Legal Question in Workers Comp in North Carolina

I have a workman's comp case where I was charged for not caring it. A case was heard and a judgment awarded to the employee. We filed bankruptcy and included it in the bankruptcy. Now the employees lawyer got the DA to charge us criminally and are seeking the money that way. Our lawyer is allowing her lawyer to make the decisions. Is this an end around the bankruptcy law. There is also an ethical question whether the employees lawyer can even do this. Case is in North Carolina.


Asked on 7/09/10, 8:30 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Bob Bollinger Bollinger Law Firm PC

Well, you are looking at possibly 2 counts of a Class H felony and two counts of a Class 1 misdemeanor. see NCGS 97-94(c) and (d). You can go to prison for a minimum of 4 to 8 months on each felony, and the maximum sentence could be higher. You can also be hit with substantial fines, in addition to having to pay the comp case out of your pocket. And you can get additional punishment for conviction of the misdemeanors.

The bankruptcy case has nothing to do with the criminal charges. In fact, filing bankruptcy may make your criminal punishment harsher, since you have chosen to avoid your financial obligations under the work comp act with the bankruptcy filing.

The employee's lawyer is behaving ethically. He is simply reporting crimes (yours) to the prosecuting authority. The DA is now making the decisions.

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Answered on 7/09/10, 4:54 pm


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