This issue was addressed by the North Carolina Court of Appeals in Cromartie v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (2022). In this case the injured employee was assigned permanent work restrictions due to her injury at work. The employer wished to offer the injured employee a position which had to be modified in order to fall within her assigned permanent work restrictions. The injured employee refused to perform this position for her employer. The North Carolina Court of Appeals ruled that the injured employee was not required to perform a position for her employer if this position had to be modified in order to fall with her assigned permanent work restrictions. Should you have any questions about this or any of issues involving your work-related injury, please feel free to reach out to one of the Board Certified Workers’ Compensation…Read More
This issue was addressed by the North Carolina Court of Appeals in Richards v. Harris Teeter (2022). This case involved an employee who was a truck driver for his employer, who was involved in a single vehicle accident when his truck ran off the road. Approximately three weeks after this accident the injured employee was terminated by his employer, based on what his employer noted were violations of safety procedures that involved the injured employee’s motor vehicle accident. The employer contended that they had a mandatory return to work program for any workers’ compensation injuries and noted numerous positions the injured employee could have continued to perform for them, if not for his termination. The employer argued that this constituted a “constructive refusal of employment” and based on this the injured employee should not be entitled to receive weekly disability…Read More
There may be some legal arguments that can allow for payment of death benefits due to the employee’s death. This issue was addressed by the North Carolina Court of Appeals in Frye v. Hamrock, LLC (2022). In this case the employee was a dump truck driver who crossed over the double yellow lines on the road and collided with an oncoming vehicle resulting in the employee’s death. The employee was declared dead at the scene of the accident. The employee’s death certificate noted that his cause of death was trauma and motor vehicle collision. However, the employer was able to obtain an autopsy which concluded the cause of death for the employee was a heart attack. Based on the autopsy findings the employer denied liability for the employee’s death while on the job. The North Carolina Court of Appeals ruled…Read More
If there is any evidence that would support the basis for you being awarded benefits, then you should appeal. The evidence can be weighed differently on appeal, and it is definitely worth appealing the initial denial of benefits. This was highlighted recently by the N.C. Court of Appeals in Keenan v. Federal Express Corp. (2024). In this case the injured employee was denied benefits as part of the initial hearing for the case based on the testimony of a physician who the employer required the injured employee to see. This physician testified the injured employee’s shoulder injury was not caused by the accident at work. However, when this decision was appealed the Full Commission panel awarded benefits based on the fact the injured employee’s treating physician testified that the shoulder injured was caused by the accident at work. This was…Read More
As a general rule, an injured employee’s only recourse for a work-related injury is filing a claim for workers’ compensation benefits with the N.C. Industrial Commission. This is called the exclusivity clause. However, there are exceptions to this general rule based on the facts of how the injury occurred at work. As was highlighted by the N.C. Court of Appeals in Estate of Desmond Stephens v. ADP Total Source (2023) and Alderette v. Sunbelt Furniture Express Inc. (2024), there is the basis for an injured employee suing her/his employer or co-worker for the work-related injury when there is evidence of the following: The employer intentionally engaged in misconduct knowing that such misconduct was “substantially certain” to cause injury or death. “Substantial certainty” being more than a mere possibility or substantial probably. A co-worker acted with willful, wanton and reckless negligence…Read More
This is where you begin when you have a claim. This form MUST be filled out completely and submitted to the Industrial Commission when you have been injured on the job. Here are some steps to follow:Read More
The North Carolina Workers’ Compensation Act allows for medical and disability compensation if workers were injured from workplace accidents. It is common for employers to send their injured workers to designated medical facilities soon after the worker reports the workplace accident. In most cases, the employer will request that the medical facility administers a drug test to determine whether illegal drugs or alcohol contributed to the workplace accident. The North Carolina statute that addresses failed drug tests in North Carolina is General Statute §97-12. Cardinal Law Partners has represented injured workers where drug test results have affected their rights to workers’ compensation benefits. If you have a claim where the result of a drug test might have affect your claim, call experienced attorneys from Cardinal Law Partners right away. Can My Employer Ask For A Drug Test? This is a…Read More
Workers’ compensation cases can be in-depth, complicated, and sometimes challenging. In North Carolina, workers’ compensation is designed as a mandatory insurance program to provide compensation for employees who are injured on the job. There are regulations in place to cover things like long-term disability, lost wages, and medical care resulting from work related injuries. If an employee is injured at work, however, and it is determined that they will need physical therapy, some may wonder if physical therapy is part of medical care for workers’ compensation and covered under workers’ compensation. While in many cases, the answer is a simple, “Yes, physical therapy is covered under workers’ comp,” there are exceptions. Physical Therapy And Workers’ Compensation Most often, workers’ comp pays for physical therapy because it is deemed reasonably necessary as a treatment method and is recommended by a treating…Read More
The last thing you need to worry about after being hurt at work is being tasked with picking up prescription medications, obtaining necessary medical equipment, scheduling and remembering when to make hospital visits, and making/keeping appointments. While you may have a loved one to help out, all of that can still feel like a second full-time job. Worker’s compensation insurance carriers sometimes hire nurse case managers to assist injured workers with the aforementioned tasks. In order for a nurse case manager to be as effective as possible, injured individuals must have a complete understanding of both the limits of a nurse case manager’s role as well as the employee’s rights amidst the workers’ compensation process. What Can Nurse Case Managers Do? Most nurse case managers are registered nurses. They act as medical case workers and are essentially liaisons to the…Read More
Why Is Claim Adjuster Not Calling Me Back Or Responding To My Emails? We often receive phone calls from injured workers because the adjuster is not returning phone calls or responding to emails. In many of these situations I hear from the injured worker that everything was going okay until the claims adjuster stopped returning phone calls and responding to emails. There are several reasons why this situation may happen: 1. There was a change to the adjuster handling the claim but notice of this change was not provided to the injured worker. Many insurance companies will have an adjuster assigned to the claim during the investigation period following work injury to gather information and make a decision on accepting the claim and initiating benefits or denying the claim and refusing to provide benefits for the injury. Once this decision…Read More
