Charlotte Injury Lawyers Blog

New Numbers Show Decrease In North Carolina Workplace Injury Rates :: Charlotte Injury Lawyer

December 12, 2013 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

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.

Speeding Driver Seriously Injures North Carolina Postal Worker :: High Point, Charlotte, Mecklenburg County Lawyer

December 10, 2013 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

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

Police in High Point, North Carolina reported a terrible accident that occurred late last week when a postal worker was seriously injured after being struck by another vehicle. According to authorities, the accident happened at the intersection of Wise Avenue and Pershing Street just after noon.

Authorities say that the postal worker, whose name has not yet been released, was inside her mail vehicle and was making a U-turn at the intersection when an oncoming vehicle struck her. The other vehicle was a pickup truck, which was heading east on Wise Avenue prior to the crash.

Police officers say that the force of the accident was serious enough that the postal worker was ejected from the vehicle, something that was likely responsible for the severity of her injuries. Emergency responders say the woman was taken to High Point Regional Medical Center and then, as her condition was discovered to be critical, was taken immediately to Wake Forest Medical Center for further treatment.

Police officers say that they have not yet filed charges against the driver of the pickup, but believe that charges could be forthcoming depending on the conclusion of the ongoing accident investigation. Early reports indicate that the driver of the pickup truck was traveling at a very high rate of speed prior to crashing into the postal worker.

Data collected by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has revealed that in fatal accidents, speeding is the third leading contributing factor. That means that speeding ranks just after distracted driving and impaired driving as being responsible for thousands of deaths every year. In fact, statistics show that 13,000 lives are lost across the country every year due to speeding.

North Carolina Woman Killed In Walmart Parking Lot Accident :: Personal Injury Attorneys and Lawyers in Charlotte, NC

December 5, 2013 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “What exactly is a wrongful death claim?”

Officers in Statesville, North Carolina say that they will continue an investigation into the case of a woman who died after being run over in a Walmart parking lot earlier this week. Officials with the Statesville Police Department say that the accident happened around 11 a.m. on Monday morning.

Authorities say that a female employee, Tamara Sheppard, was hit by a slow moving pickup truck driven by Jesse Brown. According to eyewitnesses, Sheppard was an employee at Walmart and appeared to be in the parking lot while on-the-job. As Sheppard was walking down an aisle in the parking lot Brown turned a corner to try and grab a parking spot when he collided with her.

Brown was later interviewed about the accident and said that he never saw Sheppard and does not think that she ever saw him. Security cameras show that the accident happened at a very low rate of speed, but the slow speed was not enough to save Sheppard. Brown said that he felt the car hit something and once he did he stopped the car to get out and look. It was then that he saw Sheppard behind the back of his Ford truck.

Emergency responders were called to Walmart to try and assist Sheppard but say that her injuries were too severe. She was airlifted to Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte where she later died. Officers say that Brown has not yet been charged in connection with the accident and that police are working in connection with the District Attorney to determine if charges are warranted in the case.

Fictitious Slip-And-Fall Case Ends In Fraud Charges :: Personal Injury Attorneys and Lawyers in Charlotte, NC

December 3, 2013 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “What should I do if I have been injured by another party but I can’t afford a lawyer?”

A man’s attempt to collect some money from the Washington, D.C. metro system ended up backfiring, instead earning him only criminal fraud charges. The incident surrounds Maurice Owens’ staged slip-and-fall inside a Metro subway station.

Initially, Owens told police that he slipped and fell on a banana peel while he was getting off an elevator at a D.C. Metro stop. He then sued the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority for $15,000, hoping to quickly and easily cash in on a simple slip-and-fall claim. Owens claimed in his suit that a janitor had left the peel in the elevator and, as a result, WMATA ought to be responsible for the injuries he suffered as a result of the slip. Owens said that as a result of the fall he suffered serious injuries to his hip and leg and had to be transported to a nearby hospital for evaluation.

Unfortunately for Owens, the case would not prove to be as easy as he had hoped. Officials with D.C. Metro said they located security camera footage in the Potomac Avenue station which clearly shows Owens faking his fall on the banana peel. The footage reveals that prior to Owens walking in, the elevator floor was totally clear. After Owens enters, he is seen looking up at the camera located inside the elevator, then dropping something that had been in his hand on the floor. Immediately thereafter, Owens is shown falling on the item. The object that Owens dropped was later identified as the banana peel.

Owens’ fake slip-and-fall not only did not work out as he had hoped, but has now led to second-degree felony fraud charges. Many wonder whether Owens believed he would really get away with his scam given the multitude of cameras positioned in the area.

Charlotte Woman Latest Injured In North Carolina Amtrak Accidents :: Personal Injury Attorneys and Lawyers in Charlotte, NC

November 28, 2013 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

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

Emergency responders in Charlotte say that a woman is recovering from her injuries after being hit by an Amtrak train in West Charlotte last night. The accident occurred near Charlotte-Douglas International Airport, at a railroad crossing along Old Down Road and Josh Birmingham Parkway.

Police say that the driver of the vehicle accidentally turned onto the tracks, though it is not yet known whether her line of sight was clear prior to making the turn. Witnesses say the oncoming Amtrak train collided with the vehicle, dragging it down the railroad tracks before the train finally came to a stop.

Thankfully the train was not moving very fast at the time and the driver of the car suffered relatively minor injuries. Amtrak officials say 153 passengers were on board the train at the time of the accident, but none suffered anything more serious than a scrape.

The more troubling aspect of the accident according to many safety experts in the state is that the incident marks the third time this month that an Amtrak train has been involved in a collision this month. Earlier this week a pedestrian in Mebane, NC was killed when an Amtrak train hit him. Several weeks before that, a woman from Raleigh died after her vehicle was struck by an oncoming Amtrak train.

Though it sounds like an extraordinary run of train crashes, the reality is that vehicle/train accidents are far from rare. According to statistics gathered by the federal government, there were 2,000 individual accidents at railroad crossings last year. Among this number, 235 people died and 900 people suffered serious injuries.

Texting While Driving Blamed For Four-Car North Carolina Accident :: Personal Injury Attorneys and Lawyers in Charlotte, NC

November 26, 2013 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

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

A seriously scary accident that took place in Raleigh, NC last week reveals the dangers associated with texting and driving. The accident, which occurred on I-540 near Aviation Parkway, left several people injured and in need of medical treatment.

According to emergency responders, the accident happened at around 9:30 in the morning when Aaron Artis was approaching Exit 2 on Interstate 540. Witnesses say there was heavy morning traffic at the time and Artis, who was distracted by his cell phone, failed to notice a car stopped in the median.

Police officials say that a family had pulled over on the median to change a flat tire, with the mother and two young children getting out of the car. Police say Artis received a text message as he approached the stopped vehicle and looked down to read it for several seconds. Just those few seconds were enough to cause a serious problem, with Artis realizing too late that he was heading right for the family as his car had drifted out of its lane. Artis attempted to straighten his wheels, but when he did so, overcorrected and sideswiped another vehicle.

Police say another car then crashed into the sideswiped car. The force of the accidents caused serious injuries to the driver of the first vehicle, Laura Labdon. The mother who had stopped to change her flat tire, Adriana Sepulveda, was also injured and transported to Duke University Hospital for treatment. Thankfully, the two young kids, ages 5 and 10, were not hurt in the accident.

Charlotte Police Search For Driver After Accident Sends Four People To The Hospital :: Personal Injury Attorneys and Lawyers in Charlotte, NC

November 21, 2013 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “The insurance adjuster is saying I am partially negligent what does that mean?”

Police in Charlotte have said they are currently searching for the driver of a gold Cadillac which they believe might have been responsible for a recent accident along Brookshire Boulevard that sent four people to the hospital.

The accident took place on the morning of November 11 near the 5700 block of Brookshire Boulevard near Hoskins Road. Police say that a 1998 Honda Civic was heading inbound on Brookshire when its left tires ran off the road into the grassy median. The driver, afraid of driving off the road, overcorrected and ultimately lost control of the vehicle, with the Civic sliding across the median into oncoming traffic.

Police say that the Civic then collided with the front of an oncoming 2005 Ford Expedition that was heading inbound. The accident was almost completely head-on, a very dangerous variety of accident that often results in serious injuries or even death. In fact, studies have shown that while head-on accidents only make up about 2 percent of all car accidents, they account for 10 percent of all fatal accidents.

Police say that in this case the driver of the Civic was transported to Carolinas Medical Center with critical injuries. The driver of the Ford, as well as two children that were traveling in the vehicle, were also taken to Carolinas Medical Center, thankfully for less serious injuries, and have all since been released.

Police say that after interviewing several witnesses to the crash they were told that another vehicle was involved in the accident, but that the driver chose to flee the scene of the wreck. Officers say they were told that a gold or tan Cadillac merged into the Honda’s lane of traffic, which then forced the driver of the Honda to veer off the road into the median and ultimately lose control. Police say they do not yet know if the Cadillac and the Honda hit one another or not, but are eager to locate the driver of the vehicle.

More Criminal Charges Handed Down Due To North Carolina State Fair Accident :: Personal Injury Attorneys and Lawyers in Charlotte, NC

November 19, 2013 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “Can I wait a few months to pursue a personal injury claim?”

In yet another twist in the ongoing saga of the dangerous Vortex rides at the North Carolina State Fair, police say they have now arrested the owner of one such ride. Authorities say that Joshua Gene Macaroni surrendered to police late last week on three felony assault charges related to the accident that left five riders seriously injured.

Officials with the Wake County Sheriff’s Office say that Macaroni, a 32-year-old from Georgia, turned himself in to face charges related to the October 24th accident involving the Vortex amusement park ride. Investigators say that as riders were just starting to get off, the ride jolted back to life and ended up dropping five people from heights of up to 30 feet.

Investigators have so far not released word on why they believe Macaroni might be involved in the accident, though they have said that his name is listed as the owner of the Vortex ride at issue. For his part, Macaroni’s attorney has said that he is puzzled about why Macaroni would be charged and says that his client intends to plead not guilty. Macaroni is currently free on $225,000 bond.

The recent arrest marks the second since the accident occurred a few weeks ago. The ride’s operator, an independent contractor named Timothy Tutterrow also from Georgia, was arrested several days after the incident and has also been charged with three counts of assault with a deadly weapon.

North Carolina State Fair Worker Injured By ‘Vortex’ Ride Undergoes Major Surgery :: Personal Injury Attorneys and Lawyers in Charlotte, NC

November 14, 2013 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “What if the accident was my fault?”

The horrible accidents that marred the fun of the North Carolina State Fair have been in the news a lot recently, especially articles concerning the injured riders who may have been victims of intentional tampering with the ride’s safety features. Another person seriously injured due to a different Vortex ride has not gotten nearly the same amount of press, though likely deserves it given the horrible circumstances of his accident and the extent of his injuries.

Family members for Anesto Newell, a 32-year-old worker at the fair, say that he has undergone emergency surgery to treat life-threatening injuries sustained after a portion of the Vortex ride he was tearing down collapsed on top of him. Newell was part of a crew hired by Powers Great American Midways to tear down the rides after the fair closed to the public last week. Newell was about four hours into his shift when witnesses say an entire row of seats from the Vortex ride fell onto the man.

The accident happened around 3:30 in the morning and, horrifyingly, Newell’s two brothers were also in the area working to break down rides. They say that they heard a series of loud pops and then a terrible boom. Afterwards, they looked up and noticed the top of the Vortex ride was swaying and appeared to be missing a row of seats. It only took a second for the brothers to realize that the Vortex was where Newell had been working and they went running to offer assistance.

By the time they arrived they found Newell mangled by the row of four seats. As horrible as it is to imagine, they say Newell was bent in such a way that his feet were stuck near his head and was understandably in an immense amount of pain. Emergency responders arrived soon thereafter and rushed Newell into WakeMed for treatment.

Tragic U-Turn Leaves One Dead, One Injured In Charlotte Collision :: Personal Injury Attorneys and Lawyers in Charlotte, NC

November 12, 2013 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

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

In a tragic incident in southwest Charlotte, NC, police say that one person was killed and another seriously injured after an illegal U-turn led to a serious car collision. Officials with Medic say that the accident took place near the intersection of West Tyvola Road and Yorkmont Road a little after 3 p.m.

According to law enforcement officials, Kendei Ramirez was driving a 2001 Ford Escape on West Tyvola Road just after the intersection of Yorkmont Road when he attempted to make an illegal U-turn. Authorities say the U-turn took place on a stretch of road with a double-yellow line.

As Ramirez spun into oncoming traffic he was hit by a 2005 Ford F-150 driven by an unidentified 55-year-old man. Police say that Ramirez died at the scene of the accident while the driver of the Ford F-150 was rushed by ambulance to Carolina’s Medical Center for treatment of his serious injuries.

The horrible accident illustrates some of the very real dangers associated with making illegal U-turns in North Carolina. The danger of such maneuvers is so clear that North Carolina law specifically addresses the issue of U-turns, saying that it is unlawful to make any turn at an intersection is marked with a “No U-turn” sign.

When approaching some intersections, drivers are allowed to make a U-turn if the law allows it, they are in the far left lane and it is safe to do so. A U-turn should only be made if the driver can safely complete the turn in one movement and is positive that doing so will not impede traffic or put any other drivers in danger.