Workers' Compensation Law Firm in Charlotte, North Carolina

State Auditor Slams North Carolina Industrial Commission For Failures To Protect Workers :: Workers’ Comp Lawyers and Attorneys in Charlotte, N.C.

January 31, 2013 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

According to a recently released report by the North Carolina State Auditor, the state’s Industrial Commission has failed to fulfill its primary role of ensuring that employers carry insurance to cover potentially injured workers.

State Auditor Beth Woods released a report holding the North Carolina Industrial Commission accountable for not doing enough to track those companies that refuse to provide proper insurance to cover their workers. This failure on the part of the Commission and employers exposes workers to possibly being without money in the event they suffer injuries on the job and miss work. It also means that injured workers could be left with enormous medical bills because their employers flouted the law and were never properly insured.

The report revealed that vulnerable employees almost never realize they are at risk until it’s too late. Most employees only discover their employer lacks proper insurance in the event of an injury after an employee files a claim for compensation. The Industrial Commission has fallen down on the job by not implementing procedures that identify these noncompliant employers until after the employee has already been injured.

The report further revealed that a whopping 11,000 businesses across North Carolina either canceled their insurance coverage or let it lapse during the previous year. Another frightening statistic indicated that as many as 30,000 employers that are required to carry insurance for their workers do not. North Carolina law currently mandates that all companies with at least three workers have insurance to cover the medical bills of any employees hurt on the job. There are exceptions for some railroad workers, domestic employees, farm laborers and federal government employees.

The Auditor’s report also faulted the Industrial Commission for failing to aggressively punish those employers who are noncompliant with insurance. The report said that the companies who fail to follow the law are rarely given harsh financial penalties for their actions and when they are, only a fraction of the assessed penalties are ever actually collected.

Workers’ Comp Lawyers and Attorneys in Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, NC :: Workplace Fatalities in North Carolina Fall 35%

January 3, 2013 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

According to preliminary figures released by the state’s Department of Labor, workplace fatalities dropped by 34% in 2012. This translates to 35 workplace fatalities in 2012 versus the 53 that were seen in 2011. Though the recent drop is certainly good news, it’s being measured against the 2011 number which represented a five-year peak in workplace deaths.

The North Carolina Department of Labor is crediting a recent enforcement push for the reduction in deaths. They say that by policing employers more carefully they have helped contribute to greater workplace safety in the state. The state’s Occupational Safety and Health Division has taken what it calls a “proactive approach” to help avoid injuries and fatalities in workplaces across the state, specifically by partnering with employers in especially hazardous industries.

The agency has reached out to employers and employees and used a system of hazard alerts, publishing safety guides and printing posters to help alert workers to possible dangers in their place of business. The latest injury and illness rate information points to an all time low of 3.1 per 100 full-time workers. Given the latest information, North Carolina is expected to rank in the top 10 safest states to work this year.

Problems with workers being hit by various objects, most often trees, vehicles and other heavy equipment, continued despite the Department of Labor’s efforts. Fourteen people died from being struck by various things, amounting to the leading cause of death among people at work in the state. Other major causes of death among workers in North Carolina were falls and electrocution.

Workers’ Compensation Lawyers and Attorneys in Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina :: Injured Workers in North Carolina Sometimes Left Destitute Thanks to Uninsured Bosses

December 27, 2012 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

The Charlotte Observer recently told the story of a man who was injured at work and left to eke out a living on government benefits due to the failure of the state’s workers’ compensation system to compensate him.

The worker, John Ashworth, shattered both his feet back in 2008 after falling off a roof. His employer lacked the insurance required by state law and owes him tens of thousands in back pay. State officials have been pressuring the company to pay, but so far Ashworth has received a total of $75. He survives on food stamps and Medicaid given the lack of a safety net for workers just like him.

The problem in North Carolina is a big one. One investigation found that there are at least 30,000 employers across the state that are required to carry insurance but do not. More shocking is that little or nothing has been done by regulators to ensure compliance with the state law. The state’s Industrial Commission hears complaints from between 300 and 500 workers each year who were injured while working for an uninsured company. Even though the Commission typically rules in favor of the injured workers, it can takes months or years (if ever) before the Commission is able to force the employers to pay the money they rightfully owe.

One way of fixing the problem is to haul the bosses off to jail. In another case this year, an injured worker was owed $120,000 in back pay by his boss. After months of ignoring the commission’s letters and requests for a meeting, officials finally arrested the employer. The arrest provoked the desired response and the employer has already begun making $1,000 per month payments to the worker in hopes of a settlement.

Advocates for such vulnerable employees say the state should create a fund to pay the back pay owed to such injured workers quickly so they are not left destitute while their former employers dispute the claims. Because workers that are never compensated end up on Medicaid or food stamp programs, advocates explain the taxpayers end up footing the bill either way.

Workplace Injuries and Regular OSHA Inspections

July 10, 2012 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

The presence of inspectors from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) at a company’s door is usually the cause for concern for employers. A new study out of Harvard Business School finds that this probably shouldn’t be the case. The data suggests that regular inspections by OSHA actually help employers reduce their workers’ compensation claims and actually add money to the company’s profits. This is great news for North Carolina workers as many preventable workplace injuries occur everyday.

The research was co-authored by professors from Harvard Business School and the UC-Berkeley School of Business. The researchers started their study by examining workplace safety inspections that were conducted by the California branch of the OSHA, and focused on the impact of these inspections on workers’ compensation claims and costs.

The study, Randomized Government Safety Inspections Reduce Worker Injuries with No Detectable Job Loss, found that when OSHA conducted safety inspections, it actually reduced the number of injuries that occurred in the workplace, helping employees and, in the long run, employers. This is because a reduced number of injured workers result in a reduced cost to employers for time spent out of work and the expenses associated with workers’ compensation claims.

The study also showed that there was no detectable harm to the company’s profits as a result of any of the OSHA inspections. On the contrary, the researchers say that frequent inspections by OSHA actually help boost a company’s coffers, because the company consistently spends less on workers’ comp claims.

The study showed that certain high-risk industries that had the highest number of injuries were the ones that benefited most from frequent inspections. Workplaces that were placed under regular inspection by OSHA were able to reduce their workers’ compensation claims by a surprising 39.4%. These same high-risk companies were also able to save 26% on their workers’ comp costs over the span of the four-year study. On average, researchers found that companies that had been through the regular inspection process were able to save as much as $355,000.

Workers’ Compensation not Available Thousands of Injured North Carolina Workers

March 29, 2012 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

A report by the Charlotte Observer has noted a disturbing trend in North Carolina: employers who do not have workers’ compensation insurance and who are leaving their employees out to dry after serious injuries. This trend is not only obviously hurting the employees who have no compensation after being injured on the job, but it is also forcing employers to close their doors due to the demand of lawsuits.

The state Industrial Commission is the agency responsible for ensuring that employers obtain and maintain workers’ compensation insurance as required by the law of the state of North Carolina. However, it only gets involved after an employee has been injured and then is left with no income and increasingly expensive medical costs. According to the Charlotte Observer, the Industrial Commission does not try to determine which businesses have failed to purchase workers’ compensation insurance and which businesses have allowed their workers’ compensation coverage to lapse.

Under North Carolina law, businesses that have more than three employees are required to purchase workers’ compensation insurance. The businesses, however, are only required to tell the Industrial Commission that they are insured. Besides a simple notification, there is no enforcement, no way of making sure that businesses have actually purchased the required workers’ compensation insurance.

While recently, the North Carolina General Assembly has attempted to reform the state workers’ compensation law, making it more affordable for employers, the revisions and amendments to the law failed to address what happens when employers do not purchase workers’ compensation insurance. Other lobby groups, such as the North Carolina Homebuilders Association, have begun pushing for stricter enforcement of the insurance requirement and punishment for those businesses that do not comply. The branch of the Industrial Commission charged with dealing with those businesses that do not have workers’ compensation insurance only focus on collecting the necessary money from the business rather than punishing the business for its violation of the law.