Preventing Injuries from Falls in North Carolina

Each year thousands of North Carolina workers injure themselves due to falling on-the-job, such as a trip and fall, fall from a ladder, or fall from scaffolding or construction site. Injuries from falls can range from a simple bruise to a more severe injury, such as paralysis or even death.

Falls can be categorized into two groups - elevated falls and same level falls. Same level falls are more common in a North Carolina office environment as a workplace accident. An employee might slip and fall while at work or trip over an object on the floor. These two examples typically produce bruises, contusions, sprains, and strains to the injured worker.

Elevated falls occur when an employee falls from a ladder, scaffolding, or other equipment. Elevated falls lead to more severe work-related injuries in North Carolina and can have devastating results, such as back injury, head trauma, neck injury, broken bones, paralysis, knee injury, fracture of the pelvis, hip fracture, and even death.

In any elevated fall in North Carolina, backs, bones, and joints are the frequently injured areas of the body. Shoulders, hips, fingers, and jaws are often dislocated in falls. Dislocations are painful as the bone dislodges from the joint. Although ankles, elbows, and wrists are other joints that sustain injuries from a fall, they are usually less severe in nature.

To help minimize falls in a North Carolina job accident, employees should work in a clean and clutter-free work environment. If clutter or obstacles are obstructing a pathway, the work area should be cleared. If any type of liquid is spilled on the ground, proper signage should be displayed and the area should be cleaned immediately.

Safety Tips to Prevent Falls

• Use fall protection when working at heights
• Wear proper shoes and attire that is job specific
• Participate in employer's safety training programs
• Inspect equipment daily

If a job involves the use of a ladder, it should be inspected for cracks before stepping onto it. Additionally, if a job requires employees to perform their work from an elevated height, a full body harness, lanyard, or lifeline should be worn. Wearing fall protective gear in high elevations can help prevent a North Carolina workplace accident and save lives.

An injured victim might not be able to return to work for some time due to his injuries, and workers' compensation might not provide adequate compensation. If you have been injured on-the-job in Elizabeth City and feel you aren't receiving adequate compensation, contact an experienced North Carolina workers' compensation attorney and start receiving the settlement your deserve.

Contact Joe Miller, Esq., a North Carolina work injury lawyer, at 877-622-8656 (Toll Free) for a FREE legal evaluation today.

Attorney Joe Miller of the Accidental Injury Advocates represents injured workers throughout North Carolina in the counties of Pitt County, Dare County, Pasquotank County, Halifax County, Chowan County, Hertford County, Perquimans County, Gates County, Tyrell County, Washington County, and Camden County, and in the cities of Elizabeth City, Manteo, Edenton, Hertford, Moyock, Greenville, South Mills, Currituck, Maple, Camden, Windsor, Rocky Mount, Williamston, Roanoke Rapids, Scotland Neck, Duck, Kill Devil Hills, and Kitty Hawk. We represent injured victims of Northeast North Carolina and the Outer Banks.