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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 […]

1. According to the News & Observer piece, NC-OSHA reforms that were implemented after the tragic fire at the chicken plant in Hamlet have begun to slip. The article cites a sharp drop in both inspections and citations: ‘N.C. OSHA inspections and citations have dropped sharply. Total citations sank to […]

In Capps v. Southeastern Cable, the employee was hired by Southeastern to install cable TV an internet service for Time Warner cable customers. Southeastern told its installers that they were being hired as independent contractors rather than employees. Installers were required to provide a certificate of insurance showing that they […]

N.C.G.S. 97-22 requires an injured employee to provide the employer ‘written notice of the accident’ within 30 days (emphasis added). In Gregory v. W.A. Brown & Sons (Gregory II), the Court of Appeals has concluded that an employer who had actual notice of an accident was not prejudiced by the […]

Big business and insurance company lobbyists have pressured some of our legislators to file a bill, House Bill 709, that is a radical attack on the rights of injured workers. The bill has many objectionable provisions, but here are some of the worst: With few exceptions, the bill limits both […]

Over the last two weeks, our firm represented a man who lost his leg in a workplace injury. Everyone agreed the workplace was exceedingly dangerous. Worker’s compensation paid for his medical bills and provided him with a modest income for a period of time. Eventually, our client settled with his […]