Personal Injury Cases

Attorney Aneta Paval handles personal injury cases which usually arise out of an automobile accident or slip and fall accidents at a store or other public locations. She has negotiated very good settlements for her clients with the insurance companies representing the person at fault for the accident.


Worker's Compensation Cases
Attorney Aneta Paval has also negotiated cases with NC Industrial Commission for worker's compensation cases where she represented the person who was injured at work. Injury by accident cases and occupational disease cases constitute the two categories of worker's compensation cases. Injury by accident cases generally occur within a definite time and place. The defined time may apply to the event causing the injury (the accident), the actual injury itself (herniated disc, heart attack) or both. Occupational disease cases do not usually have a specific singular event causing the injury or a defined onset of the disease. The NC Worker's Compensation Act requires that to be compensable an injury must be (1) by accident; (2) arising out of, and (3) in the course of the employment. The term "accident" generally refers to an unanticipated, unexpected, unforeseen event, not expected or designed by the person who suffers the injury. The term "arising out of" refers to the origin of the accident or the causal connection between the accidental injury and the employment. The term "in the course of" refers to the time, place and circumstance in which the accident occurred. NC Worker's Compensation Act provides medical compensation and wage loss benefits for non-fatal injuries and death benefits  for fatal injuries.

The purpose of medical benefits, including rehabilitation, is to provide treatment to the injured worker that affects a cure or reduces the extent of the disability, and provides relief and treatment for permanent injuries. Generally, there is no preset limitation on medical treatment the employer is to provide. Medical and hospital services can include nursing care provided in the home by a nurse or a family member, modifications of vehicles to allow them to be driven by a paraplegic, life care plans, medically prescribed equipment, including home exercise equipment, membership in a gym, installation of a home swimming pool with modifications to make it accessible to the injured worker, transportation costs to and from the offices of a medical provider, medically prescribed weight-loss programs, and cosmetic surgery and cosmetic devises (wigs)necessary to correct or minimize injury related disfigurement.

Wage Loss Benefits can generally be categorized into three categories. Two of the categories, total disability and partial disability, are based on the actual wage loss suffered by the injured worker. The third category, scheduled injuries, is based on a physical impairment to a body part (such as the loss of an arm or the loss of use of a leg) and presumes wage loss.

Total disability is the inability to earn any wages after, and because of, suffering a compensable injury or occupational disease. Total disability may be temporary (such as when an injured employee is recovering from the injury or surgery resulting from an injury) or permanent (if the employee is never able to return to work).

Partial disability is the inability to earn the same wages that the employee was earning prior to suffering a compensable event after, and because of, suffering a compensable accident or occupational disease. Partial disability may be temporary if the injured employee is recovering from an injury and is temporarily limited in the number of hours or type of work that can be performed. Partial disability may be permanent if the employee's work restrictions remain in place, even after the employee reaches maximum medical improvement and the employee continues to be unable to earn the same wages earned prior to the compensable event.

A scheduled injury is a legislative determination that the loss of, or the permanent impairment,to a body part will cause the injured employee to suffer a wage loss for specific number of weeks. The state legislature assigns the number of weeks of lost wages that each body part is worth. The injured worker is then entitled to be paid a set number of weeks for the anatomical loss or partial loss of that body part.

The NC General Assembly determined that the loss of an arm was worth 240 weeks, a hand 200 weeks, a leg 200 weeks, a foot 144 weeks, the loss of an eye 120 weeks and the loss of hearing in one ear 70 weeks and two ears 150 weeks.

The calculation of the weekly workers' compensation disability benefit payment is based ona  percentage of the injured worker's weekly wage. North Carolina pays compensation at the rate of 66.6 percent of the injured worker's pretax average weekly wage, with a minimum and maximum compensation rate set.

If the injured worker dies because of the compensable accident or occupational disease, the injured worker's dependents are entitled to death benefits and funeral expenses. Death benefits are determined as a percentage of the injured worker's average weekly wage and paid for a determined number of weeks