What should you do when a person you cherish is injured while in a hospital or nursing home and you believe the facility and its employees to be at fault?

If you suspect that your loved one has been the victim of below standard care, consider investigating the facility. Evidence of continual dehydration, bed sores or pressure sores, repeated falls, weight loss and complaints of pain can be signs of a problem. But you need intervention by a professional. Go to the Division of Health Service Regulation website, also known as the Division of Facilities Services, for our state where you will find information on how to file a complaint. As noted on their website, all claims should be filed within a year of the incident. They will evaluate and review the records of the hospital or nursing home and begin an investigation if they find it is necessary. Our law firm will also review your case for a potential claim and help determine next steps. Hospitals, nursing home and even home health care workers can be neglectful, have too many patients and not enough licensed, certified staff to care for each of them. We’ll work together to determine what can be done.

This article was written by Todd P. Oxner

I often wonder how much of a potential recovery is left on the table or never discovered by an injury victim. If you’re injured in a car accident and the driver of the other automobile was at fault, you can seek compensation from the at-fault driver’s insurance company. Most people understand that is the purpose of liability coverage. And the North Carolina legislature understands it, too, because they require liability coverage as a condition to drive in North Carolina. But what happens if you have significant injuries and that driver has only minimal liability coverage, which in North Carolina is $30,000? As the injured party, $30,000 may be your maximum reimbursement, no matter how seriously you’re hurt. But sometimes there’s more.

A thorough investigation of available automobile insurance coverages should include your own policy and policies of others. In one recent case, our client was told by her original attorney that she could, at the most, receive the North Carolina minimum limit of the negligent driver’s insurance policy. She came to us because she felt she deserved more, and frankly so did we. After a thorough evaluation and search, we did find her more . . . much more. Although this client had moved a number of times in the year prior to the collision, because she was living at her parents’ home at the time of the collision, she could argue for coverage from her parent’s underinsured motorist policy. After a battle with that insurance company, our client ultimately received over 200% more than the original attorney suggested she accept. She had no idea that this additional coverage was available to her. And why should she. Isn’t that our job as attorneys to advise her of her options?

When everything was settled, our client was thrilled that she had taken the time to get a second opinion from us. We did our job by maximizing the insurance coverage available to her. It was a long road to search and find all the options, but in the end, it was a great victory.

This article was written by Chip Permar

When you’ve been fired or laid off, you may (incorrectly) assume that you’re entitled to unemployment benefits. You’re shocked when the claim you submit to the Employment Security Commission is denied. How can that be? Your former employer has the right to block your benefits if you were fired with cause — if, for example, you ignored multiple performance warnings. Timing is everything when trying to obtain unemployment benefits. Generally you should file for benefits within the first week after any severance pay, vacation pay and/or separation pay are exhausted. BUT, if you have an active or pending workers’ comp claim when you are terminated, then see the blog below on that subject. That could change everything! Remember, if you want to file for unemployment benefits, you must be able to work and be available for work.

If you have filed for unemployment and have been denied, you have only 15 days to appeal the decision! That’s not a lot of time. If you’d like the help of an experienced attorney, you need to call us as soon as you can. We’ll try our best to stop the battle and get your unemployment compensation rolling along — or perhaps find a compromise with your former employer that will get you at least a partial benefit, depending on the circumstances. You can find further information about filing for unemployment benefits on the NC Employment Security Commission’s website.

This article was written by Todd P. Oxner

Have you been fired from your job while you have an open or pending workers’ comp claim? If so, you’re probably eager to file for unemployment benefits. After all, you’ve been fired and you’ve heard you are entitled to those benefits. But remember, when you file a claim for unemployment benefits, you must be “able to work.” That means you must be physically able to perform some type of work that you are qualified to perform. Now don’t get us wrong. Just because you could no longer perform your OLD job does not mean you are not eligible for unemployment. As long as there is some other work you can do, you may still be eligible for benefits. But if you are represented by an attorney in your workers’ comp claim, you should speak with them. You may be under a doctor’s restrictions and you don’t want to do anything that could jeopardize your worker’s comp claim. So if you are represented by a workers’ compensation attorney, be sure to discuss the impact an unemployment claim can have on your WC case. And as always if we can help answer any workers’ compensation or unemployment claims questions, don’t hesitate to call. We’ll see if we can help you sort this out.

This article was written by Todd P. Oxner

You’ve heard about the McDonald’s coffee burn lawsuit and you’ve read our comments (see the April 11, 2010 blog below). Now there’s a documentary that gives you more insight. “Hot Coffee,” compiled by Susan Saladoff, discusses how the public is being manipulated by the media and by corporations to believe that frivolous lawsuits are everywhere. Saladoff, a former attorney, states that corporations want you to think that the system is broken so that they can push through monetary caps on damages and interfere with the public’s ability to have access to the court system.

If you’re interested in hearing more, click here for the Hot Coffee website.

This article was written by Chip Permar
Library

Workers’ Comp
Personal Injury
Social Security Disability
Forms
Our Books
Video

Oxner, Thomas, and Permar books
Educate yourself with our free books!
No strings attached.
Learn more Request now
Phone Icon
Phone

The quickest way to get in touch with us
Chat Icon
Live Chat

Chat live with an expert right here in our office
Email Icon
E-mail

The easiest way to get the answers you need