In Taylor v. Town of Garner, we have filed this brief with the North Carolina Court of Appeals in this workers’ compensation case. Officer Taylor in a veteran of the Garner police force who was injured while providing official inter-agency assistance at an N.C. State football game. The primary issue is whether the Town of Garner is solely liable for Officer Taylor’s compensation, or whether both Garner and N.C. State are liable. Garner should be liable because Office Taylor was working at N.C. State pursuant to an official mutual aid and assistance agreement between Garner and N.C. State. Valerie Johnson and Narendra Ghosh are representing Officer Taylor.
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Categories: News of the Firm
Tags: Appeals, Briefs, Narendra Ghosh, NC Court of Appeals, Police Officers, Valerie Johnson, Workers' Compensation
Burton Craige was the Program Chair for today’s CLE on 2010 Ethics Hot Topics, presented by the North Carolina Advocates for Justice. Topics included the ethical considerations in dealing with child witnesses, attorneys’ websites and advertising, and contacting the employees of companies in a lawsuit.
Categories: News of the Firm
Tags: Burton Craige, Ethics, NCAJ, Presentation
Check out this profile of Leto Copeley, entitled “The Interpreter” in the February 2010 edition of the North Carolina Super Lawyers magazine.
Categories: News of the Firm
Tags: Leto Copeley, Press, Recognition, Super Lawyers
Patterson Harkavy is a sponsor at tonight’s 41st Annual Frank Porter Graham Awards Ceremony, hosted by the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina Legal Foundation. This year’s honorees are:
Frank Porter Graham Award – Jimmy Creech
ACLU of North Carolina Award – Juvencio Rocha Peralta
Paul Green Award – Jeremy Collins & Charmaine Fuller Cooper
Categories: News of the Firm
Tags: Civil Rights, Firm News, Frank Porter Graham Ceremony, NC ACLU, Patterson Harkavy
Six of Patterson Harkavy’s attorneys have been named North Carolina “Super Lawyers” for 2010 in a recent study by Law & Politics magazine. The findings are published in the February 2010 edition of the North Carolina Super Lawyers magazine.
Patterson Harkavy’s 2010 North Carolina “Super Lawyers” are:
In addition, Jonathan Harkavy was named to the list of the Top 100 attorneys in North Carolina.
Law & Politics conducts a regional survey of lawyers who have been in practice for at least five years, asking them to nominate the best attorneys they’ve personally observed in action. In addition, the magazine’s attorney-led research department reviews nominees’ credentials based on a set of evaluation criteria. To ensure a diverse and well-balanced list, the research staff considers factors such as firm size, practice area and geographic location.
Categories: News of the Firm
Tags: Burton Craige, Hank Patterson, Jonathan Harkavy, Labor and Employment, Leto Copeley, Medical Malpractice, Michael Okun, Personal Injuries, Recognition, Super Lawyers, Valerie Johnson, Workers' Compensation
Hank Patterson has been recognized by the LexisNexis Workers’ Compensation Law Center as one of its Workers’ Compensation Notable People for 2009:
“These exceptional people have worked tirelessly on behalf of their clients and have made significant contributions this past year to the workers’ compensation system and/or the workplace.”
“The recipients of the 2009 awards were selected by various organizations and experts in the field, including the Workers Injury Law & Advocacy Group (WILG), the National Workers’ Compensation Defense Network (NWCDN), the California Applicants’ Attorneys Association (CAAA), the Workers’ Compensation Forum on LinkedIn, and selected members of the Larson’s National Workers’ Compensation Advisory Board.”
Hank’s accomplishments, service, and dedication are well described, as are some of his recent activities, including “trying to enact a revision to the Medicare Secondary Payor Act to solve some of the problems that workers’ compensation practitioners have had with satisfying the requirements of the Act regarding conditional payments and set asides.”
Categories: News of the Firm
Tags: Hank Patterson, Recognition, Workers' Compensation
In its January 2010 issue, Business North Carolina recognized lawyers as being among the “Legal Elite” in various areas of the law. Michael Okun was recognized as one of the “Legal Elite” in employment law, and Jonathan Harkavy retained recognition in the “Legal Elite Hall of Fame” in employment law.
Categories: News of the Firm
Tags: Jonathan Harkavy, Legal Elite, Michael Okun, Recognition
Hank Patterson is one of the co-chairs for today’s NCAJ 16th Annual CLE on Workplace Torts and Workers’ Compensation. Hank is also speaking and presenting a paper entitled Structured Settlement Annuities and the N.C. Life and Health Insurance Guarantee Association.
Summary: From the perspective of the North Carolina Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association, Senate Bill 780, enacted by the 2009 General Assembly did not accomplish its basic purpose of expanding coverage to structured settlement annuity payees. We concur. An additional amendment will be required to assure that annuity payees who are residents of North Carolina have the protection of the Guaranty Association.
Categories: News of the Firm
Tags: Articles, Hank Patterson, NC Legislature, NCAJ, Presentation, Structured Settlements, Workers' Compensation
Valerie Johnson is speaking at tomorrow’s NCAJ 2009 Workplace Torts and Workers’ Compensation CLE, to be held in Chapel Hill. Valerie’s presentation topic and paper are entitled State Employee Benefits and Workers’ Comp: 2009 Update. One of the significant changes to be discussed is that Corvel Corporation is now the administrator of workers’ comp benefits on behalf of the State, taking the place of Key Risk earlier this year.
Summary: Although the interaction between the state employee benefits system and the workers’ compensation system has some points of friction that have been the source of litigation, as a general rule, the two systems fit together fairly neatly. This paper provides a broad overview of the benefits available to state employees from the State and discusses how the receipt of workers’ compensation benefits would affect these benefits. Finally, it discusses how the careful structuring of settlements can mitigate or avoid offsets of workers’ compensation benefits against benefits from the State.
Categories: News of the Firm
Tags: Articles, Corvel, NCAJ, North Carolina, Presentation, State Benefits, State Employees, Valerie Johnson, Workers' Compensation
Our Charlotte office has moved, just a few blocks, to 225 East Worthington Avenue, Suite 200. The phone number for the office is still (704) 200-2009.
Categories: News of the Firm
Tags: Ann Groninger, Charlotte
