Attorneys for injured workers played role in bill rushed through NC legislature this week

The bill rushed through the state House and Senate this week, hailed as a major victory in the workers’ compensation arena by groups representing public and private employers, was a compromise measure. It included input from an organization that represents injured workers.

Kevin Bunn, a Cary workers’ comp lawyer who represented the N.C. Advocates for Justice, declined to discuss details of the talks with legislators and a coalition representing more than two dozen employers. But he alluded that the outcome could have been worse from the injured workers’ point of view.

“We are glad that we were able to reach a compromise,” Bunn said. He added: “I think it was good we were able to focus these discussions on a narrow issue that was of the greatest concern to the business coalition.”

Bunn, who before the compromise was unveiled described the other side as “tough negotiators,” said the discussions were “a grind.”

“We would spend hours talking about a single sentence,” he said. “We spent a lot of time talking about an individual word.”

The compromise measure that was only unveiled late Wednesday, and which already has been sent to the governor’s desk after winning the unanimous approval of the House and Senate, in effect nullifies a recent N.C. Supreme Court ruling. The June 9 decision found that once an employer admits an employee is entitled to workers’ compensation for injuries suffered in a work-related accident, the employers can be on the hook for paying to treat medical issues that arise later unless it proves those ailments don’t stem from the accident.

Employers complained it was a ground-breaking decision that would be bad for both them and workers because they would be more cautious about accepting a claim and would require additional medical exams. But attorneys who represent injured workers said the court’s unanimous decision merely affirmed employees’ long-held legal rights.

The bill approved by the legislators shifts the burden of proof to injured workers. They must prove that a subsequent “injury or condition” stems from a work-related accident.

Bunn said that the timing of the high court’s decision was “unfortunate” given that it came out just a few weeks ago and the legislature is looking to adjourn this week.

“If it had come out earlier and we would have had time to talk to the various stakeholders, I think we could have done a better job of explaining why we don’t think the decision changes the law,” he said.

Andy Ellen, president of the N.C. Retail Merchants Association, one of the organizations that lobbied for the bill, noted that legislators were notified via email before they voted that N.C. Advocates for Justice was on board with the bill as well as a broad coalition of employers and others that included the N.C. League of Municipalities and the N.C. Association of County Commissioners.

With that widespread support, both the House and Senate approved the bill unanimously.

Bunn’s measured comments about the bill contrast with the enthusiasm expressed by those who pushed for the measure.

“Workers’ Compensation Reforms Saved!” reads the subject line of an email sent out by Gary Salamido, a lobbyist for the N.C. Chamber.

Salamido was referring to an overhaul of the state’s workers’ compensation system that the legislature passed in 2011 and which at the time was touted as a rare example of bipartisanship. Among other things, that overhaul capped payments for most disabled workers at 500 weeks, extended temporary partial disability payments from 300 to 500 weeks and boosted survivors’ death benefits from 400 to 500 weeks.

This story was originally published June 30, 2017 at 3:06 PM with the headline "Attorneys for injured workers played role in bill rushed through NC legislature this week."