Call Us 919-240-4054Last 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. […]
Industrial Commission
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 […]
Valerie Johnson presents at workers’ compensation roundtable
On March 5, 2012, Valerie Johnson spoke at the North Carolina Advocates for Justice (NCAJ) workers’ compensation roundtable in Concord, North Carolina. Valerie spoke on appeal of Deputy Commissioner decisions to the Full Commission. Valerie prepared the following materials for the presentation: Top Ten Things to Remember for Practice before the Full Commission Appendix to […]
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 […]