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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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DOT/FMCSA Noteworthy Updates

Allen C. Smith, Austin R. Walsh On 2/7/22, the FMCSA’s Training Provider Registry went live. The Registry maintains a list of registered training providers and a record of all individuals who have completed entry-level driver training. State agencies will have access to the Registry to verify that commercial driver’s license (CDL) applicants have completed the […]

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Medicare Aims to Shut Down Non-CMS-Approved WCMSAs

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued an updated Workers’ Compensation Medicare Set-Aside Arrangement (WCMSA) Reference Guide – Version 3.5, on January 10, 2022. In that Reference Guide, CMS reiterated that submitting a WCMSA proposal for review is never required, but is recommended, as the WCMSA review process is “the only process that […]

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DOT/FMCSA – Noteworthy Updates

On 11/12/21, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit threw out portions of the 2016 Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Fuel Efficiency Standards for Medium- and Heavy-Duty Engines and Vehicles – Phase 2 (“Phase 2”) as it relates to trailers, tanks, car carriers, logging trailers, and platforms. The Rule, which was set to take […]

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Medicare Provides New Way to Terminate Ongoing Responsibility for Medicals (ORM)

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: […]

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