Blog

Would you pay the same amount for a car that has been in a wreck as one that has not been in a wreck? If your vehicle requires repair at 25 percent of its value or more, the wreck must be reported on the title. For example, if you own […]

Many people have medical payments coverage under their automobile insurance policy. Medical payments coverage is referred to as medpay. Most people do not even know that they have medpay coverage. Those who do know about medpay coverage do not know what it is for. Medpay coverage reimburses you for healthcare […]

In 2011, the North Carolina legislature passed so-called medical malpractice “reform,” which gives near legal immunity to emergency room medical providers and takes away a North Carolinian’s constitutional right to a jury trial, and substitutes damages caps determined by politicians in Raleigh instead of by 12 citizens in a community. […]

Representative Brad Miller of North Carolina recently introduced the Freedom and Mobility in Banking Act. The purpose of the act is to make it easier for consumers to close their account with one bank and move to another bank or credit union. The act follows recent announcements of fee increases […]

Recently, Bank of America announced that it would charge customers a fee of $5.00 per month in any month that the customer uses a debit card to make a purchase. The move created a firestorm among Bank of America customers, who launched a barrage of email complaints and an Internet […]

Prior to the 2011 amendments, the employer and its insurance company did have access to information about the injured worker’s medical treatment. They were entitled to receive copies of the worker’s medical records for treatment of the workplace injury. Moreover, they could also hire a nurse case manager to attend […]

Many legal commentators interpreted the United States Supreme Court’s April 11 decision in ‘AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion’ as the death knell of consumer class actions. In AT&T, a divided Supreme Court held that the Federal Arbitration Act preempts, or invalidates, any state law which established a higher threshold for enforceability […]

It has long been an axiom of workers’ compensation in North Carolina that the employer ‘directs medical care.’ In other words, once an employer accepts responsibility for a claim, the employer gets to choose the injured worker’s doctor. Obviously, the choice of doctor can have a tremendous impact on an […]

When the World Trade Center was built decades ago, asbestos was used as a building material, including as fireproofing that was sprayed onto the beams of the building during construction. A number of workers who were involved in the construction later developed asbestos related diseases like malignant mesothelioma (a virulent […]

A new national consumer protection agency has begun work on behalf of American consumers. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) was established in June 2010 as part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The new agency is charged with ensuring consumers have the information they need […]