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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How Much Will I Pay for A Workers' Compensation Attorney

While many believe it to be unseemly to talk about money, fees and the like we think it is a necessary step toward rebuilding trust between lawyers and the public. It’s unfair to only discuss these fees at the conclusion of some “free consultation." In our offices we are proud of the work we do as attorneys and have long believed that the value we bring to our clients’ cases far exceeds the fees we charge. However we are perplexed, and sometimes outright upset, at what a number of lawyers out there are doing with fees. Virtually all plaintiff’s attorneys (injured workers are the plaintiffs, the employer and insurance companies are the defendants) charge a “contingency fee.” That means that unless a certain event happens the client does not owe a fee. The event in question is getting money from the defendants. When lawyers put in their ads “No fee unless there is a recovery” this is what they mean. Why do we do it this way? Realistically there is probably no way that you can afford to pay an attorney while you are out of work. Even if your claim is accepted and you’re receiving two-thirds of your average weekly wage you probably are really feeling a financial pinch. So we defer any payment in the case until the very end. Under our law, an attorney must seek permission from the North Carolina Industrial Commission before collecting a fee. An attorney may ask for any amount that the client has agreed to but in 99.99% of the time the Industrial Commission is going to approve a fee of 25% of the benefits recovered by the plaintiff. Warning bells should sound if an attorney asks you to sign a workers compensation fee agreement for anything more than 25%.

Now that we’ve told you what the percentage is going to be the next, and more important, question is: 25% of what? That is where it really varies. Many attorneys will begin taking 25% of your weekly benefits as soon as they begin representing you. Their contention is that they are providing a service to you at that moment and they should be paid for it. Some will perform a simple, but legally significant task such as forcing the defendants to formally accept the claim, and then start taking 25% of the ongoing benefits. In our offices we consider this to be inappropriate. That is hardly what we think of by “contingency fee” and we strongly disagree with lawyers who do this. We believe that it is appropriate to only take a fee on new money we get for you. For instance, let’s say you have been getting paid $300.00 per week for the last ten weeks. We force the insurance company to recalculate what you’re supposed to receive and are able to increase your weekly checks to $360.00. You would be paid $600.00 in back pay and then $360.00 weekly thereafter. We would ask the Industrial Commission to award a fee of $150.00 (25% of the back pay) but would not take a fee on the ongoing increased checks of $360.00. The exception to this is a fairly rare event involving Social Security Disability. As described in What on Earth is a Workers Compensation Offset? there is a situation where the Social Security Administration will increase your monthly disability checks if, and only if, we take a fee. All attorneys we know will take a fee if they have to go to a hearing to keep your checks coming to you or to get checks started in the first place. Our rationale for this is that the only reason you are getting checks at that point is because of our representation and defending your interests before the Industrial Commission. Note, however, that many attorneys will ask you to sign a fee agreement giving them 33% if they take the case to a hearing. We believe this to be particularly offensive, and here’s why. A hearing is a ton of work for the attorney and his staff. Many lawyers avoid going to hearings like they avoid having root canals. They’ll do almost anything to get out of them. But generally the only way to not go to hearing is to settle the case. Well, what happens if our client doesn’t want to settle the case? Some lawyers have come up with the idea of putting additional financial pressure on their clients to settle by saying the fee will go up if the case goes to hearing. How does this work? Say the defendants offer a $60,000.00 settlement. The client would get $45,000.00 and the attorney would get $15,000.00. If the lawyer raises his fee to one-third then the client would only get $40,000.00, or two-thirds of the settlement. So the lawyer pressures the client saying “you better settle before hearing or you’ll end up getting less money, even if I win your case.” We think this is completely unfair because the lawyer knows full well the Industrial Commission isn’t going to award a 33% fee just for going to a hearing. When a lawyer pressures a client to settle by using this tactic they are being manipulative and improper. Quite frankly, that is part of what gives lawyers a bad reputation.

Some lawyers will try to take a fee on reimbursements they get for you, such as the mileage the insurance company pays on your trips to the doctor. We see getting you this money as part of our job which results in our deserving the fee at the end of the case. Some lawyers will also try to disguise a fee by calling it an “expense.” Why should a law office charge you 15¢ per copy when you could get the same copy at Kinko’s for half that? Some offices even charge for their letterhead and envelopes when they send you mail. We do not believe in nickel-and-diming you with “expenses” which are really designed to bring money into the firm. Don’t get us wrong; if we spend money to obtain medical records, or on depositions or expert witnesses we will ask to be repaid at the end of the claim. In fact we are required to do so by the North Carolina State Bar. We cannot loan clients money, but we can front expenses as long as we ask to be repaid at the close of the case.