30 days is the first number that matters in North Carolina: your employee should give written notice of the injury within 30 days, and the formal workers' comp claim usually must be filed with the North Carolina Industrial Commission within 2 years.

If the employee was hurt in a work-related vehicle crash around Asheville, especially during summer tourist traffic on I-40, I-26, or unfamiliar mountain roads, the best evidence to gather before hiring a lawyer is:

• Crash report from the responding law enforcement agency
• Photos of vehicle damage, skid marks, road debris, tire failure, and the scene
• Medical records tying the injury to the crash date
• Wage records showing missed time and average weekly pay
• Employer incident report, work assignment, route, and clock-in records
• Witness names and contact information
• Insurance information for every vehicle involved

If this is a straightforward workers' comp claim and your insurer is accepting it, you may not need a lawyer right away. North Carolina workers' comp runs through the Industrial Commission, not regular court, and many basic claims move without much dispute.

You should think seriously about hiring one if liability is unclear, a third party caused the crash, the insurer is denying treatment, the employee cannot return to work, or there may be both a workers' comp claim and a separate injury lawsuit. That overlap is where mistakes get expensive.

For fees, most North Carolina injury and workers' comp lawyers work on contingency, and in comp cases the fee usually must be approved by the Industrial Commission, often around 25%.

Good signs: they explain whether you need them now, ask for the crash report and wage documents, and can separate the comp claim from any third-party case.

Red flags: demanding cash up front for a standard injury case, promising a dollar amount immediately, or pushing you to sign before reviewing the report and insurance coverage.