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 […]
Category: Workers’ Compensation
Workers’ Comp: Employee or Independent Contractor? Court of Appeals Sheds Light
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 […]
Workers’ Comp: Court of Appeals Restores Common Sense to Notice Requirements
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 […]
House Bill 709: A Radical Attack on Injured Workers in North Carolina
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 […]
Contributory negligence law allows negligent contractor to avoid responsibility for workplace injury
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 […]
WC: Nale v. Ethan Allen — No Evidence of Causation
On September 1, 2009, the Court of Appeals (‘COA’) published another batch of opinions, several involving workers’ compensation claims. Among them is Nale v. Ethan Allen, in which the COA reversed the Industrial Commission’s determination that the worker’s left knee injury was caused by the admittedly work-related injury to her […]
NC Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rate May Drop
According to a story published on WRAL.com, the North Carolina Rate Bureau has requested a 9.6% decrease in workers’ compensation insurance rates. If the rate adjustment is approved, North Carolina business could save more than $119 million. The North Carolina Chamber of Commerce is constantly clamoring about the need to […]
Court of Appeals: July Round-Up (Part II)
*Lassiter v. Town of Selma — This is another classic ‘Adams Appeal,’ as touched on briefly in the blog post below. In Adams, the North Carolina Supreme Court held that as long as there is any evidence in the record to support the Commission’s finding of fact, that finding will […]
Court of Appeals: July Round-Up (Part 1)
The Court of Appeals (‘COA’ for short) didn’t have much to say on workers’ compensation issues last month. All of its workers’ compensation opinions were ‘unpublished,’ which means that they are not controlling legal authority. Here’s a brief round-up of the COA’s July opinions: *Spears v. Tyson Foods, Inc. — […]
Explosion at ConAgra Plant in Garner
More than two dozen workers were injured following an explosion at the ConAgra plant in Garner, North Carolina this morning. At least two other employees are unaccounted for several hours after the 11:00 a.m. explosion. Several of the injured workers were taken to the Jaycee Burn Center at UNC Hospital […]
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