Voter Education Videos Aim To Protect Injured Workers, Expose Misinformation

RALEIGH, N.C., May 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The NC Advocates for Justice announced today the release of a video series to educate the public on dangerous legislation designed to gut the rights of injured workers.

In North Carolina, the Workers' Compensation Act provides that in most circumstances an injured worker cannot sue his or her employer. The Workers' Comp system provides the only legal remedy available for injured workers.

While the existing system can be improved with small adjustments, it provides much greater balance than the proposed, corporate-influenced legislation.

The bill's primary sponsors -- Dale Folwell, Nelson Dollar, Mike Hager, and James Crawford, Jr. as well as fellow politicians Tim Moffitt, Bill Cook and John Faircloth -- have launched an aggressive misinformation campaign designed to distract attention from the legislation's major points. If enacted, the bill would:

1.) Set an arbitrary limit on the amount of time an injured worker can receive compensation – regardless of the extent of their injuries.

2.) Force the injured back to work in jobs with much lower pay.

3.) Allow the employer's insurance company to control the medical care of the injured, and even communicate with the injured person's doctor without consent.

The first video explains how the proposed legislation – House Bill 709 and Senate Bill 544 – would make major changes to existing Workers' Compensation system. Future videos will delve deeper into the legislation's dangerous provisions.

Even if you are never injured at work, these changes will affect you. If someone is thrown off of Workers' Comp but cannot return to work, they will have no choice but to turn to government assistance such as Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid. Though insurance companies have collected premiums from their employers – in some cases, for many years – taxpayers will be left paying the bill.