Recent rulings from The North Carolina Supreme Court and Court of Appeals have set Workers’ Compensation Defendants somewhat adrift regarding the burdens of proof relating to disability. With this uncertainty, and to counter the testimony historically provided by Plaintiffs seeking indemnity benefits, Defendants involved in complicated disability disputes should consider early involvement of a vocational…
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According to the most recent Pew Research Center survey, roughly three-quarters of adults in the United States use some form of social media, and most of those social media users visit their preferred platforms daily. This prolific social media use can create concerns for management, as employers often want to limit not only their employees’…
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Every employer has been there before. You hire a new employee and everything is going smoothly, until one day you receive a letter from the North Carolina Department of Revenue compelling you to withhold an amount from your new employee’s paychecks to satisfy an outstanding tax obligation the employee owes. In the boilerplate of that…
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Teague Campbell attorneys Matt Little and Lindsey Revels tried a product liability case for St. Clair Foods, a food manufacturer from Memphis, Tennessee, in Wake County Superior Court before the Honorable Carl Fox. The case involved issues of negligence and breach of the implied warranty of merchantability related to an allegation of food poisoning. The…
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As the state of North Carolina continues its efforts to combat the opioid crisis, the Rules Review Commission, part of the North Carolina Industrial Commission, approved nine rules regarding opioids, prescriptions, and pain management in workers’ compensation claims that go into effect today, May 1, 2018. The rules are specifically meant to address problems arising…
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Harvey Weinstein. Roger Ailes. Bill O’Reilly. Steve Wynn. Matt Lauer. Charlie Rose. Kevin Spacey. Louis CK. Famous men who became infamous in the age of #MeToo. Following the allegations against Harvey Weinstein, calls to RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) are up 21 percent. The BBC has seen a sudden increase in sexual harassment…
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The Court of Appeals recently held that Plaintiff’s lay testimony was insufficient to establish increased risk in an occupational disease claim. In Briggs v. Debbie’s Staffing, Inc., Plaintiff worked as a Ceramic Technician, which required him to work a portion of his time on a Voeller machine. The Voeller machine mixes water with various dry…
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The Court of Appeals recently released two decisions that analyzed issues relating to disability – specifically, the burden of proving futility – post-Wilkes v. City of Greenville. In Adame v. Aerotek, an unpublished decision, Plaintiff sustained a low back injury in June 2013. After receiving conservative treatment with multiple doctors, Plaintiff was ultimately released with…
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In February 2018, the United States Supreme Court issued a decision that resolved a circuit court split by siding with the narrower definition of a “whistleblower” under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (“Dodd-Frank”). In its decision, the Supreme Court made clear that an employee must first report a securities…
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Teague Campbell is proud to announce that on March 3, 2018, Asheville Partner Daniel Hayes was officially inducted into The College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers. He joins just 23 fellows from North Carolina, including Raleigh Partner Bruce Hamilton, inducted in 2011. Fellows are nominated to the College by their peers for possessing the highest professional…
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