Meredith Henderson, the North Carolina Industrial Commission’s Executive Secretary, has announced that beginning Monday, September 18, 2017, the Commission will no longer accept Motions or Motion Responses filed by adjusters. The Commission, in conjunction with the North Carolina State Bar, has deemed filing Motions and Responses to be the unlicensed practice of law, in violation […]
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Examining An Injury Resulting from an Eclipse Under North Carolina Law On August 21, 2017, many of us in North Carolina looked up at the sun to view the rare phenomenon of a total or near total eclipse. In most instances, the viewing was done with safety measures in place. As the eclipse occurred during […]
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The Ball v. Bayada Home Health Center, __ N.C. App. ___, (2017), decision is a good reminder that N.C.G.S. § 97-2(5) provides five different methods to calculate average weekly wage, depending on the facts and circumstances of each claim. Determining average weekly wage must be fair and just, meaning that the calculation must reflect what […]
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In Bentley v. Jonathan Piner Construction, the N.C. Court of Appeals addressed when a legal issue would be deemed waived by a party. The Court also addressed whether an injured worker was an independent contractor or employee at the time of his accident, and whether the Defendant was a statutory employer. In Bentley, Plaintiff suffered […]
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On July 20, 2017, Governor Cooper signed into law House Bill 26. The Bill, which passed unanimously in the State Legislature, addressed and reversed portions of the recent Supreme Court decision, Wilkes v. City of Greenville. The Bill was in response to the Court’s determination that the workers’ compensation Parsons presumption applies to any injury […]
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Capen Trucer Carl Anders, II v. Universal Leaf North America In Capen Trucer Carl Anders, II v. Universal Leaf North America, No. COA 16-910, the Plaintiff appealed an Industrial Commission decision denying his claim for additional medical and indemnity benefits allegedly related to a prior compensable injury. The Court of Appeals analyzed the limitations period […]
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In Wilkes v. City of Greenville, __ S.E.2d __, (2017) the North Carolina Supreme agreed with the Court of Appeal’s determination that when compensability is admitted an injured worker is entitled to a presumption that future medical treatment is causally related to the compensable injury. Moreover, the Supreme Court expanded its review to the Russell […]
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In Murray v. Moody, 797 S.E.2d 365 (N.C. Ct. App. 2017), a Wilson County Superior Court entered an “Amended Final Judgment” expressly provided judgment for a lien on damages that a jury awarded in a civil suit in favor of the Employer and Carrier. While Moody was appealing the Amended Final Judgment, he and his […]
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Bell v. Goodyear The Bell decision is guided by the Parsons presumption, (Parsons v. The Pantry, Inc., 485 S.E.2d 867 (1997)) which holds that when additional medical treatment for a compensable injury is required, a rebuttable presumption arises in favor of the claimant that the treatment is directly related to the original compensable injury. The […]
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Snyder v. Goodyear The Snyder decision is guided by Russell v. Lowe’s, 108 N.C. App. 762 (1993), which provides methods to establish a plaintiff is incapable of earning the same wages he had earned before his injury. The relevant method applied Snyder is the second method found in Russell, where a plaintiff presents evidence he […]
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The Thornton decision is guided by the Parsons presumption, which holds that when additional medical treatment for a compensable injury is required, a rebuttable presumption arises in favor of the claimant that the treatment is directly related to the original compensable injury. This claim arose from a back injury that occurred in July 1998 when […]
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In Thompson v. Int’l Paper Co., the N.C. Court of Appeals addressed whether attendant care prescriptions needed to be provided in writing. In Thompson, the plaintiff suffered severe burns as a result of his work accident. He underwent three major skin graft surgeries at the Burn Center. His wife took leave from her job as […]
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Lewis v. Transit Management of Charlotte, __ N.C. App. __ (6 December 2016) In a workers’ compensation claim stemming from a compensable accident occurring in 06/2009, defendants filed no NCIC form to accept Employee’s claim, but defendants paid Employee almost $14,000.00 in TTD, and defendants paid Employee’s medical care providers almost $9,000.00 in medical compensation. […]
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WILLIFORD v. N.C. DEPT. OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, and N.C. DIV. OF MEDICAL ASSISTANCE (NC Ct. of Appeals, 11/15/16) To be eligible for Medicaid, an applicant who is single and over the age of 65 cannot have more than $2,000.00 in countable assets. The Williford decision addressed the issue of whether Medicare Set-Aside funds […]
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Bentley v. Jonathan Piner Construction (NC Court of Appeals, 9/20/16) Plaintiff suffered a right eye injury on March 3, 2014, when working on a construction site. Defendants denied the claim, arguing that plaintiff was not an employee. The claim was heard by Deputy Commissioner Mary Vilas on December 5, 2014. Deputy Commissioner Vilas suggested that […]
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