North Carolina Workers' Compensation Lawyers Blog

Our North Carolina workers' compensation attorneys know that 2010 was a dismal year for job growth across North Carolina.

The Charlotte Observer reports that just 10,400 jobs were added to the labor market last year, leaving slender pickings for the state's estimated 440,000 unemployed workers. As the economy appears to continue to stabilize and improve, job creation for much of the country continues to stagnate, offering little hope to unemployed and under-employed North Carolina workers.

With that said, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 125 North Carolina workers were killed due to on-the-job accidents in 2009. Of those, 18 work-related fatalities were linked to falls and 17 deaths were linked to a Carolina worker coming into contact with a dropped object or being struck by equipment.

Another 47 workplace fatalities were tied to traffic accidents, 9 deaths linked to fires or explosions, and 25 North Carolina workers died due to acts of violence or assault occurring while on-the-job.

Between October 2009 and September 2010, the Occupational Safety & Health Administration issued more than 12,000 safety violation citations and levied more than $6 million in penalties across 10 North Carolina industry sectors spanning Agriculture to Public Administration. At the leader of the pack, so to speak, was construction, followed by manufacturing and service categories. Citations, inspections and assessed penalties are further broken down as follows:

Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing (crop production to fishing, hunting and trapping):
Number of citations: 384
Number of inspections: 97
Penalties assessed: $188,775

Mining (metal, non-metals, coal and oil/gas):
Number of citations: 3
Number of inspections: 1
Penalties assessed: $1,500

Construction (general contractors to special trades)
Number of citations: 3,280
Number of inspections: 1,030
Penalties assessed: $2,472,191

Manufacturing (food and kindred products to textiles to photographic, medical and optical goods)
Number of citations: 3,154
Number of inspections: 559
Penalties assessed: $1,443,959

Transportation, Communication, Electric, Gas & Sanitation Services (U.S. postal service to transit and rail systems)
Number of citations: 456
Number of inspections: 105
Penalties assessed: $230,888

Wholesale trade (durable and non-durable goods)
Number of citations: 683
Number of inspections: 160
Penalties assessed: $271,154

Retail trade (garden supply to home furnishings)
Number of citations: 1,074
Number of inspections: 272
Penalties assessed: $413,929

Finance, Insurance & Real Estate
Number of citations: 148
Number of inspections: 44
Penalties assessed: $56,295

Services (personal services to motion pictures to automotive repair)
Number of citations: 2,598
Number of inspections: 569
Penalties assessed: $1,135,233

Public Administration (general government to national security)
Number of citations: 250
Number of inspections: 74
Penalties assessed: $94,601

Continue reading "Dismal job growth does little to diminish incidents of North Carolina workplace accidents" »

As our Charlotte workers' compensation attorneys noted in a prior post to our North Carolina Workers Compensation Lawyers Blog , the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported there were 9,554 workplace fatalities in the U.S. in 2009.

While traffic accidents and falls remain the leading cause of workplace fatalities, the Occupational Safety & Health Administration reports they are not the only threats Carolina workers face on the job each day.

In finishing our two-part review of OSHA's "Top 10" 2010 most frequently cited safety standards list, our Rock Hill injury attorneys note that Carolina workers face a host of other workplace hazards. Dangers range from exposure to caustic chemicals to electric shock to regular contact with heavy machinery capable of crushing bones and severing limbs.

Concluding OSHA's "Top 10" citable safety violations for 2010, are:

6. Control of Hazardous Energy (i.e. lockout/tagout) - general industry: This OSHA standard refers to protocols that protect workers from the unexpected startup of equipment and the release of hazardous energy during servicing activities. OSHA estimates that 3 million workers are at risk of a hazardous-energy injury and that compliance with the lockout/tagout standard saves 120 lives and prevents up to 50,000 injuries each year.

7. Electrical (wiring methods, components and equipment) - general industry: Electricity is a deadly and serious workplace hazard linked to electric shock, fires, electrocution and explosions. It is estimated that about 1,000 people die each year due to fatal contact with electricity.

8. Powered Industrial Trucks - general industry: Also known as "forklifts", these trucks are linked to tens of thousands of U.S. workplace injuries each year. While most forklift accidents involve only property damage, workers can be injured or killed by being struck by a forklift, impaled upon a forklift tine or forklift driving accident, among other things.

9. Electrical System Design - general industry: As noted above, electricity can be a killer, claiming an estimated 1,000 American lives each year. Risk of injury spans beyond electricians and other construction workers and has been tied to causing both injury and death among office and administrative workers.

10. Machines - general industry: Machines and heavy equipment have been linked to amputations, crushing injuries, burns, blindness and workplace deaths. To diminish the chance of a machine-related workplace accident, guarding, personal safety devices (like gloves, goggles, etc.) and proper use and safety training are all part of OSHA safety standards.

Continue reading "Electrical Systems, Forklifts and Machinery round out OSHA's "Top 10" worker safety hazards" »

Our Carolina workers' compensation attorneys know that for many of us, going to work is the most dangerous time of our day. In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that more than 9,500 American workers were killed in on-the-job accidents in 2008 and 2009. With that said, in 2009, the BLS recorded the lowest number of U.S. workplace fatalities in 17 years at 4,340.

The decline is largely linked to a depressed economy and stagnant growth, which has caused total hours worked to drop by 9 percent over the previous year.

For those who are lucky enough to have a job, the Occupational Safety & Health Administration has now published a 2010 report on the "Top 10" most frequently cited safety standards nationwide. In this two-part series, our Winston-Salem workers' compensation lawyers review primary citable violations and their possible impact on Carolina workers.

On-the-job falls remain a major player in fatal workplace accidents, second only to traffic crashes for number of fatalities. Homicides rank third, followed by being struck by machinery, dropped objects or equipment.

With that said, all four fatal accident types - traffic crashes (882 deaths), homicides (521 deaths), falls (617 deaths) and struck by an object (414 deaths) - continued to see a decline in incidence in 2009.

OSHA's "Top 5" citable safety violations for 2010, are as follows:

1. Scaffolding - construction: In 2007, there were 88 reported fatalities associated with scaffolding. Nearly three-quarters of all scaffolding-related injuries were linked to a worker being struck by a falling object, slipping or planking/support failure. Nationwide, scaffolding-related violations garnered 710 citations amounting to $543,780 in penalties. (The average current penalty amount per standard cited is $500.)

2. Fall Protection - construction: In 2008, fatal work injuries linked to falls dropped 20 percent (to 678) when compared to 2007 which saw 847 fall-related workplace deaths. Specifically, falls to a lower level - which represent 85 percent of all falls - were down 23 percent. Falls from ladders were down 14 percent and falls from roofs dropped 26 percent. Fall Protection violations garnered the highest per-penalty assessment in 2008. Nationwide, 1,064 citations were issued amounting to $913,954 in penalties.

3. Hazard Communication Standard - general industry: Because chemicals can be linked to a variety of health issues and physical hazards, OSHA believes employees have the right to know what they may be exposed to in the workplace. The Hazard Communication Standard provides a uniform identification system that identifies numerous health and safety factors, such as carcinogenetic properties and flammability.

4. Ladders - construction: As noted above, falls from ladders dropped 14 percent between 2008 and 2007. Nationwide, 4157 citations were issued amounting to $3,000,824 in penalties.

5. Respiratory Protection - general industry: Breathing hazards such as dust, sprays, vapors or gases have been linked to a host of ailments from cancer to short-term and chronic lung impairment. OSHA estimates that 1.3 million workplace environments require that 5 million workers wear protective respirators while on the job.

Continue reading "Construction and General Industry top OSHA's 2010 most frequently cited worker safety violations" »

Our Carolina workers' compensation lawyers know that the geography of the Carolinas boasts hundreds of miles of Atlantic Coastline, flatlands, foothills as well as the southeastern gateway to the Appalachian Mountains. In short, whether you live and work in the Carolinas, or are simply planning a visit to the region, the tourism allure spans the beachcomber to the snowboarder.

In fact, travel and tourism in North Carolina is a $20 billion a year industry that sustains more than 360,000 North Carolina jobs, and represents nearly 9 percent of all wage and salary employment in the state.

In South Carolina, travel and tourism dollars totaled $18.4 billion in 2008, and supported one in 10 South Carolina jobs. Like North Carolina, retail, restaurants, hotels, air and road travel and recreation are where most tourism dollars are spent.

For those of us who live and work in destination communities, living with a work-related injury can turn a "vacation" job into a nightmare. Whether you are in food service, a member of the travel or lodging industry, or work the slopes or shoreline as a ski instructor or lifeguard, employers have a responsibility to provide you with a safe place to work as guests flock to our region to play.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that while food service workers enjoy a more flexible schedule than office workers, restaurant staff is expected to log long hours that include late nights, weekends and holidays. Food and beverage workers spend most of their time on their feet and must carry heavy trays laden with hot food and cold drinks. Kitchen staff and on-the-floor employees deal with wet floors, hot ovens and sharp utensils. Injuries from slip-and-fall accidents, burns and cuts are among the most common ailments suffered by workers in the food and beverage industry.

Like food service, those employed in the lodging sector also enjoy a more flexible - nontraditional - work schedule. Also like food service, work can be hectic and high-pressure or tedious and slow, depending upon the time of day or time of year. Service workers - whether lodging or food and beverage - can find their jobs to be physically demanding and prone to similar work-related injuries.

But vacation jobs are not just about hotels and fine dining. Beaches need lifeguards, ski resorts need safety patrol, and state parks need forest rangers. In a time of crisis, all are considered the first-responders as they are generally on scene before paramedics. Their work is primarily outdoors - exposing them to sun, heat and cold - and as physically challenging as any emergency health service profession that requires heavy lifting, bending, kneeling, exposure to bodily fluids and working under high-stress potentially life-endangering conditions.

Continue reading "Vacation destination jobs a hot spot for Carolina work-related injuries" »

In our previous North Carolina workers' compensation lawyers blog we wrote about the government's intention to address the issues of noise in the workplace.

Recent news indicates the government will be backing away from its plan to address what is easible administrative or engineering controls for occupational noise.

This news worries our Carolina workers' compensation attorneys who put the well-being of employees as a top priority. The government is backing down after complaints from big business industries with high noise volume on the job. We find that unacceptable. Hearing loss is a life altering debilitative condition that should be taken seriously.

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety & Health Administration recently announced plans to withdraw its proposal for "Interpretation of OSHA's Provisions for Feasible Administrative or Engineering Controls of Occupational Noise."

"Hearing loss caused by excessive noise levels remains a serious occupational health problem in this country," said Dr. David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for OSHA. "However, it is clear from the concerns raised about this proposal that addressing this problem requires much more public outreach and many more resources than we had originally anticipated. We are sensitive to the possible costs associated with improving worker protection and have decided to suspend work on this proposed modification while we study other approaches to abating workplace noise hazards."

The Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported since 2004, almost 125,000 workers have fallen victims to significant or permanent hearing loss. In 2008, there were over 22,000 hearing loss cases. Sadly, hearing loss damage could be easily avoided but only 15% of employees use protection on the job according to National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

There are many solutions to be considered to help eliminate noise in the workplace according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The best option is engineering noise control by creating a safe environment for workers. Things like adding extra insulation or padding in rooms or figuring out how to lower the acoustics for product manufacturing are things that can be done to control noise levels. Another approach is the administrative power to change exposure and hearing protection.

Employers can assist by making break rooms noise-resistant or running noise-hazard equipment during a shift where there are less workers present. Unfortunately, handing out ear plugs has traditionally been the extent of workplace safety initiatives when it comes to dangerous noise levels.

OSHA will continue to stay committed to looking at other cost effective solutions to noise reduction in large industries by consulting experts from NIOSHA and National Academy of Engineering. Or so it says. What else would you expect it to say.

They will also conduct stakeholders meetings to grasp the views and ideas of public health professionals, employers, and workers regarding noise control and hearing loss.

Meanwhile, employees will often be subjected to dangerous levels of noise in the workplace.

Continue reading "Government backs away from changes aimed at reducing noise injuries in the workplace" »

Safety in the maritime industry will benefit from the reform of a maritime advisory committee, which aims to preserve the health and safety of shipyard workers. Our North Carolina workers' compensation attorneys understand that this industry is suffering when it comes to the high rate of injuries and illnesses that occur on the job.

The U.S. Department of Labor recently announced that Secretary of Labor Solis will re-establish the committee of 15 members which is comprised of professionals in the maritime industry and who are selected to represent the community's best interest.

"Re-establishing MACOSH will allow the committee to proceed with its important work to advise OSHA in protecting the safety and health of workers in the maritime industry," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Dr. David Michaels. "MACOSH meetings provide the public with an opportunity to participate in committee activities on issues related to the safety and health of shipyard, long shoring and marine terminal workers."

The Maritime Advisory Committee for Occupational Safety and Health (MACOSH) was originally established back in 1995. The purpose of the committee was to advise on complex issues in the maritime industry with regard to occupational safety and health programs, standards, and policies.

The refined MACOSH committee will provide Michaels with advice on new areas that need attention or could benefit from maritime safety programs. Other areas that may need advised by Secretary Solis and the committee include: activities that help reduce work-related deaths, injuries, and illnesses; design of educational materials specific to each sector; and implementing and enforcing regulatory rules with the safety or workers in mind.

Shipyard work has traditionally been a hazardous job with an injury-accident rate more than twice that of other industries. Last October, an issue of Safety Currents Express reported the union between OSHA and Shipbuilding Group. The effort put forth by both groups will be focused on educating shipyard workers and employers about slip and fall injuries, along with other hazards that can occur on the job.

Offering tools and training resources to North Carolina maritime companies should help reduce the risk of on-the-job injuries.

When hiring new employees, the maritime industry should rely on the OSHA-created resource called Safety and Health Injury Prevention Sheet on Shipfitting (SHIPS) located on the Safety Services Company website. The document encompasses all the dangers and hazards of shipfitting by presenting actual shipyard incidents, as well as, solutions on how to prevent each danger.

Continue reading "North Carolina work injury accidents prevalent in maritime industries" »

With the reportedly high number of workplace fatalities in 2010, our North Carolina workers' compensation attorneys agree that a commitment needs to be made to increase the safety of workers on the job.

Considering most full time employees spend a minimum of 40 hours on the job each week, employers have an obligation to make sure the work environment is safe, as well as to ensure that precautionary safety measures are communicated to their employees.

The Charlotte Observer reports that fatalities on-the-job jumped 40% from 2009. There were 48 North Carolina work fatalities in 2010 compared to the all-time low the previous year at 34. Despite the increase, last year's total is still lower than the 5 year average from 2005-2009 which is 53 deaths per year.

Mecklenburg County recorded the highest death toll at 7. The two leading causes of death in the workplace for 2010 were falls or accidents where workers were struck by something.

North Carolina reported 16 fatalities on North Carolina jobs sites due to victims being struck by a vehicle or object. The second leading industry most responsible for workplace fatalities is construction, or jobs that require workers to be elevated according to WRAL .

There were 15 construction workers killed on site in North Carolina in 2010.

Manufacturing and service industries each reported 6 casualties. Other causes of death in North Carolina work accidents were electrocutions or being crushed by objects.

TheNorth Carolina Division of Labor is seeking solutions.

"Many of the fatalities involved falls or crushed-by accidents and these can be avoided by using fall protection and paying close attention to your surroundings," said Allen McNeely, director of the Occupational Safety and Health Division. The NC Occupational Safety and Health Division are constantly working with employers and employees to identify trends with regard to hazardous issues that can cause injury or fatality. Last year they issued warnings for bridge construction, forklifts, and tree care after discovering problems in those industries.

The poor economy may once again play a role in these workplace tragedies. Workers have a tendency to stress about paying the bills and may become distracted with problems while at work. On the other hand, employers in this economy may cut corners on safety measures in order to preserve cash flow. And employees are often doing more with less than ever before. And ensuring the safety of employees is ultimately the employer's responsibility.

Continue reading "Recovering economy increases risk of North Carolina work accident" »

Within days of a Winston-Salem jobsite construction accident that killed a 62-year-old construction worker and hospitalized two more, WRAL.com reported that in 2010, North Carolina experienced a spike in work-related fatalities. Forty-eight North Carolina workers were killed while on the job last year, 15 in construction alone.

Construction has taken all kinds of hits during the recession. A dead-in-the-water housing market, paired with stagnancy in commercial growth, has contributed to fewer projects. Fewer projects translate into a consistent drop in the number of construction-related fatalities. Still, construction remains the most deadly of industries.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, the construction industry employs more than 11 million workers whose daily responsibilities put them in contact with some of the most hazardous conditions in U.S. industry. From day-to-day construction workers must deal with nearly-constant noise and dust from dangerous heavy tools and equipment. They work at great scaffolded heights and within confined below-ground spaces. Raw electricity is another constant hazard. While construction makes up just 8 percent of the U.S. workforce, it is responsible for 22 percent of all work-related fatalities - the highest across all industry.

In that sense, the Winston-Salem accident was a textbook construction accident. The three construction workers were overcome by an unidentified gas while replacing air-release valves inside a city water line - a confined underground space. One died.

The three were about three-feet down inside a vault in a closed-off city water line when they were overcome and lost consciousness, The News & Record reports. Occupational Safety & Health Administration has yet to identify the gas. It may take months to finish the investigation and issue citations.

The Winston-Salem City Attorney said worker safety is the responsibility of the contractor hired to handle the job. In the one other construction-related job site fatality on City property - a 2001 project where a 23-year-old worker was killed - the contractor was fined by the State, and the City was issued a letter outlining what measures could have been put in place to prevent the accident. With that said, just who is responsible in the present case is yet to be determined.

Continue reading "Winston-Salem construction accident, claims one, two hospitalized" »

The Network of Employers for Traffic Safety in partnership with US Department of Transportation again reached out to 5,000 public and private companies to host their annual Drive Safely Work Week. The week-long campaign accessed 20 million workers - or 12.5 percent of the 2010 U.S. workforce. It was the highest participation rate in the 14-year history of the campaign. This year's program held two objectives: to support employers in their roll-out of a cell phone policy; and, to raise employee awareness of the hazards of distracted driving, NETS reports.

Of the 4,690 participants, nearly 90 percent either have in place or plan to implement a mobile device policy within the next year. For the 3,067 employers who currently have a company policy on cell phone use while driving, 37 percent have banned the use of both hand-held and hands-free devices. The remaining 62 percent have implemented a hand-held ban only.

In 2008, the North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles reported that distracted driving was linked to 2,064 North Carolina car accidents that left 978 people injured. As our Charlotte workers' compensation attorneys regularly note in posts to our North Carolina Workers Compensation Lawyers blog, when engaging in work-related travel - whether driving a company vehicle or an employee's own wheels - employers have an obligation to provide a safe driving environment. That means the vehicle used must be in good working condition and regularly inspected and maintained. It also means making accommodations to address road and weather conditions. As well as implementing driver safety protocols and practices that educate and protect workers.

During the last year's Drive Safely Work Week summit, Karen Harned, Executive Director of the Small Business Legal Center for the National Federation of Independent Business stressed the importance of implementing employee driver safety practices.

"If you're not concerned about your employees' driving behaviors, you should be. ... Employers also need to be concerned about injuries to employees sustained while driving on the job. If an accident occurs, the employer may not just be facing a liability claim from the injured party but also a workers' compensation claim from its employee."

According to Harned, workers' compensation issues are among the top ten most important problems faced by small-business owners. And employers aren't responsible singularly for the "obvious" driver positions - delivery folks, transport truckers, etc. Rather, responsibility extends to every instance when an employee gets behind the wheel for a work-related activity, including such innocuous activities as sending an employee on a food run or on a drive to a meeting.

Continue reading "Employers assume liability when North Carolina workers get behind the wheel" »

Our Asheville workers' compensation lawyers know that our sense of self, our personal wellness, has as much to do with solid job performance as having a good team of co-workers and supervisors is to promoting a healthy, viable, work environment.

And according to Managing Director and Co-Founder of the Institute for WorkComp Professionals Preston Diamond, current events from health care reform to an aging workforce are forcing employers to connect the dots between employee health, employee wellness and benefits distribution. More and more, employers are realizing that healthy workers are injured less and heal faster. Bottom line: encouraging good health for your staff saves money otherwise spent on health care and workers' compensation benefits.

A sharky atmosphere at work - thanks endless corporate downsizing, high unemployment rates and depressed job creation numbers - has everyone feeling sketchy about job security. Because of this, workers are more inclined to contact a lawyer if they feel "threatened" about a workers' compensation claim, says Diamond.

In fact, our workers' compensation lawyers in North and South Carolina believe any worker who suffers more than a minor job injury will benefit from the solid advice and advocacy inherent in hiring an experienced work accident attorney.

And due to a host of expansions to various worker-protections laws (such as the Americans with Disabilities Act), lawyers and their clients may have more rights and more means to redress grievances.

With that said, thanks to additional funding, OSHA enforcement activity is also on the increase. In his article, Diamond notes that fines levied by OSHA authorities in 2010 reached their highest levels since OSHA has published records of violations. Tens of millions of dollars have been issued in penalties in 2010; a trend expected to continue.

Complicated Medicare Secondary Payer laws remain a "minefield for parties involved" notes Diamond. And destabilization of the workers' compensation markets has made investment in such ventures unprofitable at best. Anticipating staggering rate increase does little to inspire confidence.

Regardless of whether you are an employee or a hiring manager, 2011 should be an interesting, challenging year as shifting paradigms refashion how we all view workers' compensation issues.

Continue reading "OSHA re-doubles efforts to reduce risk of work accidents in North Carolina and South Carolina" »

As our Charlotte workers' compensation attorneys noted in an earlier post to our North Carolina Workers Compensation Lawyers blog, there are a few hot-button issues coming to the fore in North Carolina Workers' Compensation in 2011. Among them telecommuting is certainly creating challenges for Workers' Compensation.

Forbes reports that telecommuting is a "core part" of America's employment future, but also notes "there will always be many people who have to be in a place of work physically per the needs of their job role". The question is: From a legal and procedural standpoint, how will employers and employees address work safety issues when the workplace in question is the employee's own home?

And while we're at the cyber-office, writer Preston Diamond notes, "employers and lawyers need the ability to navigate around social networking sites". Status updates to Facebook, for example, can offer endless information about the activities of "injured" employees.

A third issue that can, to some degree, be linked to growing cyber-employment is the often misappropriated status of "independent contractor". (More commonly referred to as freelance, consultants, or contract labor.) Independent contractors are attractive to employers because, frankly, they save money.

A contract employee is exempt from health care and other benefits, workers' compensation and certain state and federal taxes. More contract labor means less liability and less cost. On the other hand, if a worker is "misclassified" (either intentionally or due to legitimate oversight), they may not realize that benefits are available to them if they are injured in a work-related accident.

Since 1991, the number of injury claims filed by workers has steadily fallen. It appears that this drop is flat-lining. Diamond believes the slow down can be attributed to inexperienced workers falling prey to injury and cut-backs in worker safety training efforts. Also, employers are paying out longer on temporary total disability claims; and the medical costs associated with those claims are skyrocketing.

Separately or together the financial implications of more injured workers staying out of work longer to seek more costly treatment options are a final trio of worries ticking like a time-bomb for workers' compensation officials. On a more hopeful note, in our final blog of the series we discuss what OSHA is doing to protect workers.

Continue reading "North Carolina telecommuters and freelance workers struggle to earn workers' compensation benefits" »

As our Spartanburg workers' compensation lawyers regularly note in posts to our North Carolina Workers Compensation Lawyers blog, employees have a right to a safe, secure work environment. The responsibility for providing that environment falls on the shoulders of the employer and includes more than simply providing a hazard-free physical workspace. The phrase "free of known dangers" covers a lot of ground.

According to the Occupational Safety & Health Administration, employers must be proactive in how they care for their workers, from mental health to physical safety. They must educate their staff on current safety issues and practices. They must implement environmental protocols that protect North Carolina workers and customers while minimizing their exposure to potential harm. For example, mapping the process that isolates and prevents the spread of infectious diseases. Or requiring employee access to personal respirators, safety goggles, ear plugs; and providing adequate and timely training in how, when, where and why to use them.

With that said, if a worker is injured on the job, workers' compensation benefits are available to help that worker recover physically, professionally and financially. Amidst a sea of other far more scandalous financial meltdowns these last few years, Bloomberg reports that American International Group Inc. (AIG) has found itself embroiled in yet another ethics scandal. The company let itself be "bailed-out" by the government to the tune of $182.3 billion (yes, that's a B) was also accused of filching-by-underpaying workers' compensation pools. AIG has agreed to pay seven competitors $450 million to settle fraud allegations. One accuser, Liberty Mutual, filed a separate lawsuit seeking more than $1 billion. In 2009, Liberty Mutual accused AIG of long-term fraud. The outcome of that case is pending.

As if dealing with being injured in a North Carolina workplace accident isn't complex enough - from the paperwork to the politics. Preston Diamond, of the Institute of WorkComp Professionals, recently noted 11 more Workers' Compensation issues we can expect to address in the coming year. The second and third blog in this series will identify other themes to look for in North Carolina Workers' Compensation news for 2011.

Continue reading "AIG settles claims of workers' compensation funding fraud with $450 million payout" »