Call Us 919-240-4054Distracted drivers caused 54,302 crashes, injuries, and wrongful deaths in North Carolina in 2016. If you travel on the streets or highways, you are at risk for being injured or killed by someone who is more interested in their phone than their driving. On the morning of May 10, 2016, Russell Rutledge was driving […]
Wrongful Death
Athlete’s family sues NCAA, university for player’s death
The family of a college football player who died after a head injury during practice has filed suit against the NCAA, the team’s coach and others, according to reports. Derek Sheely, 22, collapsed during a preseason drill for the Frostburg State University football team in Western Maryland. According to the complaint filed by attorneys for […]
Investigation shows preventable deaths in grain industry, OSHA oversight weak
National Public Radio and The Center for Public Integrity have been reporting this week on the results of an investigation into needless deaths from suffocation in grain storage bins. Nearly 500 farmers and workers have died in these bins in the last 40 years. The worst year on record was just recently, in 2010. The story is […]
NC Court of Appeals rejects another Woodson claim
Earlier this month, the North Carolina Court of Appeals issued an opinion concerning the viability of plaintiff’s Woodson claim — a wrongful death tort action based on an injury sustained at work. In Valenzuela v. Pallet Express Inc., the Court once again rejected a Woodson in what seemed to be an egregious case. Typically, plaintiffs injured […]
New workers’ compensation decisions from Court of Appeals
On December 8, the North Carolina Court of Appeals published a couple of workers’ compensation decisions. In the first, Heflin v. G.R. Hammonds Roofing, the Court faced an unusual situation involving Florida’s workers’ comp laws and a plaintiff’s efforts to delay her own case. Plaintiff’s husband was killed while working in Florida in 2004. Because […]