North Carolina 2025 2025-2026 Regular Session

North Carolina Senate Bill S57 Introduced / Bill

Filed 02/05/2025

                    GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA 
SESSION 2025 
S 	D 
SENATE BILL DRS35030-LR-11A  
 
 
 
Short Title: Workers' Comp/Pay for Hearing Aids & Glasses. 	(Public) 
Sponsors: Senator Hanig (Primary Sponsor). 
Referred to:  
 
*DRS35030 -LR-11A* 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1 
AN ACT AMENDING THE WORKERS' COMPENSATION ACT DEFINITION OF "INJURY 2 
AND PERSONAL INJURY " REGARDING BREAKAGE OR DAMAGE TO 3 
EYEGLASSES AND HEARING AIDS . 4 
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 5 
SECTION 1. G.S. 97-2(6) reads as rewritten: 6 
"(6) Injury. – "Injury and personal injury" shall mean only injury by accident 7 
arising out of and in the course of the employment, and shall not include a 8 
disease in any form, except where it results naturally and unavoidably from 9 
the accident. With respect to back injuries, however, where injury to the back 10 
arises out of and in the course of the employment and is the direct result of a 11 
specific traumatic incident of the work assigned, "injury by accident" shall be 12 
construed to include any disabling physical injury to the back arising out of 13 
and causally related to such incident. Injury shall include breakage or damage 14 
to eyeglasses, hearing aids, dentures, or other prosthetic devices which 15 
function as part of the body; provided, however, that eyeglasses and hearing 16 
aids will not be replaced, repaired, or otherwise compensated for unless injury 17 
to them is incidental to a compensable injury.body." 18 
SECTION 2. This act is effective when it becomes law and applies to claims for 19 
workers' compensation benefits arising prior to, on, or after that date. 20 
FILED SENATE
Feb 5, 2025
S.B. 57
PRINCIPAL CLERK