Principal Hunt’s North Carolina Workers' Compensation Battle Goes To the Next Round
This blog (and other media outlets, both in the mainstream and in the blogosphere) recently reported on a heart breaking North Carolina workers’ compensation case involving a middle school principal in Robeson County who was shot point blank in the face while driving to school.
Principal James Hunt miraculously survived the shooting. And he has managed to recover physically, despite having to undergo 9 facial reconstruction surgeries. But his battle to collect North Carolina workers’ compensation benefits from the Robeson School District and the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction is perhaps as frustrating as – or even more frustrating than – the ongoing search to find out who pulled the trigger that fateful morning.
As this blog reported several months ago, Hunt won his case. But now the school system has appealed the verdict. According to a WMBF News report, “in the meantime… [Hunt] is living on just 50% of his old salary and what his wife makes as a school secretary.” WMBF reports that: “Hunt… [believes] that since he was on his way to work and was conducting business on his cell phone at the time he was shot, he deserves payment for all the costs his health insurance isn’t picking up.”
It has been established that Hunt was on his cell phone — on school business — when the shooting occurred. And he was also on his way to work.
Hunt’s travails showcase the maddening and senseless complexities that frustrate many workers’ comp claimants.
Here’s another example: remember our blog’s report from several months ago about the woman who slipped and fell on a parking lot while walking to her office? Her employer fought her workers’ comp benefits, even though she fell just inches away from the door to her workplace! Had she crossed the threshold and then fell, she wouldn’t have had any problem.
What’s especially frustrating in cases like Principal Hunt’s is the revelation that institutions built to support employees can abandon them during the time of their greatest need. Principal Hunt got shot because he took a courageous stand against gangs, according to analysts at the North Carolina Industrial Commission. But after the shooting, instead of trying to do right by the principal, his employer fought his workers’ comp case at every step along the way.
Fortunately, if you or a family member or a close friend got injured or sick at work, you don’t have to battle your employer (or your employer’s insurance company) on your own. Talk to qualified experts at a North Carolina workers compensation law firm to review your best next steps.
More Web Resources:
Principal Hunt’s story
Website devoted to finding the shooter
