Call Us 919-240-4054The North Carolina Court of Appeals ruled last Tuesday that an injured worker and his employer cannot independently agree on a settlement if the North Carolina Industrial Commission has gotten involved in the claim, according to the Triangle Business Journal. Danny Allred was injured in a motor vehicle accident while he was employee of Exceptional […]
Workers' Compensation
Workers’ comp roundtable helps attorneys better help their clients
Johnson & Groninger partner Valerie Johnson organized a roundtable discussion of issues regarding North Carolina Workers’ Compensation on April 12, 2013. The 18th Annual Workers’ Comp Roundtable was held in Raleigh at the North Carolina Advocates for Justice (NCAJ) headquarters on April 12 and was co-led by attorney J. Griffin Morgan of Elliot, Pishko, Morgan, […]
State senator introduces bill to gut regulations protecting workers
State Senator Harry Brown, a business owner, has introduced Senate Bill 174, which, if it became law, would repeal a large number of regulations currently in place at the North Carolina Industrial Commission. Many of these regulations are important for the protection of injured workers. For example, the bill would repeal the regulations governing emergency medical […]
Court of Appeals says that employer had notice of injury, cannot direct medical care
Today, a three-judge panel of the North Carolina Court of Appeals held that an employee of Bank of America did not need to give written notice of his injury, where he was hit by a car while driving at work. The employee called his employer from the car, and several co-workers went to help him, […]
New workers’ compensation book edited by Valerie Johnson is published
The newest guide for workers’ compensation law, North Caroliina Workers’ Compensation Law: A Practical Guide to Success at Every Stage of a Claim, edited by Valerie Johnson and Gina Cammerano of Farah and Cammerano, has been published by LexisNexis. The book is designed as to serve as a roadmap to North Carolina workers’ comp law, and includes the substantial […]
Controversial workers’ compensation bill signed into law
Last month, the North Carolina legislature passed a bill aimed at workers’ compensation reform. One controversial part to the bill had media leaders and open records activists calling for Gov. Perdue to veto it. According to the Charlotte Observer, the bill restricts public access to the information provided to the Industrial Commission by the Rate Bureau. […]
Valerie Johnson is named Vice Chair of NCAJ Workers’ Compensation Section
North Carolina Advocates for Justice (NCAJ) is an organization of attorneys advocating for people and their rights. At its annual convention in June 2012, Valerie Johnson was named the Vice Chair of the Workers’ Compensation Committee. The Workers’ Compensation Committee focuses on the betterment of the law for injured workers and advocacy in the state […]
Employers who don’t carry workers’ compensation insurance: a North Carolina problem
The Raleigh News and Observer this past weekend highlighted the plight of injured workers whose employers knowingly refuse to carry workers’ compensation insurance. These businesses pocket the insurance money, and get a competitive advantage over businesses that do not carry the insurance. When their employees are injured and there is no insurance company to pay […]
Anniversary of the Hamlet Chicken Processing Plant fire remembered
On Tuesday, September 3, 1991, a 25-foot long fryer vat ignited at Imperial Foood Product’s chicken processing plant in Hamlet, NC. Workers were unable to get out of the plant because management had locked all exits except the main entrance in order to prevent employee theft. The plant had no windows, no fire alarm, no sprinkler system, and […]
Court of Appeals decides two new workers’ compensation cases
On August 2, 2011, the NC Court of Appeals decided the case of Capps v. Southeastern Cable, in which it held that an installer of cable TV and internet services was an employee, and not an independent contractor. The Court based its decision on the conditions of the employment, and gave no weight to the […]