Charlotte Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

Twenty years ago, North Carolina witnessed its worst industrial accident during a fire at a chicken plant in Hamlet, NC. OSHA officials had never inspected the plant. Twenty five people were killed as a result of the fire, primarily because doors at the plant had been locked to prevent theft. OSHA officials found over 80 violations after the accident.

As a result of the infamous Hamlet accident, OSHA increased the number of state inspectors and vowed to increase employer inspections to further workplace safety. Although the program may have had some success initially, statistics indicate that OSHA's progress has declined over the past the decade.

OSHA inspections and citations have decreased dramatically, reaching North Carolina's lowest level since the Hamlet fire. Meanwhile, workplace fatalities have increased more than 40 percent over the past year. 2010 monetary penalties for workplace violations did increase substantially compared to recent years. However, the average fine for a serious violation was only $884, a small number in comparison to the national average.

One major challenge is that the reporting of workplace injuries is based on an honor system, meaning it is the employers' duty to report the injuries to the state (absent a fatality). As such, many injuries go unreported, thus skewing the statistics on workplace safety.

Continue reading "North Carolina Worker Safety On The Decline" »

On September 21, 2011, Georgia executed Troy Davis, who was convicted of murdering Mark MacPhail, a Savannah police officer, in 1989. The execution occurred though the Supreme Court previously issued a temporary stay of execution. After many requests for pardons and further hearings, the Court denied Davis' last request, thereby allowing the execution to proceed.

Davis' execution raises many questions concerning the effectiveness of the judicial system and capital punishment. Davis maintained his innocence throughout his execution. During the trial, the prosecution submitted testimony from eyewitnesses who claimed they saw Davis murder MacPhail. Davis, on the other hand, offered eyewitness testimony rebutting the Prosecution's witnesses. Davis also offered evidence that another individual confessed to the murder but was never investigated by the Police. Finally, Davis repeatedly maintained that he was never in possession of a weapon on the night in question.

Continue reading "Troy Davis Execution Symbolic Of Problems In North Carolina Legal System" »

As part of North Carolina's "Booze It & Loose It" campaign, Charlotte Mecklenburg County Police increased their patrol during Labor Day weekend. Mecklenburg County officers issued more citations and arrests than any other county in the state. Other counties falling within the Top Five were the Wake, Forsyth, Guilford, and Onslow counties. Mecklenburg County also led the state in the number of DWI / DUI charges with Wake County, Hanover, Guildford, and Robeson following.

Mecklenburg County was second in issuing speeding tickets. Within Charlotte's surrounding vicinity, Cabarrus County issued the second largest amount of traffic tickets and citations, as well as the second largest amount of DWI / DUI arrests.

These statistics, coupled with the fact that Charlotte Mecklenburg Police arrested eight individuals and issued seventy-two additional citations during a routine DWI checkpoint last week, indicate that Police are increasing patrols for traffic violations.

As a practical matter, Police officers also use these checkpoints as a preliminary basis to stop motorists to further investigate for additional criminal activity. As a classic example: a motorist approaches a checkpoint, the officer observes an open container in the vehicle while obtaining the driver's valid license, and the driver is then charged with an open container. Eight arrests resulted from the checkpoint operated by the authorities: six impaired driving arrests and two arrests for undisclosed violations. A number of citations were issued at the checkpoint for drug-related offenses. It is crucial that anyone charged / arrested immediately obtain a Charlotte criminal lawyer trained to properly analyze legal issues with a case such as the reason for the inital detention of the Defendant, the basis for the arrest, and other legal issues that are critical in such cases.

Continue reading "Charlotte Traffic Citations and Arrests Increase" »