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CMS Increasing Threshold for Liability Settlements – Fixed Percentage Option

The Fixed Percentage Option Threshold will Increase to $10,000.00 for Liability Settlements on October 2, 2023 says The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) By Shannon Metcalf Since November 7, 2011, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has permitted a Medicare beneficiary to elect to resolve his/her conditional payment claim in liability […]

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NC Legislature Clarifies ‘Extended Benefits’ Law

North Carolina’s Workers’ Comp Act, specifically N.C. Gen. Stat. 97-29(c), has a 500 week “cap” on entitlement to temporary total disability (TTD) benefits. The statute also provides an employee with the opportunity to apply for extended TTD benefits beyond 500 weeks, upon a showing that the employee has suffered from a “total loss of wage-earning […]

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A Second Bite at the WCMSA Apple?

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Removes Maximum Time Limit to use Workers’ Compensation Medicare Set-Aside Arrangement (WCMSA) Amended Review Process By Shannon Metcalf Do you have cases that you cannot settle due to an outdated, CMS-approved WCMSA?  If so, there is good news as CMS has changed the Amended Review process to […]

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Recent Opinions at the Deputy Commissioner Level on COVID Claims

By Brooke A. Mulenex; Kendra D. Roberts The Industrial Commission has issued two Opinions at the Deputy Commissioner level on COVID claims. Both claims involve pro-se claimants and there was no expert testimony; both claims were denied and no benefits were awarded. While both were in Defendant’s favor, the true value of these decisions is […]

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AB5: A New Standard for Worker Classification – Part 4

by Joe D. Delfino In several of our most recent articles, we discussed the potential impact of AB5 (California Labor Code § 2775); a law passed in California which went into effect on January 1, 2020 and addressed the classification of certain workers as either employees or independent contractors. Since the passage of AB5, there […]

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DOT/FMCSA Noteworthy Updates (Spring 2022)

Allen C. Smith, Austin R. Walsh On 3/1/22, the Department of Labor (DOL) announced a partnership with the American Trucking Association (ATA) to participate in the Biden Administration’s 90-day Trucking Apprenticeship Challenge, which is a part of the Administration’s Trucking Action Plan (TAP). To date, over 100 employers have accepted the Challenge that has resulted […]

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NC Court of Appeals Clarifies Calculation of Underinsured Motorist Coverage

by Austin Walsh On 5/3/22, the North Carolina Court Appeals published its decision in Tutterow v. Hall, et al. and changed the way Underinsured Motorist (UIM) carriers calculate the coverage available for UIM claims.  The holding gives UIM carriers a credit for all liability policies when tendered, not just the first liability policy that offers […]

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500 Weeks of TTD Benefits, Part 2

by Joe D. Delfino In a recent publication, we discussed the issue of what standard the North Carolina Industrial Commission and North Carolina Courts would use to interpret the provision of the North Carolina Workers’ Compensation Act dealing with the 500-week cap on weekly TTD benefits. By way of review, for workers’ compensation claims arising […]

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