Under the North Carolina Industrial Commission Rules, Nurse Case Managers are considered rehabilitation professionals as they manage medical cases and coordinate rehabilitation services. 11 NCAC 23C .0103(1). In performing their duties, Nurse Case Managers must be neutral, providing “unbiased, objective opinions.” 11 NCAC 23C .0106(d). Further, Nurse Case Managers shall “provide copies of all correspondence […]
North Carolina – August 19, 2021. Hedrick Gardner is pleased to announce that 20 attorneys were selected by their peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America© 2022. Jeffrey H. Blackwell was named the Best Lawyers® 2022 Wilmington Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants “Lawyer of the Year. ” Best Lawyers named a single attorney in each […]
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued an updated Section 111 NGHP User Guide – Version 6.4, on June 11, 2021. CMS will now allow the termination of ORM if the following criteria are met. Where there is no practical likelihood of associated future medical treatment, which is reflected by meeting ALL of the following: […]
Before June 24, 2011, injured employees were eligible for lifetime Temporary Total Disability (TTD) benefits for the duration of their disability. In 2011, the North Carolina legislature passed revisions to the Workers’ Compensation Act. One of the revisions altered N.C. Gen. Stat. § 97-29(b), which now states: The employee shall not be entitled to compensation […]
On 2/3/2021, Pete Buttigieg was sworn in as the 19th Secretary of Transportation. On 1/20/2021, President Biden issued an executive order on Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis. On 4/22/2021, in response to PresidentBiden’s executive Order, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) proposedwithdrawing the SAFE I […]
In our last article, we discussed the status and potential impact of AB5, a law recently passed in California which went into effect on January 1, 2020, addressing the classification of certain workers. By way of review, prior to AB5’s passage, the decision on whether a worker should be classified as an employee or an […]
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) reports that the electronic logging device (ELD) mandate has reduced hours-of-service (HOS) violations by 50% since the initial rule took effect in December 2017. Over 8.8 million roadside inspections were conducted since that time with less than 1.25% resulting in citations for HOS violations or for failure to […]
North Carolina – January 6, 2021. Hedrick Gardner is pleased to announce that Austin R. Walsh and C. Rob Wilson were selected for inclusion in Business North Carolina’s 2021 Legal Elite. Austin, who practices in our Charlotte office, is being honored in the Litigation category. Rob, who practices in our Raleigh office, is being honored […]
The SMART Act requires CMS to annually review the costs associated with the collection of Medicare conditional payments and set forth a threshold amount applicable to settlements, judgments, awards, or other payments (TPOC amount) for which it will not seek recovery. The threshold amount for 2020 was $750.00. On November 25, 2020, CMS announced the […]
Effective Dec. 1, 2020, the North Carolina Industrial Commission has revised the filing requirement that triggers the submission of a Form 19, Employer’s Report of Employee’s Injury or Occupational Disease to the Industrial Commission. Specifically, the Commission increased the Form 19 filing threshold for medical compensation paid from $2,000 to $4,000. The revised rule – 11 NCAC […]
