Practice Areas

• Workers' Compensation
• Personal Injury
• Social Security Disability
• Employment Law

Firm News

• When the injured worker returned to work he was immediately fired...
  
• Workers' Compensation: The IC ruled that the employer, who willingly paid the medical claim and workers comp for the employee's foot injury, must also pay for pain management because this injury aggravated the employee's pre-existing fibromyalgia and hypertension and was now considered a chronic condition. Although it is tough to win these claims we can usually do it if we the treating physician will agree that the pre-existing condition is worse now than it was and that this change is due to the worker's comp accident....
  
• Workers' Compensation: The Industrial Commission denied the employee's claim for temporary partial disability compensation. The Commission ruled that the reduction in wages that our client received was because of problems with the company's workload due to the economy. It was determined that he didn't receive less pay because of his injury or from the less-paying job within the company that he had to take because of the injury....
  
• Workers' Compensation: The NC Industrial Commission determined that the employer was required to pay our client's medical bills and also continue workers' compensation payments until our client could find a job with his limited physical capabilities. The employer was unable to find work for him at the company and he was fired, which was unacceptable, although it was explained by the employer as happening because of excessive absences....
  
• Workers' Compensation: The North Carolina Industrial Commission threatened to hold CNA in contempt of court because they refused to authorize the medical tests which would prove that the plaintiff was unable to do his job. This was a classic example of an adjuster getting an opinion from a reliable doctor and then refusing any other evaluation which could help the injured worker....
  
• Workers Compensation: The North Carolina Industrial Commission held that National Benefits Association had wrongfully denied this claim for more than a year...but only when the Industrial Commission finally heard all the evidence -- that the employer admitted that they knew the plaintiff was hurt, that they had sent him to a doctor but didn't follow his direction, and that there was no way our client could do his job with his severely-injured back....
  
• Workers' Compensation: North Carolina Industrial Commission says Liberty Mutual must provide yardcare and housecleaning to an injured brickmason....
  
• Workers' Compensation: North Carolina Industrial Commission rules that a restaurant dishwasher who slipped and fell, and was taken straight to an emergency room has proven that he was injured on the job....
  
• Workers' Compensation: North Carolina Industrial Commission finds that Diebold and Broadspire MUST pay weekly benefits even after they fired the injured worker from her "light duty" job....
  
• Workers' Compensation: North Carolina Industrial Commission rules against The Hartford Insurance Company and holds that a nurse who was still on her employer's property when she was hit by a car is within the course and scope of her employment and entitled to workers' compensation benefits....
  

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Library

Workers' Compensation

• Psssst! Who's that following you?
• NCIC Form 25T: Mileage Reimbursement form
• Form 28T: Notice of Termination of Compensation by Reason of Trial Return to Work
• Form 33R: Response to Request that Claim Be Assigned for Hearing
• 10 Things Your Insurance Adjuster Won't Tell You (download)

Personal Injury

• Lightning Strikes Twice (download book)
• Website Resources for Injury Victims
• Police Report/ Accident Report Samples
• Auto Insurance Declaration Page
• Certificate of Employment

Social Security Disability

• Healthcare Clinics in NC with free service
• Free Clinics in Forsyth County
• Form SSA 3381
• Form SSA 827
• Form SSA 561

General

• Common Legal Terms
• The Ten Worst Insurance Companies

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Testimonials

"Mr. Richardson and Ms. York were always available - and they did a terrific job."

"Chip Permar and his team were outstanding!"

"You showed so much concern for me as a person -- there is such a personal touch to everything you do."

"I don't know what I would have done without you!"

"We were nervous at first, but you put us at ease."

"John and Stephanie were patient with me. Great teamwork!"

"Being injured turned into a life-changing event, but it was comforting to know that you understood me and were only a phone call away."

"You guys are on top of your game."

"I researched law firms on the internet, and I could not have asked for a better attorney."

"Whenever I called I got answers."

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Telling the Truth About Injury Claims

Either you or a loved one have probably been injured. That's why you are here, looking for information. Do you need medical treatment? Are you capable of working? How are you going to pay your bills? And what exactly can you do about this? Should you really trust the insurance company to tell you the whole story about your claim? And how can you decide if you need a lawyer, much less which lawyer to choose?

We’ve helped thousands of people just like you. Yes, we’re lawyers. But we’ll tell you something most attorneys won’t: If you’ve been hurt you may not need us. That’s right. You may not need an attorney. And if you do need an attorney we may not be the right ones for you. What you do need is information, told truthfully, about your case and the law. You probably don’t need a lot of pressure from a law firm trying to get you to sign a contract with them and then never hearing from the lawyer again until he tells you why you should settle your case and let him take a fee.

We don’t believe all Workers' Comp, Social Security Disability, or Accident Injury clients are the same and we hope that you don’t believe all lawyers are the same either. There are differences in lawyers - important differences that make a difference to the outcome to your case. Here’s the first critical difference: we’re not going to try to talk you into hiring us. In fact we’ll offer you every article, report, recording, and book we’ve written on this website. These are yours just for the asking. And we’re not going to make you come in to our office for a “free consultation” that is really a sales pitch. We do this because we’re not able to represent every person who comes to us. Yet we do want all injured workers, whether they’re our clients or not, to have access to the information which will strengthen their claims.

Here’s another difference: just because an attorney is good, very good, at one area of the law doesn’t mean he is good at another type of law. That's why our workers' compensation lawyers just do workers' comp. Our Personal Injury Lawyer concentrates on personal injury cases. And our Social Security Disability attorney has represented hundreds of SSD claimants. We don’t believe we have to be good at everything. We simply excel at what we do.

This distinct mindset is our core belief and it is what sets us apart from other law firms.

If you’ve got questions about what to do next we recommend you dig deeper into this website. Our attorneys are known statewide for balancing aggressive case tactics with the highest of ethics. We’re sick and tired of watching insurance companies push around injured people. So we’re fighting back. Our mission is to help you learn the truth about your claim.

We’re so serious about workers' compensation that we wrote a book on the subject:

“10 Ways To Wreck Your Workers Compensation Claim”

We’re happy to sell you a copy of one of these books but if you’re an injured worker or need this information to assist another injured worker then we’ll send you a copy for free. Just click the above link and give us your name and mailing address. Or if you prefer just call our office at 1-877-924-6363 ext 465, listen to a short message, and leave your name and address. We’ll mail it to you within one business day.

There’s no reason to wreck your claim when we can help you. North Carolina’s legal system is heavily tilted in favor of employers and their big insurance companies. What few rights you do have are often quickly undermined by adjusters. Don’t let this happen to you. Get the information you need to navigate the minefield that is workers compensation law. Don’t think the adjuster is going to do you any favors. S/he has got a job to do – save money for the insurance company. If you want an inside look into how adjusters operate be sure to read our special report:

10 Things Your Adjuster Doesn’t Want You To Know

They may not want you to know, but we will tell you. Just call our office at 1-866-OTP-LAW1 and we will send it to you right away.

We go to bat for our clients and don’t settle easily. Our firm attends hearings 5 to 10 times more often than some of our competitors do. Five of us are board certified as legal specialists in worker's comp. Ask around to find out how many – or rather, how few – of the other attorneys are board certified in our specialty.

We take a tough, no-nonsense approach to our claims. We’re not afraid of going to trial or to Industrial Commission hearings. In fact we take far more cases to hearing than most attorneys. As a result insurance companies have learned that we don’t fold under pressure, and the settlements must always be on our terms, not theirs.

When Martindale-Hubbell did an anonymous review of our lawyers we received the highest possible review, an AV rating. That means our peers, our competition, deputy commissioners and judges described us as having very high ethics.

Five of our attorneys, Todd Oxner, Devin Thomas,  Chip Permar, Amy Berry, and Lou Waple, have been certified as specialists in workers' compensation by the North Carolina State Bar. This honor is the result of years of hard work, continued learning, and hundreds of cases under our belts. Less than 2% of the lawyers in North Carolina have this distinction. While many lawyers advertise that they have experience, we simply point to what the State Bar says about us. We don’t think it makes sense to retain a lawyer who has anything less than the highest possible skill levels.

While our firm is known statewide for our workers' compensation abilities, Eric Richardson has successfully represented hundreds of clients in personal injury claims involving car and truck accidents, construction site accidents, and other types of injury claims. We’ve also built a long track record of assisting clients with Social Security Disability claims. Justin Wraight has successfully won benefits for hundreds of clients who had been denied benefits.

If you have questions about any of these types of law please browse through this website. We attempt to provide a great deal of education on these pages and, as we’ve said, we have a number of materials which we can send to you to review in the comfort and privacy of your own home. Of course we’re happy to speak with you as well and would invite you to call us at 1-866-OTP-LAW1.

Workers' Compensation

Personal Injury

Social Security Disability

Employment Law

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