, symptoms can arise in the hours or days later. This often strikes concern with the injured worker. If injured workers do receive immediate medical treatment after an injury, they may downplay or even not report a problem that turns out later in the following days to be something much more significant. Employers and their insurance companies will use the injured worker’s failure to report issues against them.