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 the…
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…
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 protection,…
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, 2021. For more about the seminar, go…
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 workplace injuries can often occur despite employers’ and…
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…
In February 2021, the National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI) published its research on opioid use in the workers’ compensation system. https://www.nasi.org/research/2021/understanding-opioids-context-workers-compensation. Contrasting a 4% the 2018 reduction in opioid-related overdoses, which corresponds to an increase in life expectancy for the first time in 6…
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 Commission Policies Regarding Mediation, Commission Hearings, and Written Affirmation without Notarization.”) Three things…