No specific laws identified for this ruling.
The Industrial Commission properly awarded workers' compensation benefits to a professional football player who sustained a compensable leg and ankle injury during employment with Richardson Sports, Ltd., and was entitled to disability compensation despite later attempting to play for another team.
1. Workers' Compensation — compensable injury — professional football player The Industrial Commission did not err by finding that a professional football player sustained a compensable injury by accident arising out of and in the course of his employment where his leg was broken and ankle tendons torn when other players fell on the back of his leg during a game. There was evidence to support the Commission's findings that the injury was unusual. 2. Workers' Compensation — disability — professional football player — reason for being released from team — personal knowledge The trial court did not err by allowing plaintiff, a football player, to testify about the reason for his termination from a team. Plaintiff offered personal knowledge about why he was released and his testimony was not hearsay. 3. Workers' Compensation — disability — injured professional football player — return with another team — eventual release The Industrial Commission did not err in a workers' compensation case by awarding compensation to a professional football player who was injured while playing with defendant, then returned to play with another team. While plaintiff did try out for and make the other team, he was released from that team because of injuries suffered with defendant. 4. Workers' Compensation — disability — professional football player — dollar-for-dollar credits The Industrial Commission did not abuse its discretion in a workers' compensation disability case by awarding a time credit rather than a dollar-for-dollar credit for payments made by defendants to plaintiff, a professional football player, after he was injured. Dollar-for-dollar credits are precluded by North Carolina law.Page 530</page_numb
This summary was generated to explain the ruling in plain English and is not legal advice.
<bold>Workers' Compensation — Causation — fibromyalgia — doctor's opinion</bold> <bold>testimony</bold> <block_quote> The Court of Appeals erred in concluding that competent evidence was presented to support the Industrial Commission's findings of fact with regard to the cause of plaintiff-employee's fibromyalgia based solely on the opinion testimony of one doctor.</block_quote>
<bold>1. Workers' Compensation — Seagraves test — injured employee's</bold> <bold>right to continuing benefits — termination for misconduct</bold> <block_quote> Our Supreme Court adopts the <italic>Seagraves</italic>, <cross_reference>123 N.C. App. 228</cross_reference> (2003), test for determining an injured employee's right to continuing workers' compensation benefits after being terminated for misconduct whereby an employer must demonstrate initially that the employee was terminated for misconduct, the same misconduct would have resulted in the termination of a nondisabled employee, and the termination was unrelated to the employee's compensable injury, in order to find that an employee constructively refused suitable work, thus barring workers' compensation benefits for lost earnings unless the employee is then able to show that his inability to find or hold other employment at a wage comparable to that earned prior to the injury is due to the work-related injury.</block_quote> <bold>2. Workers' Compensation — constructive refusal of suitable</bold> <bold>employment — termination for misconduct unrelated to</bold> <bold>workplace injuries</bold> <block_quote> The Industrial Commission erred in a workers' compensation case by concluding that defendant employer met its burden of providing competent evidence that plaintiff employee's failure to perform her UPC labeling duties was not related to her prior compensable injury under workers' compensation, which thereby led to her termination for misconduct and denial of additional workers' compensation benefits based on an alleged failure to accept a suitable position reasonably offered by her employer, because: (1) the evidence relied upon by the Commission's majority indicated that plaintiff was having continuing problems in the wake of, and as a result of, her injuries; (2) there was no competent evidence referenced in the Commission's opinion and award that supported a showing by defendant employer that
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