Call Us 919-240-4054The text of the NCAJ’s post is reproduced below: RALEIGH, N.C. (May 26 , 2011) – An agreement has been reached on specific adjustments to HB 709, commonly referred to as the Workers’ Compensation Reform Bill. Parties including politicians, the NC Chamber of Commerce, the NC Advocates for Justice, the North Carolina Republican Attorneys Association, […]
Workers' Compensation
Court sides with plaintiff, dismissing appeal in workers’ comp case
In Evans v. Hendrick Automotive Group, the North Carolina Court of Appeals ruled that defendants improperly appealed a non-final decision of the Industrial Commission, and dismissing their appeal. Ms. Evans was an office manager for a Hendrick dealership in Texas. She was injured during a business trip to Charlotte, while she was walking back from an employer-sponsored dinner […]
Valerie speaks at workers’ compensation roundtable
On Friday, Valerie Johnson spoke at the 16th Annual Workers’ Comp Roundtable, a CLE put on by the North Carolina Advocates for Justice. Valerie spoke on how to protect a client’s future health insurance benefits in a workers’ compensation case, including benefits under the State Health Plan.
NC Supreme Court sends parking lot case back to Commission
The North Carolina Supreme Court has sent a tricky workers’ compensation case back the Industrial Commission for additional fact-finding. Cardwell v. Jenkins Cleaner involves a plaintiff who was injured when she slipped on some black ice three feet away from the back door to her office. Our coverage of the Court of Appeals’ split-decision in […]
NC Court of Appeals’ latest decisions on workers’ compensation
The North Carolina Court of Appeals published two opinions on workers’ compensation earlier this month. The first, Blalock v. Southeastern Materials, involved an award of attorneys’ fees as a sanction for unreasonable defense. N.C.G.S. § 97-88.1 permits the Industrial Commission to award a plaintiff the costs of his attorneys’ fees if the case had been defended without […]
NC Court of Appeals rejects workers’ compensation settlement agreement
In Kee v. Caromont Health, Inc., the North Carolina Court of Appeals upheld the Industrial Commission’s rejection of a compromise settlement agreement. The agreement originally reached by the parties involved the defendants paying plaintiff $20,000, the plaintiff resigning from her employment, and the plaintiff releasing all of her employment rights. After plaintiff refused to sign the […]
NC Supreme Court denies review in Taylor v. Town of Garner; win for plaintiff
The North Carolina Supreme Court denied the defendants’ petition for discretionary review (PDR) in Taylor v. Town of Garner. The Court of Appeals decided earlier this year that Officer Taylor is entitled to workers’ compensation benefits from the Town of Garner for the injury he suffered while working as a mounter officer at an N.C. […]
Latest COA decisions on workers’ compensation
The North Carolina Court of Appeals published two decisions on workers’ compensation this month. The first case, Kingston v. Lyon Construction, concerns workers’ compensation liens and third-party recoveries. The plaintiff was exposed to asbestos on the job and developed illness as a result. He was awarded workers’ compensation benefits, and brought and settled tort cases against manufacturers […]
NC Court of Appeals rejects workers’ comp claim as time-barred
In an opinion issued two weeks ago, Johnston v. Duke University Medical Center, the North Carolina Court of Appeals concluded that the plaintiff’s occupational disease workers’ compensation claim was time-barred. The plaintiff had been a nurse at Duke, and developed several conditions in her left foot: plantar fasciitis, tarsal tunnel syndrome, and Achilles tendinopathy. These conditions developed […]
NC Court of Appeals rejects another Woodson claim
Earlier this month, the North Carolina Court of Appeals issued an opinion concerning the viability of plaintiff’s Woodson claim — a wrongful death tort action based on an injury sustained at work. In Valenzuela v. Pallet Express Inc., the Court once again rejected a Woodson in what seemed to be an egregious case. Typically, plaintiffs injured […]
