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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Nine Steps to How We Work

1. The initial meeting with you. We'll meet, usually at our office, but sometimes at your house or just over the phone. We'll want to know how you got hurt and what's happened in your case. We'll need to know what you want from us so we
can tell you whether or not we can do that for you. We'll work together to set some goals for your case. If we think we can help you we'll explain what we'd do to reach those goals. We do not charge for this, but you should be willing to
commit an hour or so to this meeting.

2. We'll set up your file. We'll sign a simple, one-page agreement written in plain English saying that you want us to represent you in your case. It states that you agree to pay us a fee if we obtain or keep intact a benefit for you. The Industrial Commission sets those fees, but it's no more than 25% of what we get for you.) Unless we have to go to a hearing to preserve your benefits we do
NOT charge a fee on weekly checks that you're already getting. (We know it's common but we disagree with lawyers who do.) You'll sign some medical releases which allow us to get your records. You'll meet with one of our paralegals who will do a thorough intake with you and set up your file on our computers.

3. We'll notify the Industrial Commission, your employer, and their insurance company that we represent you. We'll prepare the necessary
Industrial Commission forms and notify all involved that we're on your case. From that point forward they will deal with us. If you already had an attorney we'll need them to resign before we can take this step. (We do not encourage people
to switch attorneys, but we understand that some lawyers do an ineffective job representing their clients. They don't return phone calls, they aren't aggressive with the insurance company, and they seem more interested in making a quick buck
than they are in helping you. Thus the Industrial Commission will let you switch lawyers. It doesn't cost you anything extra - the two attorneys will split the fees.)

4. We'll protect your case while you're in treatment. We'll gather your medical records, put in for mileage reimbursements, make sure your treatment proceeds as it should. We'll speak with you regularly so that we know exactly what is going on in your case. We'll monitor all efforts to have you sent back to work. We'll make sure any rehabilitation nurse on your file is putting your interests first.

5. We'll help you evaluate your case for settlement. Once you've reached maximum medical improvement your case will heat up. At this point in your case your doctor will give you a "rating" which documents your permanent loss of
use of your injured body part. The doctor will also give you permanent physical restrictions which may limit your ability to do your regular job. While there are countless variations to this, basically if you can return to your old job you'll
be paid your rating. If you cannot ever return to work again you'll get paid for the rest of your life. If you're like 95% of our clients you're somewhere in between. You'll be entitled to a settlement which takes into account any wage loss you might have in the near future, the difficulty you'll have in finding a new job, and the cost of future medical treatment you may need.

6. We'll shield you from the insurance company. Just as we'll have evaluated your case the adjuster will have done the same thing. She'll have one goal: to close your file as cheaply as possible. And the adjuster knows that the more they mess with you the more likely it is that you'll settle quickly and cheaply. Expect them to play games with your checks so you never know when they're coming. They may assign vocational rehabilitation and ask you to look for a series of jobs you're not
remotely qualified or interested in.

7. We'll take your case to a hearing without any hesitation. Many attorneys do a lot of advertising about how aggressive they are - but then they always settle before actually taking the case to trial. An attorney doesn't earn the respect or fear
of adjusters if everyone knows he'll fold the day before it's time to have the hearing in the case. If the adjuster isn't worried about what will happen if they don't settle you'll never get the highest settlement. With hundreds of cases tried to a reported Opinion and Award our attorneys' track record for going to hearing even in the
tough cases is well-known.

8. We'll be as patient as is necessary. We don't push clients to settle quickly. It's got to make sense and we want to make sure you get the best possible outcome. By being patient we routinely get settlements which are greater than other attorneys had said was possible. But we won't encourage you to pass up good-paying jobs just to increase your workers comp settlement (and our fees). We'll work closely with you to make sure that a settlement makes sense in the big picture, taking into account your financial needs and job possibilities over the long-term.

9. We'll negotiate relentlessly with the insight that comes from experience. That's what comes from having over 80 years of workers compensation experience. Three of our five workers compensation attorneys are among the
2% of North Carolina lawyers who are board certified as specialists in workers compensation. Two spent over thirty years representing insurance companies and bring an inside knowledge of how adjusters think and value claims. Three are certified as mediators, facilitating settlements for hundreds of other cases. It's not an exaggeration to say that we know how to think like an adjuster, how to value
a claim like an adjuster, and how to beat them at their own game.