Practice Areas

• Workers' Compensation
• Personal Injury
• Social Security Disability

Firm News

• When the injured worker returned to work he was immediately fired...
  
• Workers Compensation Neck Surgery case...
  
• 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....
  

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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

"If I ever have a friend or co-worker who is injured on the job I would certainly recommend they contact Oxner Thomas + Permar to receive the best service they would ever experience. In my opinion OTP is the #1 law firm in North Carolina."

"I was trying to do it by myself for about 7 months before I finally realized that my employeer was taking advantage of me."

"I will always be grateful to Thomas Clare and OTP law and I highly recommend them to anyone who has an injury and needs an attorney."

"Eric Richardson and Shelby Kernodle were wonderful to me!
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"This was my first time ever needing help from a lawyer.  I can see why you were highly recommended to me."

"You are a 10!"

"My family and I really appreciate all you have done for us."

"Great negotiators!"

"I found Oxner Thomas + Permar just by doing a Google search.  I learned so much in your free book, and I was so glad that you could represent me in my case."

"One word describes you: professional!"

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Five Ways Doctors Can Hurt Your Case

Let’s be clear: We know of no doctors who will deliberately do things to harm your case. But we’ve seen several situations where doctors accidentally make your case a lot more difficult. Here’s five ways:

1. Doesn’t put in his notes everything you tell him. Let’s say the doctor has been treating your right knee for six months. Hobbling around that long will likely cause you pain in your hip and low back, and often it causes problems in your other knee. But if the doctor doesn’t document this early in the case the adjuster will likely deny the necessary treatment early on. The OTP Solution: We give pre-printed notepads to our clients with instructions to list everything they are going to tell the doctor. It helps our clients remember everything and it also give us a second source to prove what was discussed in the doctor’s visit.

2. Mixes up how he believes the law should be with what the law really is. I recently deposed a doctor about refusing to write a prescription for a lawn service and housecleaner. (A deposition is where the lawyer asks witnesses questions which they have to answer under oath.) My client was seriously injured in a workers’ comp accident and he cannot do his own yard and housework anymore. His wife has rheumatoid arthritis and she cannot do much either. The doctor flat out said that workers compensation doesn’t provide for those services. After the deposition was over the insurance attorney, the doctor and I sat around chatting. The doctor then said that workers compensation insurance companies should not have to pay for yardcare. He confused what the law is with what he thought it should be. The OTP Solution: I’m not really interested in hearing “No” when I think the law is on our side. We took the case to hearing and won. Even though the doctor disagreed philosophically I was able to convince the Industrial Commission to stick to the law. They Commission ordered the insurance company to pay for my client’s yard service and housecleaning.

3. Tells you what workers’ compensation will and will not pay for medically. My partner Chip Permar spoke to a injured worker just last week about one of these situations. In this case the client has a pretty messed up knee and will probably need a knee replacement in the next couple of years. His doctor told him flatout: “Workers’ compensation doesn’t pay for knee replacements.” That’s simply not true. Adjusters don’t like to pay for knee replacements because they’re expensive, there is a long recovery period, and once you’ve had one you’ll need another in 10-15 years. But our firm has obtained approval for dozens of these. The OTP Solution: We don’t argue with the doctor, but we know how to ask questions in a way to get the answer we want without the doctor realizing it. For instance in this case while the client had a pre-existing condition (bad knees), this condition was non-disabling (the client had not missed time from work because of them) and although he would likely have had a knee replacement in the future anyway, the surgery was required sooner due to the worker’s comp accident. Whether or not he knew it the doctor gave us all the answers we needed to get the surgery approved.

4. Tells you to sign a Form 21 to get paid for your rating. Doctors are really really smart people. I hate to admit it but they’re probably smarter than lawyers. (Good lawyers are just pushier and never take “No” for an answer when a “Yes” is possible.) But sometimes they go outside of their own field and try to give legal advice. It’s often bad advice. When the doctor sees you for the last time he’ll give you a rating. If you can go back to your old job or make as money in a different job then you are entitled to be paid the rating. But if you cannot go back to your old job and have to look for work and perhaps take a lower paying job then you’re entitled to be paid two-thirds of your wage loss for a period of 300 weeks from the date of your injury. You get to pick whichever way you want to get paid – the rating or the wage loss, whichever pays more. Here’s the catch: If you sign the Form 21 you will have elected the rating route, even if you’re out of work and entitled to much more the other way. The OTP Solution: This is one we have to prevent before it occurs. That’s why we spread the word as aggressively as we can, telling every injured worker who cares to listen. By the way, you can help but spreading the word as well.

5. The absolute worst thing a doctor can do is to put you back to work without restrictions just to save your job. It never ever works. I spoke to an orthopedic surgeon recently whom I admire greatly. He’s done just super work with many of my clients and nearly all of them love him. He’s kind, caring, and has got really good steady hands in the operating room. But he tends to send his patients back to work without any restrictions. In the case we were talking about he assigned a 25% rating to my client’s foot – meaning she’s lost 25% of the use of her foot. But he didn’t give any restrictions against standing up all day on a concrete floor, extended walking, climbing ladders, or any of the other things which common sense tells you my client is going to have a hard time doing. The doctor explained himself by saying that if he gave hard-and-fast restrictions the company would fire the client. The OTP Solution: I was able to get the doctor to elaborate on his position during his deposition. “Basically,” he said “I expect the company to work with the injured employee and take into account her injury. I expect them to act like mature adults.” We were able to show that the employer had not treated the employee fairly – and in fact had immediately ordered her to perform work beyond her capacity. When she wasn’t able to do it they fired her. That’s a situation which we see weekly. Her case is currently pending before the Industrial Commission and we’re doing everything we can to get her weekly checks turned back on before she goes broke.