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PA Widow Wins $5M Settlement in Workers' Comp Case

Posted on November 12th, 2009 1 Comment

A city council in Pennsylvania has approved a $5 millionsettlement with the estate of a police officer who was shot and killed insidepolice headquarters more than four years ago.

Council members in Easton, Pennsylvania, met with a citysolicitor and an attorney for the police officer’s estate behind closed doors.The settlement ends a two year legal fight with the widow of officer JesseSollman.

Scottsdale Insurance Co., which carries the city’s $10million police policy, had refused to pay Carin Sollman for her husbands death.The Insurance Company argued that the workers’ comp claim must be paid by thecity alone.

U.S. District Court Judge Juan R. Sanchez dismissedScottsdale’s arguments and held them responsible for covering the city ofEaston.

If you or someone you know has been injured in theworkplace, please contact the Raleigh Workers’ Compensation Attorneys ofScudder & Hedrick, PLLC by calling 919-851-3311.

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Injury Payments May Increase for GM Workers

Posted on November 11th, 2009 No Comments

The 2.000 workers at the Nashville, Tennessee General Motorsplant stand to collect more money for their old workers’ compensation claims.

Timothy Coock, who injured his arm working at the SpringHill plant in 2007 sued the car company to remove the cap on his claim. UnderTennessee law, a worker’s injury claim is capped at a certain amount based onformula, that cap can be lifted however, if the company is sold to a newowner. Cook’s attorney, RockyMcElhaney, argued that that cap was lifted when GM filed for bankruptcy in Mayand set up a new company.

Without the cap on injury claims, workers could receive upto four times as much money for their claim. McElhaney said “ A claim that hadbeen worth $10,000 could be worth $30,000 or more.” He estimated the potentialcost to GM is as much as $15 million.

In the lawsuit paperwork, GM argued that the payouts shouldremain capped because while the new GM runs the plant, it transferred liabilityof the workers’ compensation claims to the new company as well.

If you or someone you know has been injured in the workplace, please contact the RaleighWorkers’ Compensation Lawyers of Scudder & Hedrick, PLLC by calling919-851-3311.

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AIG Workers' Comp Settlement Delayed by Negotiations

Posted on November 3rd, 2009 No Comments

Three years after American International Group Inc. agreedto pay a $343 million settlement to resolve allegations that it underreportedworkers’ compensation premiums to states, the company is still involved innegotiations with insurance regulators in several states.

New York based AIG entered a settlement agreement with theNew York Attorney Eliot Spitzer and the New York Insurance Department todisperse $343 million among states for allegedly underpaying premium taxes andresidual market assessments between 1985 and 1996.

However most of the money remains in a trust fund whileinsurance regulators negotiate with AIG to decide whether a larger settlementis in order. One insurance regulator was quoted as saying “Not all states weresatisfied with the size of the agreement… In terms of the settlement capping at$343 million, AIG may not be out of the woods.”

The original deadline for states to opt into the 2006agreement was set for that year, but has been extended several times and is nowset for December 31 of this year.

If you or someone you know has been injured in theworkplace, please contact the Raleigh Workers Compensation Attorneys of Scudder& Hedrick, PLLC by calling 919-851-3311.

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Pharmacy Malpractice is a Serious Issue

Posted on October 23rd, 2009 1 Comment

Prescription drug use in America has doubled since 1989, butthe number of pharmacists has remained relatively the same. This allows eachpharmacist twice as many opportunities to make a mistake.

Only two states require pharmacies to report dispensingerrors. Georgia requires reporting dispensing errors that cause “significant”harm to a patient. North Carolina requires reporting only errors that result indeath.

While doctors may be responsible for diagnosing a diseaseand prescribing treatment, it is the role of a pharmacist to ensure that thepatient receives the correct type and dosage of medication.

If you or someone you know has suffered due topharmaceutical error, please contact the Raleigh Workers' Comp Lawyers by calling 919-851-3311.

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Lawsuit Settled Over Fatal Factory Explosion

Posted on October 20th, 2009 1 Comment

International Paper Co. has settled a federal lawsuitstemming from a 2008 explosion that killed a contract worker at a Mississippiplant and injured 22 others.

The explosion at International Paper’s Redwood plant killed28 year-old Marcus Christopher Broome. Several workers were left with seriousburns and other injuries when a 12-story recovery boiler exploded as workersattempted to restart it after annual maintenance.

Attorney for the plaintiffs, Billy Quin, said of theexplosion. “The manner in which the recovery boiler was brought on line at theredwood plant was extremely reckless and in complete disregard for the welfare ofeveryone working on and around the boiler that day.”

If you have been injured in the workplace, please contactthe Raleigh Worker’s Compensation Lawyers of Scudder & Hedrick, PLLC bycalling 919-851-3311.

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Florida Workers' Comp. Rates to Decrease 6.8%

Posted on October 15th, 2009 No Comments

Florida employers are getting a break on workerscompensation insurance. The state’s insurance commissioner said on Thursdaythat he has approved a proposed rate decrease of 6.8 percent. The decreasetakes effect January 1 for all new and renewed workers’ compensation policies.

The National Council on Compensation Insurance, whichsubmitted the rate reduction, expects the decrease to result in around $166million in savings for employers.

The Florida Supreme Court ruled last October that claimantattorneys were entitled to “reasonable fees” in workers compensation insurancecases. Critics of the ruling worried that the decision would result in higherpremiums for businesses. Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty said in a release“If it were not for the legislation, the workers’ compensation industry inFlorida would likely have proposed rate increases instead of decreases in2010.”

If you have been injured in the workplace, please contactthe Raleigh Workers’ Compensation Lawyers of Scudder & Hedrick, PLLC at919-851-3311.

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Wal-Mart to Pay $11M in Class-Action Employee Lawsuit

Posted on October 14th, 2009 No Comments

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will pay $11 million to settle aclass-action lawsuit brought on behalf of 97,000 current and former workers inIowa over allegations that they were forced to skip breaks or work off theclock.

Judge David Sivright of the Clinton County District courtgave the final approval for the deal on Tuesday.

The settlement has been reached more than eight years aftertwo employees filed a lawsuit claiming that the company engaged in uniform andsystematic wage abuse.

Wal-Mart announced last December that it would pay as muchas $640 million to settle 63 different lawsuits across the country over wageand hour violations. The average plaintiff will receive around $113.

If you are looking for any form of compensation from anemployer, please contact the Raleigh Employment Lawyers of Scudder &Hedrick, PLLC, by calling 919-851-3311.

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Meat Packing Workers Say Pace is Brutal

Posted on October 9th, 2009 No Comments

A report from Nebraska Appleseed detailing daunting anddangerous working conditions at Nebraska meatpacking plants shows that nothinghas really changed in the ten years since the conditions first made headlines.Production line sped remains brutally high and might even be accelerating sayworkers.

The report is compiled of interviews with over 450 workersin five communities who told a story of hazardous workplaces, unrelenting linespeed and humiliating treatment and verbal abuse. The national trade organization that represents packers andprocessors, the American Meat Institute, was quick to dispute the allegations.

The high rate of speed at the plants – more than 300 cattleare slaughtered and processed ever hour- can lead to worker injuries likerepetitive motion disorders, as well as threaten food safety. Knife wieldingworkers on quick moving production lines can make more than 10,000 cuts a dayand are particularly susceptible to repetitive motion injuries and disorders.

If you have been injured in the workplace, please contactthe Raleigh Workers’ Compensation Lawyers of Scudder & Hedrick, PLLC at919-851-3311.

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OSHA issues new NEP for Workplace Injuries

Posted on October 9th, 2009 No Comments

In an effort to identify and correct under-recordedworkplace injuries the Occupational Safety & Health Administration hasissued a new National Emphasis Program establishing enforcement procedures toinspect the accuracy of occupational injury and illness recording and reportingrequirements.

This NEP compliments the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ effortto investigate factors accounting for differences in the number of workplaceinjuries and illnesses estimated by the BLS.

Several studies have been released recently demonstratingvarious degrees of under-recording of workplace injuries and illnesses on theOSHA Form 300. OSHA believes the most likely places where under-recordedinjuries and illnesses may exist would be low rate establishments operating inhistorically high rate industries.

If you have been injured in the workplace, please contactthe Raleigh Workers’ Compensation Lawyers of Scudder & Hedrick, PLLC at919-851-3311.

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Study Finds Workers' Comp System Not Function for Low-Wage Workers

Posted on September 29th, 2009 No Comments

New research from theNational Employment Law Project found that very few employees who earn around$8 an hour filed a workers’ compensation claim and received benefits for awork-related injury.

In addition to theworkers’ comp findings, the study also shows that a large number of low-wageworkers experienced violations of federal regulations that govern overtime pay,minimum wage and employer retaliation.

The study, called Broken Laws, Unprotected Workers, foundthat 12 percent of the subjects experienced a serious work-related injuryduring the last three years. “We found that the workers’ compensation system isvery rarely used by our respondents,” the study said. “Only 8 percent of theworkers in our sample who experienced a serious injury during the previousthree years had filed a workers’ compensation claim for their most recentinjury. This finding clearly indicates that the workers’ compensation system isnot functioning as intended for front-line workers in the low-wage labormarket.”

If you need helpobtaining workers’ compensation, please contact the Raleigh Workers’Compensation Lawyers of Scudder & Hedrick, PLLC at 919-851-3311.

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