North Carolina – August 20, 2020. Hedrick Gardner is pleased to announce that nineteen attorneys were recently selected by their peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America© 2021. Patricia P. Shields was named the Best Lawyers® 2021 Raleigh Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants “Lawyer of the Year. ” Best Lawyers named a single attorney in […]
In response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) the firm is taking action to continue serving clients while keeping the health of clients and our staff top priority. All our offices are currently operating with a remote workforce to help reduce the spread of the virus.
On 5/01/20, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced a change to the Crash Preventability Demonstration Program and Safety Measurement System (SMS) that will permanently exclude no-fault crashes when calculating a carrier’s safety score. Effective immediately, if the FMCSA determines that a crash was not preventable,it will no longer be included in the carrier’s […]
We recently donated lunch to medical workers at 3 Charlotte medical facilities to show our appreciation for their service on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In Ex Parte: Builders Mutual (In Re: Palmetto Pointe v. Island Pointe), Opinion No. 27970 (May 13, 2020), the South Carolina Supreme Court held Insurers did not have a right to intervene in a construction defect action for the limited purpose of participating in the preparation of the verdict form to allocate damages, finding the proper […]
In our last post, we discussed the issues posed by ERISA liens and how the presence of an ERISA lien can complicate a potential settlement. Another similar issue that complicates settlements is the potential presence of a Medicare lien. This applies to workers’ compensation and liability cases. The Medicare Secondary Payer Act (MSPA), 42 U.S.C. […]
South Carolina courts have taken several precautionary measures in response to the spread of COVID-19. The following measures have been put in place for Circuit Court and Magistrate’s Court: The United States District Court for the District of South Carolina has also issued an Order dated March 16, 2020, impacting court operations in the following manner: […]
On 3/13/20, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) issued an unprecedented national emergency declaration to provide hours of service (HOS) relief to drivers transporting goods needed to respond to the Coronavirus Pandemic. Those commercial motor vehicle (CMV) operations exempted include those meeting needs for: Medical supplies and equipment related to testing, diagnosis and treatment […]
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) is a federal law that sets minimum standards for most voluntarily established retirement and health plans in private industry to provide protection for individuals in these plans. In the context of workers’ compensation claims or civil litigation, the subject of ERISA is usually raised when an […]
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced on 12/27/19 that it will increase the annual percentage rate of random drug testing from an average of 25% to 50% of the average driving positions. The FMCSA estimates 2.1 million tests and a $20 million increase in costs in 2020 under this revised rule. In 2018, […]
