Articles Posted in Workplace Injury

Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “If I am injured in a car accident or at work what should I do?”

Several months ago we told you about the Wild West shootout gone awry at the Ghost Town theme park in Maggie Valley, North Carolina. In that case, an employee, Robert Bradley, was hit by a piece of shrapnel from a shotgun blast during what was supposed to be a stunt demonstration for park goers. The incident required Bradley to visit a hospital for medical treatment and led to an investigation into working conditions at the park by the North Carolina Labor Department.

After the accident, Bradley and the other gunslinger involved in the fake fight were fired by Ghost Town. In response to the firing, two other gunfighters walked off the job in protest, claiming that Ghost Town was in the wrong and that there was no reason to fire the two men.

The North Carolina Department of Labor also revealed at the time it was beginning its investigation that there had been a total lack of medical personnel on-site at the time of the accident, something the park is required to provide. The Department of Labor also claims that the first aid available was out of date and that there was no water available to wash the blood off of Bradley’s hands.

The state’s investigation recently concluded and the North Carolina Labor Department decided to fine Ghost Town over the Wild West actor’s injury. Just this week officials with the Labor Department announced a $2,000 fine for the theme park. A spokesperson said the fine was issued because the park failed to provide safe guns for workers.

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Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “What can you sue for in a personal injury case?”

New numbers released by the North Carolina Department of Labor show that it has become safer for individuals to work in the state. The DOL numbers revealed that the number of workplace injuries and illnesses dropped to 2.9 per 100 full-time workers in 2012. The number is down from the fairly consistent rate of 3.1 incidents per 100 workers that has been seen for the last few years.

Officials with the state say that not only has the number come down relative to the previous year, but the number is also down substantially from where it was just a little over a decade ago. Back in 1999, the injury/illness rate stood at 5.7 per 100 workers, almost double where it is today. North Carolina has followed a national trend of declining on-the-job injuries, with the high-water mark for most states occurring in 1999. Nationally, the injury rate was 6.3 per every 100 workers and has now fallen to 3.4 incidents per 100.

Experts say that North Carolina’s continual decline in workplace accidents and injuries has occurred because of more stringent state and national laws regulating workplace safety. Aggressive action by OSHA inspectors and their North Carolina equivalents have forced employers to more carefully train workers and better watch over the conditions of their workplaces.

Another development that has helped lower accident rates is participation in workers’ compensation insurance programs. Because businesses must obtain insurance to provide for their workers in the event of an on-the-job accident, they are subjected to increased premiums if insurers believe the employer does not do enough to encourage safety in the workplace. Those companies without good safety programs have to pay higher insurance rates, something that forces companies to consider the impact that poor safety standards can have on their bottom lines.

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Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “How do worker comps payments work?”

It’s not too often you hear about gunslingers engaged in workers’ comp cases, but an accident late last month in the mountains of North Carolina resulted in just that. In a bizarre work-related injury case out of Maggie Valley, a gunfighter was wounded during a fake fight and now, understandably, wants to be compensated for his injuries.

Robert Bradley, a longtime employee of the Ghost Town amusement park in Maggie Valley, spent decades working as a fake gunfighter in the park’s Wild West Town. The attraction, one of the most popular at the park, requires Bradley and others to stage shootouts for the amusement of guests. While the fake shootouts are normally uneventful, things took a surprising turn a few weeks ago when Bradley was injured performing a scene he had done hundreds of times before.

According to Bradley, in the middle of a shootout he was hit in the right thigh by an as yet unknown projectile from the gun of another performer. Though police deemed the incident accidental and in no way suspicious, it did lead to a serious injury for Bradley. Authorities say the projectile was lodged 1.5 inches into his leg and that Bradley had to be rushed to an emergency room where he was asked to submit to a drug test.

Bradley refused to submit to the drug test, saying that he thinks such tests are merely ways for insurance companies to avoid paying workers’ for legitimate injuries. Given his refusal he was afraid the company might not pay his hospital bills since such tests are often prerequisites for handling an injury claim. Experts say that while a refusal can lead to delays in payments, it does not necessarily mean Bradley will never see money for his injury. Since the incident, Bradley says he has been contacted by a workers’ comp representative who asked that he forward along his medical bills. Though this does not mean Bradley’s troubles are over, it’s a good indication that his case is moving forward.

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Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “How do worker comps payments work?”

A terrible workplace accident at a construction site in Marion, North Carolina led to serious injuries to more than a dozen people and required help from nearly 70 rescuers. Police say scaffolding located at the site of the construction of a new wing of McDowell High School collapsed late last week while 15 workers were working on top of it.

Authorities say that as the scaffolding collapsed, seven of the 15 workers jumped onto and straddled the wall that was under construction while the rest fell between 40 and 50 feet into the pile of broken metal scaffolding beneath them. According to police, one man dangled from the scaffold for nearly an hour before emergency responders were able to rescue him.

Given the number of workers present and the severity of the injuries, more than 70 people were called to the accident scene to rescue construction workers. Several workers had to be life-flighted to hospitals in Spartanburg and Asheville given the critical nature of their injuries.

Police say the workers were all employed by a local company named Beam Construction. Investigators say they are working hard to determine the cause of the scaffolding collapse and want to ensure that such an accident does not happen again.

For all the talk of safety efforts for construction workers, the industry is consistently one of the leading sources of workplace accidents and deaths. Construction work is notoriously dangerous even with stringent government safety regulations in place. The simple nature of the work exposes employees to risky conditions, dangerous equipment, potentially hazardous materials and unstable work areas.

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Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “Can my employer fire me because I filed a workers’ compensation claim?”

A construction accident in Cary, North Carolina left two workers seriously injured and regulators launching an investigation into the safety of the construction site. The accident took place on the 6100 block of Tryon Road in Cary, NC.

Police say that at the time of the accident a truck was being used to pour concrete onto a proposed greenway track. Witnesses say that a little before 7:30 in the morning the concrete pumping truck toppled over. Investigators say it is not clear what might have caused the accident, but they believe it might have something to do with the support arms of the truck. Authorities say that the support arms of the concrete pumping truck appeared to have sunk into the soft ground in front of it, which caused the truck to come unbalanced.

The machinery is owned by Concrete & Material Placement, a company located in Charlotte. Authorities say that two construction workers were injured due to the truck toppling over. One worker was knocked off a wall by the fall support arm while another man had his torso stuck between two sections of metal. Both workers were transported to WakeMed for treatment of their injuries.

Working on a construction site is one of the most dangerous jobs in the U.S. Every year the construction industry in North Carolina sees a large number of workplace deaths. Thankfully this case did not end so tragically, though the two men did suffer serious injuries that will take time to recover from.

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Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “I have been injured on another person’s property. What should I do now?”

The Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued a statement regarding the tragic explosion at a Statesville, NC flour mill that took place over the weekend. One worker at the Bartlett Milling Company was seriously injured when the explosion led to a fire and eventually to a wall collapse at the mill. Though the accident is already tragic, the statement from OSHA reveals that the accident was entirely preventable.

The accident happened as two maintenance employees were repairing a piece of equipment in the basement of the mill. One of the two workers turned the power back on which caused a spark and a flash fire. A second man who was also in the basement at the time was injured in the explosion. Thankfully, a coworker was able to get the man out of the building safely. The worker was then taken by helicopter to a local hospital for treatment.

OSHA has said that a preliminary investigation found that an unacceptable level of accumulated combustible flour dust is likely the cause of the terrible explosion. The issue is one that is easily prevented with proper cleaning and maintenance and should never have been allowed to develop into as big as a problem as was present in the Statesville incident.

Throughout the country, there have been 115 reported flour dust explosions between 1994 and 2003, according to the most recent numbers available, most of them happening in grain elevators. Surprising to many people is that flour dust that is suspended in air is more explosive than coal dust. Ever since the a terrible flour mill explosion in Minneapolis took place in 1878 and killed 18 workers, the milling industry has tried to reduce the risk of flour particles igniting into flour bombs. In fact, General Mills’ factories use explosion-proof motors for added protection.

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