McAuley v. N.C. A&T State Univ.

Summary

The Court held that an injured employee’s timely workers’ compensation claim invokes the Industrial Commission’s jurisdiction over the injury and a dependent’s later claim for death benefits arising from that injury. It concluded that the statutory reference to filing “a claim,” the legislative history removing a separate death-claim filing requirement, and liberal construction of the Workers’ Compensation Act do not require the dependent to file a separate claim within two years. The Court reversed the Court of Appeals and remanded for further proceedings.