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One of the most common questions my clients with workplace injuries ask me is whether they can sue their employer for negligence. This question is not surprising, and it doesn’t mean that my clients are litigious gold-diggers. The workers’ compensation system provides only a limited recovery to injured workers, without […]

On Thursday, the General Assembly confirmed Andrew T. Heath as Governor McCrory’s first appointed Commissioner to the North Carolina Industrial Commission. We have learned today that Mr. Heath has begun his duties. Mr. Heath will assume the role of Chair of the Commission, essentially the head of the agency. He […]

The six Commissioners of the North Carolina Industrial Commission are the chief administrators and judges of the Commission. Guided by the Workers’ Compensation Act, the Commissioners manage the Commission and help set its policies and procedures. The Commissioners also act as the final judges of all contested cases that go […]

In a recently issued case, Evans v. Hendrick Automotive Group, the Court of Appeals affirmed the Industrial Commission’s decision to award workers’ compensation benefits to a woman who was severely injured while returning to her hotel after a dinner party sponsored by her employer. The dinner party was part of […]

It is common knowledge, especially in these dismal economic times, that businesses often hire temporary workers, or “temps,” to cut down on labor costs. By contracting with a temp agency to provide workers, a business can avoid the expenses of hiring a new employee – such as payroll taxes and […]

The statute that governs occupational death claims in North Carolina, Section 97-38, sets a time limit for allowing such claims to proceed. An injured worker’s dependents are eligible for death benefits if her death occurs within (a) 6 years of the injury or occupational disease or (b) 2 years of […]

Two scholars from the University of Georgia recently performed a study of workplace conditions that contribute to workplace injuries, and the findings are eye-opening. According to the article, an employer’s management, organization, and work-life balance have an effect on injury rates. An employer that runs a ‘smooth and effective’ operation […]

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 […]

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 […]

To suspend an employee’s benefits for failure to comply with vocational rehabilitation the employer must file a petition with the Industrial Commission. After a telephonic hearing, the Commission then renders a decision. But what must the employer prove to suspend benefits? In Powe v. Centerpoint Human Resources, the Court of […]