In Masood v. Erwin Oil Company, the Court of Appeals reversed the decision of the Industrial Commission regarding the payment of interest on an award of medical benefits to the plaintiff. This is the second Court of Appeals decision in Mr Masood’s case, which began because he was denied workers’ compensation benefits after being shot while working at a gas station.
Under N.C.G.S. 97-86.2, plaintiffs are entitled to interest on their workers’ compensation awards if they prevail upon appeal. Mr. Masood was ultimately awarded disability and medical benefits after his case was taken all the way to the North Carolina Supreme Court. While the Commission included interest for his award of disability, it said he was not entitled to any interest on the award of medical benefits. The Court of Appeals disagreed, concluding that Mr. Masood would be entitled to interest if he could show that he was disadvantaged by the inability to pay for care because the company denied his claim after he was injured. The court remanded the case to the Commission for additional findings on “whether there was medically necessary treatment that plaintiff was unable to procure, and whether plaintiff had the ability to pay for this treatment during the time period that it was medically necessary.”
Leto Copeley represents Mr. Masood.