If you have suffered an injury at work or on the job, you may be entitled to receive additional benefits through workers compensation. In North Carolina, this may include time lost from work, disability (full or partial), and medical bills.
Work-related deaths increased by 3 in N.C. in 2011
North Carolina experienced an increase in work-related deaths in 2011, according to preliminary data released Thursday by the N.C. Department of Labor.
The number of deaths rose to 53 in 2011, up from 50 the year before. The average over the past five years was 53.2.
There were seven workplace deaths in the Triad and Northwest N.C. — three in Forsyth County and one each in Ashe, Guilford, Rockingham and Watauga counties.
Wake County experienced the most fatalities with six, followed by five in Mecklenburg County.
The two leading causes of workplace fatalities were being struck by an item, with 18 deaths; and falls, with 17 deaths. There also were four fatalities related to extreme heat. It was the first year for heat-related workplace deaths since 2006.
"The department will continue its heat stress initiative that we kicked off last year," said Cherie Berry, the state's labor commissioner. "We are urging employers and employees to recommit themselves to safety and health in 2012."
Construction had the most fatalities for the second consecutive year at 16, while the agriculture, forestry and fishing sectors had 10, and transportation and public utilities had six.
Whites accounted for 30 of the 53 workplace deaths. Hispanics accounted for 16, blacks six and Native Americans one. Men accounted for 52 of the 53 workplace fatalities.
The department also reported that the state's injury and illness rate is at an all-time low for private industry. That rate has declined from 5.3 for every 100 full-time workers in 2000 to 3.1 in 2009 and 2010.
In Forsyth County, Herman Wilson of Winston-Salem, 62, died from asphyxiation on Jan. 5. Wilson, an employee of Jade Ramey Construction LLC, was repairing and cleaning a city water line when gas from the pipe knocked him unconscious. The company was cited and fined for violating state labor laws.
George Taylor of Kernersville, 61, an employee at Reliable Tank Line LLC, died May 5 after his truck rolled backward and hit him while he was making a fuel delivery.
The other death in Forsyth was a 72-year-old man at Spartan Manufacturing Corp., who died May 26 after a fall. His name was not available.
The Ashe fatality was a 60-year-old man at New River Tree Co. Inc. who died Nov. 21 after falling from a trailer while unloading Christmas trees. The Watauga fatality was a 37-year-old male employee of Boone Crane Service who died Feb. 25 after being hit by a truck.
The Guilford fatality was a 42-year-old male employee of Event Coordinators Inc. who died May 16 after falling from a scaffold. The Rockingham fatality was a 25-year-old male employee of Ellington Farms who died Aug. 25 in a vehicle/tractor accident.
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