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- 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....
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)
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."
Workers' Compensation
Some Workers' Comp lawyers are ripping off injured workers
Strong words, I know. But it's true.The Industrial Commission awards attorneys' fees of 25%. In only the rarest of circumstances will they award 33%. (By rare, I mean in about 1 out of 10,000 cases.) So any attorney who says they'll charge 33% if you don't settle your case at mediation is really just trying to intimidate you into settling rather than taking your case to a hearing. Now there are many good reasons to settle at mediation rather than going to a hearing. But doing so out of fear of what YOUR OWN attorney will do to you is certainly not one of them.
Another way lawyers are ripping off their clients is by charging 10 -15% of their weekly checks even if nothing is going on in the case. We believe the only reason an attorney should get 25% of the settlement at the end of the case is because they haven't been paid anything at all for months or years. Thus all the work the attorney has put in on the case is paid out of the settlement at the end of the claim. But if the lawyer is being paid $100 per week just for keeping your file on his bookshelf, and then he is going to try to take 25% of your money at the end of the claim as well, is being unfair in my opinion.
There's little doubt that I've offended a couple of attorneys out there. I'm probably not welcome in their country club circles. But it strikes me as being hypocritical when we, as lawyers, complain about adjusters who victimize our clients but then do the same ourselves.
For the record: Oxner Thomas + Permar only takes 25% fees in workers' comp claims, and we only take them on amounts we win, negotiate, or obtain for you.
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Our book
"10 Ways to Wreck Your
Workers Compensation Claim"
Our controversial report
"10 Things Your Insurance Adjuster Won't Tell You"
"Deny & Buy" - Confessions of Former Insurance Defense Attorneys
"Lightning Strikes Twice" - How to Avoid Becoming a Victim of Personal Injury Insurance Companies
Download a copy of each book in the Library section or click on a title above, and we'll mail it to you.
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FAQs
Workers' Compensation
The accident wasn't my fault so can I sue my employer?
If I can't sue my employer, can I sue someone else?
What is "Maximum Medical Improvement" and what happens at that point?
Case Studies
Workers' Compensation
What Can Go Wrong with a Return to Light Duty Work.
How a Functional Capacities Evaluation Can Wreck a Claim.
An Example of a Workers' Comp Adjuster Manipulating the Recorded Statement.