Before I tell you what the benefits are in a workers’ comp claim, let me explain what you could get in a “regular” personal injury claim.  Before workers comp, workplace injuries and illnesses were handled just like any other personal injury case.  The injured worker had to prove that their injury was the result of the employer’s negligence. If you could prove that, then you could get all the things you can get in any other personal injury case:  lost wages, medical care, pain and suffering (and even punitive damages if the boss’s negligence was bad enough).  On the other hand, if you couldn’t prove that the boss caused your injury through his fault (or if the boss could prove that you also were at fault), you got nothing.  Because most work injuries are the result of accidents, in which no one is at fault, most people who were hurt at work got no compensation. However, in those cases in which the employer was liable, he was open to great liability.

To resolve this  ”all-or-nothing” problem, employers and employees came to an agreement of sorts. Under workers comp, claims became much simpler to prove.  If an injury was the result of an accident, then it was covered, no matter whose fault it was (it can even be the worker’s fault).  This opened the door to many more claims.  In exchange for allowing so many more claims, employees agreed to accept limited benefits. So, you cannot get pain and suffering, or consequential  or punitive damages in a workers’ compensation case. Your benefits are limited to medical care and lost wages.

What does that mean in real terms? It may not seem fair, but under workers comp, we can’t force the employer or the insurance company to pay you for the fact that your pain keeps you from playing softball or soccer, or picking up and swinging  your child around, or doing other recreational things that you used to do.  On the other hand, if your pain keeps you from working, you can get benefits for lost wages.  And you can get medical care and vocational rehabilitation to help you get back to work.

Now, I must tell you that employers and insurance companies will often try to limit even the limited benefits that an injured worker should get.  If you think you’re not getting the benefits the law says you should get, please give me a call.  919-683-2175.    

My fax number is now 919-682-3821.

My voice number (919-683-2175) and mailing address (PO Box 546, Durham, NC 27702) have not changed.

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Why do I say my new building is “historically modern?” Well, it was built in the 1960′s in a modern style that was cutting edge for the time. That modern style has now gone out of style, so to speak.  However, the website Open Durham speaks warmly of my new location.   I have always thought it was a cool building, especially the side facing a little cobblestone pedestrian walkway that has a beautiful Japanese maple.   I’ll take some pictures and post them once I get a bit more settled in.

There are only a couple of downsides to this kind of resolution.  First, if you plead to a city code violation, you have to pay the fine and court costs that same day (unlike in most traffic cases, in which you have up to 20 days after court to pay).

Second, the D.A.’s office, at least in my experience, likes to reserve city codes for cases in which some other disposition, such as prayer for judgment continued, improper equipment, or nine over, won’t work (for example, you may already have used up those other remedies with prior tickets!)  Therefore, the fine is often more for a city code violation than for one of those other dispositions (although the fine is almost never so high that it’s not well worth paying it to save on your insurance rates).

Think a city code violation might work for you?  Give me a call!  919-683-2175

So this is the process in Orange County:  Sometime between the court date printed on your ticket and the following Friday, your lawyer goes to the Clerk of Court and asks them to  place the case on the next lawyer’s day.   If the next lawyer’s day is not already filled up, that’s when the case will be set.  If the next lawyer’s day already has too many cases on it, they will place the case on the next lawyer’s day after that.

This is the way they do it in Chatham County:  Traffic court is the 1st Thursday of every month.  Folks who don’t have lawyers can show up then and resolve their cases on their own.  The left-over cases, which would include cases in which the defendants have hired lawyers, are continued over to the next Thursday — lawyer’s day — when lawyers show up and take care of the cases for which they have been retained.

So, if you retain me (or any other lawyer) for a minor traffic case in Orange or Chatham County, we will not resolve your case on the court date printed on the ticket.  Rather, we will resolve it on lawyer’s day.

Common waivable offenses are speeding (unless the charge is speeding in excess of 80 mph or speeding in excess of 15 over the limit while driving over 55 mph), possession of an open alcoholic beverage container in the passenger area, improper passing, stop sign and traffic light violations, failure to yield the right of way,  driving the wrong way on a one-way street, and improper vehicle equipment.

Common offenses that require you to come to court are driving with a revoked license, possession of a fictitious license,  possession of  stolen or fictitious plates, driving while impaired (DWI), reckless driving, failure to stop at the scene of an accident, passing a stopped school bus, and failure to have liability insurance.  [Source:  Uniform Policies Related to Traffic Offenses, NC Administrative Office of the Courts (2011)]

Often, even if you are charged with a non-waivable offense, I can still appear for you.  How?  By negotiating your non-waivable offense down to a lesser charge that is waivable. For example, you are charged with driving 81 mph in a 65 mph zone.  If I can get that reduced to 74 mph in a 65 mph zone, I can usually enter that plea using a waiver form.

Let me go to court for you — call me now for a free consult!  919-683-2175.

Two Important Exceptions to the Accident Rule

 There are a lot of exceptions in law.  Here are two of the most important in workers’ compensation:  If you hurt your back at work or you developed a hernia at work, then you do not have to show it was the result of an accident.  Generally speaking, you just have to be able to point to a specific time while you were working that the back pain or hernia started. So, if you have filed a workers’ comp claim for a back injury or hernia and the insurance company has denied your case because they claim it was not the result of an accident, you might want to fight that denial.

Got Denial?  Call me at 919-683-2175 for a free consult!

Speeding 10 mph or less over the posted speed limit; provided all of the following are
true:
• The violation did not occur in a school zone; and
• There is not another moving traffic violation for the experience period (an isolated
Prayer for Judgement Continued (PJC) will not count as a prior conviction for the
purpose of this exception).

So, if the hypothetical driver charged with 58 in a 45 hired me, and the ticket was not in a school zone, and she had a clean record for the past three years, then one possible way to keep her insurance from going up would be to ask the D.A.’s office to reduce the charge to 54 in a 45 (nine mph over the speed limit, or “nine over”).  I would then enter a plea to 54 in a 45, and the driver’s insurance would not increase. (Note: Depending on the circumstances, I might be able to help this person even if she got the ticket in a school zone).

Have a ticket?  Give me a call — Don’t risk losing all those savings you got from changing insurance companies!   919-683-2175.  

Remember, the comp rate is based on your gross wages, meaning your wages before taxes and other deductions.

Many will say, “How can I live on 2/3 of my salary?”  Hopefully, this will only be a temporary situation — in fact the wage loss benefits that a person receives while completely out of work are called “temporary total disability,” or “TTD.”   More important, however, is the fact that workers compensation benefits tax free.  No taxes will be deducted from your workers compensation checks, nor will you have to pay any state or federal taxes on worker comp benefits you receive.

The above is a general summary of benefit calculations. There are a number of exceptions and additions that might apply to your case.  If you are wondering whether you are receiving the correct amount of comp benefits, please give me a call at 919-683-2175.       

Do you have a traffic case?  Call me now at 919-683-2175.  I can’t make a guarantee, but I will do my best to get a result that will be worth your money.