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Factory Accident Lawyer

Rely on Our Experienced Team to Fight for You in a Factory Injury Case

Our factory accident lawyer knows how to deliver the professional level of representation our clients need, no matter the circumstances. Whether you are an employee injured on the job, a visitor injured at the factory because of someone else’s reckless mistake, or a neighbor exposed to toxic fumes or chemicals, the legal team at Sumwalt Anderson is ready to fight for your right to receive compensation.

Factories operate in a safe manner for employees, visitors, and neighbors the majority of the time. However, it just takes one mistake to create a highly dangerous situation in a short amount of time. Factories involve the use of large machinery that moves fast, often leading to serious injuries when accidents occur. If the factory uses harmful or poisonous chemicals, a spill or inadvertent release could lead to immediate injuries as well as long-term health problems.

Our factory accident lawyers at Sumwalt Anderson do not back down when facing challenging or complex cases. Contact us today at (704) 377-3770 for a free case review.

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What Are Some Common Factory Accident Situations?

Factory Injuries Caused by Negligence Can Lead to a Lawsuit

People who work, visit, or live near factories always need to be on guard about potential accidents. That’s why the federal government, through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), enforces multiple rules and regulations regarding how factory owners and operators must behave and treat employees. When factory operators don’t follow OSHA rules and local regulations in the state of North Carolina, they create a dangerous situation that was preventable. The North Carolina Department of Labor reports around 70 fatalities related to workplace accidents in the state annually, along with thousands of injuries. Many of these are preventable. Some of the types of accidents at factories that result in preventable injuries are:
  • Electrocution
  • Equipment failure
  • Explosions
  • Exposure to toxins or chemicals
  • Falling from height
  • Fire
  • Machinery accidents
  • Repetitive motion and overexertion accidents
  • Slip and fall in wet environments
  • Smoke or vapor inhalation
  • Struck by falling objects
  • Vehicular accidents.

Examples of Factory Accidents in North Carolina

Some of the most serious workplace accidents in the state of North Carolina occurred in the past few decades, including many that ended in fatalities. They include:
  • Two workers died in 2021 after an exposure to hazardous materials at Valley Proteins. Employees at the factory sometimes encounter hydrogen sulfide, which is a poisonous and flammable gas. They are required to monitor for it at this facility.
  • In 2017, a factory worker for Mohawk Industries died after an explosion. Another employee received treatment for serious burns.
  • The state’s worst factory accident occurred in 1991, when 25 employees died after a fire at the Imperial Processing Plant. Another 56 employees suffered injuries from burns and from trampling-related injuries.
In tragic accidents like these, a factory accident lawyer can help the victims who lost a loved one. When negligence leads to serious injury or death, it’s important to work with a skilled attorney who has experience handling such cases. Our team at Sumwalt Anderson not only can help those injured in factory accidents, we can also help with wrongful death claims.

Understanding the Factory Accident Lawsuit Types

There are multiple different kinds of potential lawsuits that our Charlotte factory accident lawyer can file for a victim.

Workers’ Compensation Claims Related to Factory Injuries

When you are working at a factory and you suffer an injury related to the work you are doing, you can bring a workers’ compensation claim. This is the most common type of factory accident lawsuit that we see. In a workers’ compensation claim, our team and you do not have to prove that negligence occurred on the part of your employer. Instead, we just need to show that you suffered your injury as a result of an accident that occurred in the process of performing your normal job duties at the factory. Negligence can be present in this type of accident, but it is not necessary. Our workers’ compensation attorney in Charlotte will help victims seek the wage reimbursement they need while missing work to recover from their injuries. We will help you file the paperwork that the insurance company requires for reimbursement of your medical bills. Should you end up with some sort of disability, reduction in quality of life, or inability to work in the same job in the future because of your factory workplace injuries, we can help you try to receive a financial settlement for these items as well.

How an Injury in a Factory Can Be a Premises Liability Claim

As a visitor to the factory property, you could suffer some sort of injury that relates to the negligence of the company that operates the factory. Perhaps the parking lot has poor lighting or broken concrete that caused you to fall and injure yourself. Perhaps you tripped on boxes or items left in a walkway inside the building. You may have slipped on an oily or wet spill left on the factory floor. A premises liability claim potentially can reimburse you for things like medical bills, lost wages, pain, and suffering during your recovery from the injuries. Our factory injury lawyer knows how to hold negligent companies liable for the injuries that they cause for people visiting their properties. You should not have to suffer financially because the factory owners did not maintain safety protocols. Our attorneys have experience with these types of claims and can guide you through the process of a factory accident lawsuit.

Personal Injury Claims Associated with Factory Accidents

If you are a visitor or a neighbor to the factory and you suffer exposure to chemicals or toxins, you may develop an illness a few months or years down the road. You also may begin experiencing health problems immediately after the exposure. Employees may receive this type of exposure outside the normal process of doing their job. If so, you have the right to seek a personal injury judgment against the factory owners. Our factory accident lawyer will begin working on your behalf to prove what is required in a personal injury claim. These include:
  • Proving that the factory behaved in a negligent manner by making a mistake and creating the conditions that led to the exposure.
  • Showing that your injuries relate to a mistake someone at the factory made.
  • Showing that you have some sort of financial losses related to your injuries, whether these are costs for medical care or lost wages.
  • Proving you have some sort of mental trauma or will have an ongoing physical injury that negatively affects your quality of life.

Let Our Factory Injury Lawyer Begin Working on Your Behalf

At Sumwalt Anderson, our team of attorneys knows how to defend the rights of victims after factory accidents. Whether you suffered injuries while working at the factory, while visiting the factory, or just because you happen to live near the factory, we will always work as hard as we can for your benefit. Over the years, our team’s ability to deliver strong results for our clients has been evident. Our team has dozens of verdicts and settlements that involve seven- and eight-figure amounts. Mark Sumwalt leads our team with his experience as a workers’ compensation attorney. He is a North Carolina State Bar Board Certified Specialist in Workers’ Compensation Law who knows how to navigate the workers’ compensation system in the state. You can trust that our factory accident lawyer will take the time to learn about you and your family. We want to know about the circumstances that led to your injury on the factory property, but we also want to understand your goals and concerns about the process of filing a claim. This helps us give you the highest level of service, allowing all of us to remain on the same page. For a free consultation, contact Sumwalt Anderson today at (704) 377-3770.

Filing a Workers’ Comp Claim After a Factory Accident

Understanding the Process of a Factory Injury Case

With workers’ compensation claims, showing negligence in the accident is not a requirement. If the employee behaved in an unsafe manner, if the factory owner made a reckless decision, or if an accident occurred where no one made a mistake, it doesn’t matter. Workers’ compensation should still provide benefits. Our factory injury lawyer simply needs to show that your injuries match the requirements for compensation set forth in the Workers’ Compensation Act of North Carolina. The state requires employers who meet certain criteria to carry workers’ comp insurance for the protection of both employers and employees. Employees may receive benefits even if they make an error that results in an on- the- job injury. By the same token, employers can’t become the subject of a drawn-out personal injury lawsuit when an employee is injured as the result of an accident that occurred while performing their normal job duties. Should the workers’ comp insurance company attempt to deny your claim or seek to reduce the benefit you think you should have, that’s where our factory injury lawyer can represent your interests. We understand how the North Carolina Industrial Commission oversees the workers’ compensation program in the state. We are ready to help you navigate the sometimes confusing aspects of receiving a favorable result.

How Our Charlotte Factory Accident Lawyer Can Help You Prove the Factory Owner’s Negligence

If you seek a claim for anything other than workers’ compensation after a factory accident, a key part of winning a claim involves showing that someone at the factory behaved in a negligent or reckless manner. Negligence in a case like this simply means that the responsible party’s actions and choices led to your injuries and that those actions did not need to happen. To prevent your injuries, the negligent party needed to make a different choice or to take a different set of actions.

Improper Property Maintenance Can Lead to Factory Injuries

Owners of a factory must properly maintain all aspects of the property. This includes the building, the grounds around the building, the parking lot, and any other areas where people may gather when not working or when visiting the property. If the property owner knows that a retaining wall is beginning to crumble, but they fail to fix the issue in a reasonable amount of time, someone who suffers an injury when the retaining wall falls has a strong claim of negligence.

Factory Accidents Caused by Improper Care for Equipment

Factory owners must take reasonable measures to keep the equipment and infrastructure in the building running properly. This could involve wiring, lighting, machinery, tools, and similar items. Faulty equipment will behave in an unpredictable manner, leaving employees and visitors to the site in danger of suffering an injury accident. If our factory accident lawyer can show that the property owner knew about a faulty electrical line near the building’s entrance but chose not to repair it in a reasonable amount of time, and a visitor suffered an electrocution injury because of it, we can use this as a sign of negligence.

When Improper Storage and Use of Chemicals in a Factory Cause Injuries

In a factory setting where employees work with or handle potentially dangerous chemicals on a regular basis, the company must have procedures in place for usage, storage, cleanup, and disposal of these chemicals. Failure to store the chemicals in a safe location or failure to use the chemicals in an approved manner could lead to injuries or illnesses for people in the area from unwanted exposures. Certain chemicals could explode when stored improperly. If we can show that a factory owner disposed of the chemicals in an unapproved way and that this caused them to leach onto neighboring properties, resulting in an illness, this is a sign of negligence on the part of the factory owner.

Improper Signage that Fails to Warn of Dangers in the Factory

For visitors to the factory who may not know all of the safety protocols that employees must follow, the factory owner must mount warning signs in areas where dangerous conditions may exist. In areas where the floor could be slippery or where objects may fall from height, warning signs can remind visitors to take extra precautions or to put on safety gear. When the factory owner fails to provide warnings about potentially dangerous situations at the factory, leading to your injuries, our team can use this as a sign of negligent behavior on the part of the factory owner.

Common Injuries in Factory Accidents

When you bring a personal injury lawsuit against a negligent factory owner or file a workers’ comp claim after an injury at the jobsite, you need to show an injury that leads to some sort of financial loss for you. These injuries in factory accidents aren’t always life-altering, but they still can lead to medical bills and missed paychecks while you recover. Although it is frequently true that those who suffer the most serious injuries will be eligible to receive the largest settlement amounts, even a four- or five-figure settlement amount after a less serious injury can be of significant benefit to your family’s financial well-being. Some of the most common injuries in factory accidents include:
  • Amputations
  • Ankle and knee injuries
  • Back pain and strain
  • Broken bones
  • Concussion
  • Head Injury or brain injury
  • Crushed internal organ injuries
  • Crushed limbs
  • Dislocated fingers and joints
  • Hearing damage or lossElectrocution
  • Eye trauma and vision loss
  • Facial trauma
  • Lacerations
  • Long-term illnesses from chemical exposure
  • Lung damage from smoke or chemical vapor inhalation
  • Painful bruising and contusions
  • Poisoning
  • Repetitive stress on joints from overexertion
  • Skin burns
  • Spinal cord injuries
  • Strained muscles and tendons
  • Torn ligaments and muscles.
In the worst-case scenario, a factory accident may result in the death of your loved one. If the factory owner’s negligence led to this fatality, you have the right to seek damages in a wrongful death claim. Our wrongful death lawyer is ready to help with your case.

At Sumwalt Anderson, Our Factory Accident Lawyer Will Stand Up for Your Rights

We Earn Our Clients’ Trust

After suffering an injury in a factory, either as an employee or as a visitor, you have the right to seek damages. The team at Sumwalt Anderson is ready to help with your case. We understand that you could be experiencing a significant reduction in the quality of your life as you recover from your injuries. You also may be unable to earn a living, leaving your family with potential financial hardship. When you choose to hire our factory accident attorney, you are trusting us to help you win the largest potential settlement in your case. We do not take your trust in us lightly. We take pride in defending the rights of victims of the negligence of others. We also appreciate the opportunity to help workers receive the benefits they’re entitled to after suffering an injury in the factory. We do not allow insurance companies to treat our clients unfairly. We know how important it is to give you a professional level of representation. As soon as you choose to hire us, we will go to work on your case. We believe thorough preparation gives us the best chance at winning your factory accident case at trial or achieving a favorable settlement through negotiations. Call Sumwalt Anderson for a free consultation today at (704) 377-3770.

Attorney Richard Anderson

Richard “Rick” Anderson is a native Charlottean. He received his Bachelor of Arts Degree from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1990 and his Juris Doctorate law degree from the Wake Forest University School of Law in 1993. Rick focuses his practice on workers’ compensation, medical negligence, and catastrophic personal injury cases. You will find Rick to be an honest and dedicated advocate ready to fight for his clients. When he accepts your case, Rick makes a personal commitment to you and uses his 27 years of knowledge and experience to advance your lawsuit to achieve a successful outcome. [ Attorney Bio ]

$2.7
million

Recovered on behalf of a gentleman (plaintiff/client) who was working as a vinyl window installer on a metal ladder when the ladder struck a live electrical wire. Learn more.

$2.7
million

Recovered negotiated on the behalf of our client who was rendered a paraplegic due to a spinal fracture after falling from a roof in the course and scope of his employment as a construction worker. Learn more.

$2.5
million

Recovered for a construction worker from Texas who suffered a catastrophic spinal cord injury following a fall from a roof while working on a job site in Charlotte, NC. Learn more.

$2.4
million

Recovered on behalf of our client who sustained a spinal cord injury in the course and scope of his employment as a production worker in a manufacturing plant. Learn more.

$2.3
million

Recovered on behalf of the gentlemen (plaintiff/client) who sustained an injury when he slipped and fell on an icy ramp during his employment. Learn more.

$2.1
million

Recovered on behalf of a client who was injured in the course and scope of her employment as a nurse when attacked by a patient. Learn more.

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