Although there are many laws and regulations that are meant to prevent accidents in the workplace, worker injuries are still strikingly common in North Carolina. These injuries can -- and often do -- take a significant physical and emotional toll on workers, too. Here...
Helping Make The Law Make Sense
Year: 2021
Traumatic brain injuries are a serious workplace problem
While some eventually people recover from on the job injuries, others suffer life altering consequences. For example, traumatic brain injuries can make it particularly difficult for victims in North Carolina to return to their former positions or to re enter the...
Keeping workplace injuries off social media
Whether posting on Twitter or scrolling through Facebook, social media is an integral part of many people’s lives. There are times when it is a good idea to refrain from using these platforms. For example, victims of workplace injuries might want to be careful with...
Heat stress and the risk for construction workers
The summer months will bring higher temperatures and more humidity to North Carolina, affecting those who work outdoors. Construction workers may be among those adversely affected by the heat, and it is important to know how to stay safe during the hottest months of...
Time of day matters for construction injuries
Construction workers in North Carolina face a wide range of on-the-job risks, but there could be a complicating factor that many people are not aware of -- time. A recent study found that the time of day and how many hours someone has worked greatly influence his or...
Hearing loss as a workplace injury
Working around loud machinery or tools can put a profound strain on one’s hearing, which may eventually translate to hearing loss. As a workplace injury, hearing loss often goes on to affect virtually all other aspects of a person’s life. Without the proper ear...
26th Annual Workers’ Compensation Roundtable (North Carolina Advocates for Justice’s Workers’ Comp Section)
Vernon Sumwalt will teach “Legal and Evidentiary Standards of Disability” at the NCAJ’s 26th Annual Workers’ Compensation Roundtable, a virtual continuing legal education course for workers’ comp lawyers who represent injured workers in North Carolina, on April 9,...
Falls, repetitive movements contribute to workplace injuries
North Carolina employers should prioritize creating safety in the workplace. Unfortunately, accidents can happen even when bosses have worked hard to implement safety protocols, provide necessary equipment and properly train all employees. Some of the more common...
“Former Charlotte Police Officer Says Riots Gave Him PTSD” (WCNC News Report 2/22/2021)
The bravery of lawyers going to trial is nothing compared to the bravery of our clients whose lives they ask us to share with the world. Chad, a veteran police officer in Charlotte, North Carolina, entrusted The Sumwalt Group to challenge a denial of his workers'...
For Workers’ Compensation Cases, the Industrial Commission follows the Supreme Court of North Carolina’s Order about Mediation, Commission Hearings, and Written Affirmation without Notarization
Consistent with other courts, the North Carolina Industrial Commission will follow Orders of the North Carolina Supreme Court for emergency directives during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Commission’s decision is at https://www.ic.nc.gov/news.html#hot (“Current...