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 Court of Appeals
NC Court of Appeals supports employment contract claim
In Lockett v. Sister-2-Sister Solutions, Inc., the North Carolina Court of Appeals reversed the dismissal of a breach of contract claim based on the plaintiff’s employment. In this case, the plaintiff had an employment contract with the defendant that provided that he could only be fired for cause. The Court held that “an employment relationship that […]
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 […]
Latest workers’ compensation opinion from NC Court of Appeals
On September 21, 2010, the North Carolina Court of Appeals released its latest batch of opinions, which included one published case on workers’ compensation. In Pope v. Johns Manville, the Court issued a second opinion in this case after granting defendants’ petition for rehearing. The Court’s first opinion in this case, issued earlier this year, […]