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)

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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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DISCLAIMER: Please note that every case is different and these verdicts and settlements, while accurate, do not represent what we may obtain for you in your case.

When is it helpful to LOSE a case

No one likes losing, and we are not exceptions to the rule. But here are two examples of great outcomes for our clients even though it looked bad for them in the beginning.

The first example involved a truck driver we will call Frank. Frank has an accepted workers compensation case with some complicated, and expensive medical treatment potentially down the line. Frank has also applied for Social Security Disability benefits. Frank's SSD claim was turned down twice. That is pretty common. Frank was scheduled to have a SSS hearing before an administrative law judge recently. At the same time Frank had been hoping we would be able to settle his workers compensation claim.

Frank and our attorneys had a couple of problems, which were making things a mess. First, Frank's rehab nurse had set him up with a doctor who only put very modest restrictions on him. There was no way Frank could do every thing his doctor cleared him to do. Second, because of these restrictions - or the lack of them - it was going to be difficult to convince the Social Security judge that Frank had NOT experienced an almost miraculous recovery to the point he was no longer eligible for SSD. Third, because Frank could still potentially get SSD he could not settle his WC claim without setting aside a considerable amount for future medical care. Furthermore it was going to require clearance by SSD even though they had approved no benefits for Frank.  Fourth, Frank's future SSD benefits would be significantly reduced because he was still drawing WC checks. Fifth, the realistic settlement target for WC including weekly checks and medical treatment was so high that the self-insured employer simply could not afford to settle.

So how did it work out? A tip of the hat to our Social Security Disability team for this success. When we appeared in front of the SSD judge Frank conceded that he couldn't prove ongoing disability. In exchange for that the judge went ahead, on the spot, and said he would approve retroactive benefits for a closed period - up to when the doctor gave insufficient restrictions. Because Frank no longer has an ongoing claim for SSD and Medicare then he didn't have to set aside any money out of his WC settlement. Thus Frank was able to settle his WC claim. Having done that Frank was free to go to his own doctors who documented the need for more work restrictions. Now Frank is able to modify his closed SSD award, receive unreduced benefits and Medicare. All because he realized he was going to "lose" part of his SSD case.

The second example involved a restaurant cook we will call Sharon. Sharon's workers compensation claim had been denied without any legitimate basis. While waiting for her WC hearing Sharon was approved for and began receiving full Social Security Disability benefits. We realized that if we won her WC case most of the retroactive weekly checks would go to reimburse SSD. Future SSD benefits would be dramatically reduced to the extent that winning the WC case would result in only a net gain of $250 per month to Sharon. To make things even more complicated we reasonably anticipated that when Sharon won her WC claim the employer would either bring her back to work or aggressively seek to place her in another position. If either of those occurred Sharon would lose her SSD and, more importantly to her, her Medicare.

In Sharon's case it made sense to settle her WC case on a denied basis. This put a large amount of money at her disposal which more than made up for the $250 per month increased income she gave up. Plus it preserved her health insurance through Medicare.

We shouldn't have to remind you that everyone's case is different. There are unique factors in play in each one. So what we can successfully do in one case is not necessarily going to happen in every case. But we hope these two cases illustrate how a thoughtful approach to a complicated problem can work out well.