Greensboro Workers' Compensation Law Blog

Viewers throughout the nation, including in North Carolina, look forward to tuning in each week to the hit reality program "Dancing With the Stars." While many likely think about the show strictly as entertainment, the reality is the stage the stars and their partners dance on each week is a workplace. So too is the studio in which they practice.

Safety became an issue earlier this week when dance pro Karina Smirnoff spent time in the hospital as a result of an injury she suffered while practicing. She reportedly fell and landed on her jaw. The previous week, fellow dance professional Mark Ballas, injured his lower back when he compressed two discs. Throughout the seasons many of the stars have been injured as well.

Workplace injuries occur all too often in North Carolina. While in some cases the injured workers completely recover without any lasting consequences, in others, pain and scarring linger long after the incident that produced them. An injury that typically falls into the latter category is burns. These on-the-job injuries are most likely to occur in situations where workers are exposed to flammable materials.

Earlier this month several men were injured with burns in a workplace accident involving a fire. The incident occurred at a North Carolina propane storage facility. As a result of their injuries, the three men were transported to a nearby burn unit via helicopter.

There are many situations in which a worker may suffer an injury related to his or her work In North Carolina. While serious injuries often occur after a catastrophic accident, each day workers who routinely engage in the same activity over-and-over could be working themselves toward more than just a paycheck. They may be putting themselves at risk for carpal tunnel as well.

Carpal tunnel often makes its presence known when a worker experiences issues with getting a grip on an object or being able to pinch. Weakness or numbness in a worker's hands could also be an indication that the worker has carpal tunnel. These issues are due to injuries suffered to a worker's nerves in his or her wrists or hands.

Many residents in the state of North Carolina may have taken pride in the news that in 2012, only 35 individuals died while working. Though this is the number reported by the North Carolina Department of Labor regarding injured workers who died, the National Council on Occupational Safety and Health apparently does not find it to be accurate. It recently released a report that while acknowledging the number of deaths related to workplace incidents is down, indicated they were still close to three times as many as the report released by the N.C. Department of Labor.