What is Form 18B in a North Carolina Workers Compensation Case?

Form 18B is titled Claim by Employee, Representative or Dependent for Benefits for Lung Disease. This form is to be filled if an employee has been diagnosed with lung disease that was caused by employment and wants benefits for it.  In this case, lung disease includes asbestosis, silicosis and byssinosis. They must include the date of diagnosis, provide the doctor who made the diagnosis and attach all pertinent medical records for the diagnosis. This is similar to a traditional Form 18 but, instead, is intended only for the purposes of cases resulting in lung disease.

The employee must disclose the place of employment that they were working at that pertains to the diagnosis of the lung disease. They must also include their employment history for every job where exposure may have occurred so that the Industrial Commission can check into each of them. It is important in cases like this that the place of employment that caused the lung disease be properly determined because they will be the ones issuing the benefits to the employee.

The employee must also disclose the name and address of every doctor and/or hospital that they had been treated in for the 20 years prior to the diagnosis. They must also put for what purpose they were treated if they know. Signing this form gives any of those doctors and hospitals to release any medical records to parties that are reviewing their workers compensation claim. It is very important that this form is filed out correctly so that anyone reviewing the claim knows which physicians they need to be in contact with.

As with all other forms dealing with a worker’s compensation claim, the original of this form must be returned to the Industrial Commission. A copy of the signed form should be furnished to their employer and they employee should of course keep a copy of the completed form for their records.