You Did Not Go to Work to Get Hurt

Every employee makes an agreement with their employer when they show up for work.  The employee agrees to exchange time for dollars, with the presumption that when those hours are complete, they will be able to return home in essentially the same condition as they arrived.  Your employer has a legal duty to protect you from certain dangers associated with the tasks to which they assign you.  These dangers can be as ordinary as slipping on a wet floor in the kitchen of a restaurant, or as complex as being struck by a falling beam on a construction site.  This duty is explained through the complex set of laws and rules that control Occupational Safety and Health requirements.

Each year the North Carolina Department of Labor publishes the statistics of workplace injuries from the prior year.  There is no doubt that the current statistics are far better than they were 20, 10, or even five years ago.  But accidents do still happen.  In 2019, 186 of North Carolina’s workers lost their lives on their jobsite.  For comparison, New York lost 273 workers due to workplace fatalities, California lost 451, and Texas lost 608.

However, an employee’s right to recover under North Carolina’s Workers Compensation law does not depend upon proving that the employer was negligent. Under Workers Comp, you are entitled to recovery if you are injured by an accident or occupational disease while at work.

If you have been injured in a workplace accident, an attorney might be able to help you protect your family from the financial hardships of losing your paycheck.  If your employer has denied your claim, an attorney might be able to help you seek a second opinion.  If your employer has accepted your claim, but the insurance company is either withholding care or you feel that the care is not working, an attorney may be able to help get you the care that you deserve.

Call Baddour, Parker, Hine and Hale today if you have been injured in an accident at work.  We offer free consultations, and you may pay no fees unless we recover for you.  Your family depends on you, and you trusted the employer to hold up their end of the deal.  If they did not, you may be entitled to significant financial compensation.