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Bills would bring sweeping changes to workers’ comp system
North Carolina's workers' compensation system has been around since the late 1920s. Every few decades it gets a bit of an overhaul, with the last one coming 15 years ago. But the renovations anticipated in a Republican-backed bill under consideration in the General Assembly could lead to seismic changes in the system, which is designed to make injured workers whole and prevent lawsuits against emp[...]
Tort/Negligence – Industrial Commission – Medical Malpractice – Rule 9(j)
Stevenson v. N.C. Dep't of Correction. A medical-malpractice claim against a state agency filed under the Tort Claims Act must comply with N.C. R. Civ. P. 9(j), which requires a showing that an . . .
Workers’ Compensation – Rule 60(b) Motion – New Evidence – Functional Capacity Evaluation – Abuse of Discretion
Brinn v. Weyerhaueser Co. (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-16-0037, 13 pp.) (Barbara Jackson, J.) Appealed from the Industrial Commission. N.C. App. Unpub. Click here for the full text of the opinion. Holding: Where the plaintiff’s psychiatric evaluation and FCE did not constitute newly discovered evidence, the Industrial Commission did not abuse its discretion in denying plaintiff’s […]
Workers’ Compensation – Mediated Settlement – Enforcement – Severability – Release of Employment Rights
Kee v. Carmomont Health Inc. Even if the improper provision - requiring plaintiff to resign - were severed from the parties' mediated-settlement agreement, the agreement would not be enforceable because it failed to include a statement required by . . .
Workers’ Compensation – Subsequent Injury – Causation – Attorney’s Fees
Powell v. City of Raleigh. Where an employee was stung by yellow jackets while performing his job duties, the employee's auto accident-related injuries are compensable - he ran off the road and hit a tree due to dizziness from the . . .
Workers’ Compensation – Civil Practice – Appeals – Interlocutory
Thomas v. Contract Core Drilling & Sawing (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-07-0028, 8 pp.) (John C. Martin, Ch.J.) Appealed from the Industrial Commission. N.C. App. Click here for the full text of the opinion. Holding: Where the Industrial Commission reserved the issues of the extent of plaintiff’s temporary disability, if any after Nov. 13, 2008, and […]
Workers’ Compensation – Choice of Doctors – Attorney’s Fees
Javorsky v. New Hanover Regional Medical Center. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-07-1220, 14 pp.) (Wanda G. Bryant, J.) Appealed from the Industrial Commission. N.C. App. Click here for the full text of the opinion. Holding: When medically necessary, a worker with a compensable injury can be seen by authorized physicians 200 miles apart with the employer […]
Workers’ Compensation – Parsons Burden – Pre-existing Condition
McLeod v. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-07-1222, 9 pp.) (Donna S. Stroud, J.) Appealed from the Industrial Commission. N.C. App. Click here for the full text of the opinion. Holding: In a case where a maintenance worker injured his back, the employer who has filed a Form 60 acknowledging compensability did not overcome […]
Workers’ Compensation – Occupational Disease – Chemical Exposure – Insufficient Showing – Post-Renovation Testing
Huffman v. Moore County. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-07-1216, 32 pp.) (Sam Ervin IV, J.) Appealed from the Industrial Commission. N.C. App. Click here for the full text of the opinion. Holding: Even though plaintiffs argue that the testing done on their workplace occurred after the workplace was renovated, the record shows that at least some […]
Workers’ Compensation – Clincher Agreement – Release of Liability – Fair & Just – G.S. § 97-17(b)(1)
Blake v. Cree, Inc. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-16-1184, 15 pp.) (Linda M. McGee, J.) Appealed from the Industrial Commission. N.C. App. Unpub. Click here for the full text of the opinion. Holding: Because there were insufficient findings of fact to support the Industrial Commission’s conclusion that the terms of the clincher agreement signed by the […]
Workers’ Compensation – Death Benefits – Illegitimate Children – Acknowledgment of Paternity
Smith v. Flatfoot Concrete Construction. When documents show that a mother has told social service agencies that her children do not receive support from their father and that their father is unknown, and when there is little evidence the deceased . . .
Workers’ Compensation – Neck & Back Injury – Credibility – Bus Driver – Minor Collision – Medical Testimony
Garner v. Capital Area Transit. The plaintiff-bus driver's only medical evidence came from a doctor who relied on plaintiff's version of the collision of two buses, one of which rolled a few feet back and bumped plaintiff's stationary bus. Plaintiff's version of the accident . . .
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