Charlotte Injury Lawyers Blog

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.

Auto Deaths Rise In 2012 For First Time In Eight Years :: Personal Injury Lawyers and Attorneys in Charlotte, North Caroilna

January 29, 2013 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

According to statistics released by the National Safety Council, the number of traffic deaths across the country increased by around 5% last year. Tragically, the increase in traffic deaths would make for the first time the number of road fatalities has increased in eight years.

The group said that last year 36,200 people died in auto accidents on the nation’s roadways. The number of people injured enough in such accidents to require medical attention also rose by a corresponding 5%, reaching an astonishing 3.9 million people. The financial toll of auto accidents is also significant, with billions wasted in lost wages, lost productivity, hospital bills and property damage. The estimate was that in 2012, expenses associated with auto accidents rose to $276.6 billion.

These numbers are slightly better than the ones released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in December. Those numbers showed that for the first nine moths of 2012, traffic deaths had risen 7.1%. This 7.1% increase was the largest increase in traffic fatalities since 1975; the year the NHTSA began collecting such data.

The National Safety Council has pointed to an increase in teen driving deaths and deaths due to distracted driving as being partially to blame for the increase in road deaths. The organization says it must be a priority by Congress and state legislatures to address such safety issues to ensure that 2013 does not see a similar increase in road deaths.

New Crosswalk System In North Carolina Aims To Reduce Pedestrian Deaths :: Personal Injury Attorneys and Lawyers in Charlotte, North Carolina

January 24, 2013 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

According to a recent report out of Raleigh, NC, pedestrians can expect some changes the next time they try to cross the street. One stretch of Hillsborough Street, a busy road through the Research Triangle, along with a few other heavily trafficked roads, now have newly installed buttons that clearly say “Wait” before it’s time to cross rather than the typical chirping crosswalk signs.

Safety experts say the changes are being made to help reduce instances of distracted walking. Experts are hoping that the crystal clear message on the crosswalk signs helps pedestrians pay closer attention before they cross the street. The different speed beeping noises previously used at the intersection did little to prevent occasional jaywalking. The hope is the new crosswalk system will help pedestrians stop putting themselves in danger by ignoring crosswalks or walking while being absorbed by other technology.

The changes have been implemented in the Research Triangle given its reputation as a notoriously dangerous place for pedestrians. According to a recent report, 400 pedestrians are hit and injured by drivers in the Triangle each year. Wake County manages to rank second in the state for the number of collisions each year involving pedestrians. First place, sadly, belongs to Mecklenburg County.

The new crosswalks are part of a campaign launched late last year called “Watch For Me NC” which is so far focused on communities in the Triangle area. The program works with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to help reduce the number of pedestrian injuries.

Distracted Driver Causes Massive Pileup on I-485 :: Automobile Accident Lawyers and Attorneys in Charlotte, North Carolina

January 22, 2013 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

A terrible accident on I-485 last week left five people injured after a tractor-trailer carrying a mobile home crashed into other nearby vehicles. The accident happened just after noon on the I-485 inner loop just past Providence Road.

The Charlotte Fire Department said they were dispatched to the scene to save a person who was trapped in a car. All of the five people injured were taken to the CMC Main Hospital for treatment, three of whom were treated for life-threatening injuries.

An interview conducted by WCNC of several of the victims in the crash revealed that one survivor is suffering from multiple broken ribs, a broken leg and a broken arm. Two others in the same car also had several broken bones and are severely bruised. Despite the terrible injuries, they say they count themselves as lucky just to have survived.

One of the vehicles involved in the crash was a Toyota Prius that was following behind the semi acting as a pilot car. The driver says the crew had just pulled off the interstate to fix some plastic wrapping on the mobile home that had come loose. As they were stopped on the side of the interstate out of nowhere the Prius was smashed into by an SUV driver going at least 65 miles per hour along the shoulder of the road. Evidently the driver was attempting to program his GPS and had drifted out of the lane of traffic, not paying attention. The Prius was hit so hard that the front end was smashed into the back of the mobile home and the back end was smashed into the SUV.

NC Highway Patrol Warns Drivers To Watch For Those On Roadsides :: Car Wreck Lawyers and Attorneys in Charlotte, North Carolina

January 17, 2013 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

It’s tragic that data shows more than 150 police officers have died since 1999 after being hit by passing vehicles on roadways across the United States. The numbers, recently released by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, serves as a painful reminder of how much police officers sacrifice to keep others safe.

WBTV reports that the North Carolina Highway Patrol is taking this opportunity to impress upon residents of the state how important it is to abide by the Move Over law, especially when emergency vehicles are stopped on the side of the road.

North Carolina is one of 43 states to enact such legislation. North Carolina implemented its version of the law in 2002. Though the law is now more than a decade old, many drivers remain unaware of it. According to recent polling, some 71% of Americans have never heard of “Move Over” laws. This despite the fact that 86% of those responding to the survey say they support enacting such legislation.

North Carolina’s law was designed to help curb the numbers of deaths suffered not only by police officers, but by other emergency responders and even civilians who were stranded on the side of the interstate. North Carolina’s law requires drivers to slow down and approach cautiously when an emergency vehicle is stopped on the shoulder of the roadway with its lights flashing. Motorists are required to move over to another lane away from the emergency vehicle on a multi-lane highway or slow down on a two-lane highway assuming they can do so safely.

North Carolina Train Derailment Leads to Chemical Spill and Evacuation :: Personal Injury Lawyers and Attorneys in Charlotte, NC

January 15, 2013 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

According to a recent Associated Press report, a terrible train crash in eastern North Carolina led to an entire town being evacuated as toxic chemicals were released into the surrounding area.

Authorities say that an evacuation order was issue for between 300 and 400 residents of Bladen County, NC after a CSX train derailed around 3:30 in the afternoon on Saturday. The train was carrying several chemicals, including some cars that were full of ammonia. As the CSX train was crossing a small bridge above a creek the structure gave way and at least 10 train cars fell into the stream.

Emergency responders realized that the overturned train was carrying toxic chemicals and that one of the derailed cars contained ammonia. Ammonia is a potentially explosive substance that can cause serious respiratory problems to those exposed. Given the risks associated with the chemicals, police evacuated hundreds of residents in close proximity to the crash site.

The evacuation order has since been lifted after CSX’s hazardous materials team determined the area was safe. The transport company says it intends to pump out the ammonia from the damaged car over the coming days and that residents in the area will be safe.

Personal Injury Attorneys and Lawyers in Charlotte, NC :: Chemical Spill Leaves One Worker Dead and Two Others Injured in Paper Plant

January 10, 2013 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Sad news out of York County today after it was revealed that one person is dead and another two were injured at a paper plant just south of the Charlotte metro area.

The terrible workplace accident took place around 1:30 in the morning on Tuesday of this week at the Resolute Forest Products plant in Catawba. The plant is located along Highway 5 near the Lancaster County, border.

Emergency Management officials in the county told WBTV that three contractors were doing maintenance on a decommissioned tank outside the main production area when an accident happened. The official said he believes that some type of chemical leaked into the tank while the men were still inside of it.

Two of the men were able to escape the tank but the third man was not so lucky and died. One of the two who escaped suffered serious injuries and had to be taken to a local hospital to receive treatment.

An investigation of the plant and the accident have been turned over to the state’s Occupational Safety and Health Department. Local law enforcement officials will help in the Department of Labor’s investigation and in piecing together what exactly went wrong.

The same plant saw a serious injury back in May of last year when a worker was severely burned and three others were injured after a chemical leak in a different part of the paper plant. The chemical, known as white liquor, was used to process wood chips and ended up burning the four employees after it leaked out of its holding area.

Personal Injury Lawyers and Attorneys in Charlotte, NC :: NASCAR May Be Next Organization to Worry About The Risks of Concussions

January 8, 2013 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Despite reports that NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. suffered a serious concussion last year, the organization has said it will not require that cognitive testing be done for drivers in 2013. However, the group did not rule out baseline cognitive tests for 2014 as it said it would continue to evaluate its procedures.

The famous driver suffered a concussion after a crash that took place at the end of August last year at the Kansas Speedway. Earnhardt suffered from some concussion symptoms after the crash but it has been revealed that he never had any follow-up exams. Perhaps worst of all, Earnhardt immediately returned to the regularly scheduled season and continued racing despite the brain trauma. He was then injured again and suffered a second concussion in a wreck that took place during the final lap of an early October race at Talladega Superspeedway.

This risk of re-injury is what can compound the effects of a concussion and lead to severe problems down the road. The doctors were sufficiently concerned after his second concussion and ordered him to sit out of races over the next two weeks. NASCAR officials claim they never knew about either concussion until Earnhardt revealed them after his second injury.

An official with NASCAR says the organization is still gathering information about concussions and is not yet prepared to release a policy regarding any new procedures. Rather than require baseline testing now, NASCAR intends to start by educating drivers about the dangers of brain injuries. Whether this will be enough to prevent other drivers from suffering the same injuries that have occurred in those who play professional football remains to be seen.

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.

Personal Injury Lawyers and Attorneys in Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina :: New Medicare Reimbursement Regulations May Result in Better Care For Hospital Patients

January 1, 2013 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

In a bit of good news for hospital patients in North Carolina, the federal government’s new reimbursement procedures may help to force doctors to provide better care. New Medicare regulations that began at the end of last year are designed to reduce payments to those hospitals with higher-than-expected readmission rates for heart failure, heart attack and pneumonia. The penalties could be big enough to cost some hospitals millions of dollars and will likely send a clear message to physicians that caring for patients properly the first time around is of the utmost importance.

Though the penalties only apply to a limited set of conditions, this is expected to change to include several other serious health conditions. Hospitals will then have a real incentive to work hard to reduce the number of patients who have to return soon after a discharge, a widespread problem that has yet to be properly addressed.

Experts in the medical field suggest a lack of coordination among healthcare providers is to blame for the high rate of readmissions. Hospitals often fail to identify which patients are at a high risk for complications, which leads to large numbers returning for further medical treatment. Minimal help for patients who have to make the transition from hospital to home is also to blame.

These hospital readmissions are not only costly in terms of unnecessary pain and even death for innocent patients, but financially costly as well. The Center of Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) estimates that such readmissions cost the government nearly $26 billion a year. The CMS has said that hospitals need to implement better discharge planning, more home-based follow-up procedures and provide quality patient education.