Holland Poole Holland & Sanderson PA

09/01/2026

Workers' Rights

Workers' Compensation laws are designed to handle claims from employees who are injured by accident on the job. An injured worker need not establish fault or negligence on the part of the employer in order to collect benefits. Because Workers' Comp laws impose liability on employers without negligence, it is the exclusive remedy by the employee against the employer and benefits do not cover all the things a typical personal injury case would. If a third party, other than the employer, is responsible for the accident that caused a worker's injury, the worker may have a claim against that party in addition to the Workers' Comp case against the employer.

You are entitled to three categories of benefits in a Workers' Compensation case: 1. Medical expenses related to the accident. 2. 2/3 of your lost wages. 3. Compensation for any permanent disability.

08/25/2026

Yesterday I posted a picture from Ross’s swearing in. This is the newspaper article about Billie Poole’s swearing in as a lawyer. This was 61 years ago in 1965, but I’m not certain of the date. Poole is the lawyer on the far right. Just to the left of Billie (the newspaper misspelled it) Poole is Maurice Holland.

08/24/2026

45 years ago today Judge Stevens swore Ross in as an attorney.

08/24/2026

Don't Assume

The most common reason people don't properly document their personal injury cases is that they assume the insurance company will treat them fairly and it won't be necessary to prove their case in court. Based on this assumption they don't take pictures of their injuries or the damage to their vehicle or make note of everything they are going through as a result of the accident. This leaves them in a weaker position if later their case must be litigated. It also puts them in a much weaker bargaining position during negotiations. It is much better to document your case and not need it than to need it and not have the documentation.

08/21/2026

I always like looking at the memories on Facebook. These popped up today. It was pretty rare that we could convince Ross to participate in “play” time and even more rare that he agreed to be in the picture and for it to be posted. So this day does stick out.—-Sandy

08/20/2026

Thank you to Debbie Jackson, Holly Williams and Lisa Spell for all that you do the help serve our clients!

Congratulations to Sandy Sanderson on being voted One of the Best Attorneys in Sampson County in the Best of Sampson Awards!

08/18/2026

Personal Injury

If you have been injured in a major accident that was not your fault, there may be several sources of insurance for you. These include: liability insurance for the car that caused the accident, liability coverage for any other policies covering the driver who was at fault, med pay and underinsured coverage for the car you were in and med pay and underinsured coverage for any car you or a family member residing with you has even if you weren't in that car at the time of the accident.

In a major accident identifying ALL coverage is the key to collecting enough to fully cover your bills and compensate you for what you've been through. The biggest mistake commonly made is by people who think they don't need a lawyer because the insurance company for the car at fault is paying it's policy limits. That could be only a small portion of the insurance available and the injured person may never know all the benefits he or she gave up.

08/14/2026

Social Security

If your Disability application is denied, you must appeal within 60 days or you will be forced to start over. Failure to file the appeal can hurt you in a number of ways. You can lose the right to some back benefits. More importantly is the issue of your wait. In many cases your best shot at getting approved is at the hearing level. Unfortunately, you have to go through lower levels at Social Security to get to the hearing level. Failing to appeal means that you will have to go through those levels AGAIN.

08/13/2026

Social Host Liability

If you are having a party, wedding reception or other event where alcohol will be served or even just having friends over for a few beers, you need to be aware of Social Host Liability. If one of your guests leaves your event and is involved in an accident that severely injures or kills someone (other than the intoxicated person from your party) you could be liable and the liability could be huge.

The test for liability is when a social host serves alcohol to a person they know or should know is intoxicated and they know that that person will be later driving, the social host can be held liable for the damages caused by their drunk guest.

The reason this poses a huge liability to the host is normally the damages in these cases are very high. If the drunk causes little damage then the drunk's insurance will be enough to cover it. In cases in which the host is pulled in it typically means that the damages are so high that the drunk's insurance or assets aren't enough to cover all the damages.

As a social host what can you do to protect yourself if you have made the decision to serve alcohol at your event?

1. Be totally aware of what is going on. If the host is also drinking he or she will not be as likely to notice whether guests are drinking too much and intend to drive.

2. Hire a professional bartender and give instructions not to serve those who become intoxicated. This takes the decision making process away from the host and places it on someone who won't be drinking and has more experience in spotting those who have had too much to drink. It can, also, insulate the host from liability if the bartender is a true independent contractor.

3. Have someone in charge of making sure no intoxicated guests drive at the end of the night. Again, if this person has not been drinking it provides another level of due diligence on behalf of the host by having someone "inspect" guests before they get behind the wheel.

4. Insurance!!! Make sure you have an umbrella policy that will protect you in the event that you are sued. Even if you have tried to be careful, if you have a party and serve alcohol and someone is severely injured or killed by one of your guests, you are probably going to get sued. You may win in the end if you have been careful, but having insurance for it means not only will you have coverage if you lose, you will also have someone else paying the legal bills while you fight it.

Serving alcohol at events does raise liability issues. Make sure you consider them prior to the event. You do not want what was to be a fun event to end up being something that injures or kills someone else and bankrupts you.