Call Us 919-240-4054The lawyers of Johnson & Groninger often represent crime victims. But we also firmly believe in due process and civil rights, especially for anyone accused of a crime. If a person is charged with a crime and found not guilty, he should be able to go on with his life. The mere fact of being […]
Law Blog
Valerie Johnson presents at NC Industrial Commission Conference
The North Carolina Industrial Commission (NCIC) Annual Educational Conference is now taking place in Raleigh. The three-day conference is taking place through Friday, October 9 at the Raleigh Convention Center. The conference covers every aspect of North Carolina workers’ compensation law. Valerie Johnson presented on Wednesday, October 8, concerning the newest Industrial Commission Rules, along […]
How not to lose your workers’ comp claim
If workers’ comp were an animal, it might be a liger, a cross between a lion and a tiger. That’s because workers’ comp claims are a crossbreed — the same as filing a lawsuit, but the courts, judges and rules are different. (Judges are called deputy commissioners and the court is called the Industrial Commission.) […]
Injured plaintiff may have the right to get other patients’ medical records
Sometimes in our trial practice, we have cases where we want the jury to be able to see how a patient who is not our client was treated by a healthcare provider. We don’t need the jury to know who the patient was, or any identifying information, just what kind of medical treatment they received. […]
Natural gas workers are inhaling hazardous chemical benzene
Now that North Carolina is poised to start hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) in order to drill for natural gas, we are concerned about the possible health effects on workers in the gas industry. Researchers for the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recently finished a study of workers at six oil and gas sites […]
New edition of North Carolina Workers’ Compensation Law Guidebook
The second edition of North Carolina Workers’ Compensation Law: A Practical Guide to Success at Every Stage of a Claim, co-edited by Valerie Johnson, was released by LexisNexis on July 24. The comprehensive guide to workers’ compensation law provides guidance for the North Carolina lawyer who wants to stay on top of the many recent changes […]
Workers’ Comp 101 class at Labor School
Valerie Johnson taught Workers’ Comp 101 to more than 70 union presidents, stewards and members in Wilmington at UNC-W on July 24. The North Carolina AFL-CIO’s yearly Labor School covers a variety of subjects important to working people. Students learned the nuts and bolts: how and when to report injuries, the meaning of “injury by […]
Court says former employer has to pay workers’ compensation benefits while employee looks for a different job
If you were injured on the job and it took years for you to heal from your injury, would it then be too late to ask your former employer to give you retraining for something different, or help you look for a job? The Court of Appeals recently ruled that where an injured worker provides […]
Court sides with worker who fell for unknown reason
To be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits in North Carolina for an arm injury, an injured worker needs to show that the injury was caused by an “accident”. If an employee injures his arm because of something that is an ordinary event, part of life for everyone, he is ordinarily not entitled to benefits. Sometimes, […]
All NC workers’ comp judges could be fired
Workers in North Carolina are about to be dealt another blow. Hidden in the budget bill being debated by the NC Legislature is a part that allows judges (called deputy commissioners) to be fired without any reason. Seven could lose their jobs in February, seven in August, and the rest six months later. Why should […]