Chris Brantley thrives on the creativity it takes to resolve complex workers' compensation claims. He gets satisfaction from helping clients who need a hard-working lawyer to protect their rights after a work injury.

In addition to workers' compensation claims, Chris also takes other personal injury cases and has garnered numerous awards and accolades for his achievements. He has earned admission into the prestigious Million Dollar Advocates Forums­– an honor awarded to less than one percent of personal injury lawyers in the United States. He also gained recognition by the American Association for Justice (AAJ) as a “Top 100” trial lawyer.

Education and Professional Experience

A Goldsboro native, Chris intended to pursue an art degree at East Carolina University before changing his major to English with a concentration in writing. He then went on to earn his juris doctorate from Campbell University’s Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law in 1993.

Chris continues to hone his skills and knowledge of the law. In 2000, he became a North Carolina State Bar Certified Specialist in Workers Compensation, a distinction few achieve. Additionally, he was admitted to practice in the Eastern District of the United States Federal Court in October 2012.

After 23 years as a practicing lawyer, Chris understands the complexities of workers' compensation law. “The rules of workers compensation are so convoluted,” he says. “It’s all about statutes and forms, and there’s so much red tape.… Sometimes it just depends on where the medicine lies, what the doctors say. You can turn the evidence into a winning case and you can help an injured employee who really needs benefits to take care of his or her family.”

Chris says a workers comp case often pits an injured employee against his or her employer’s insurance company. The North Carolina Industrial Commission administers the state’s workers compensation program and hears these cases. However, insurance companies are often formidable and intimidating.

Insurers for employers have a job to do, which is to pay as little as possible, according to Chris. Worse, they have a distinct advantage over the average employee.