Can pre-existing Injuries Can Hurt Your NC Workers’ Compensation Claim?

If you have worked for a long time in a physically demanding job, such as an order picker in a warehouse, or in the construction industry, you may have been hurt on the job before.  The older you get the more injuries you may have suffered on the job.  So, what do you do when you fill out your new job application and they ask you about your physical condition and previous injuries?  

If you are worried that disclosing your past injuries will prevent you from getting a job, you may choose to not tell your prospective employer about your past injury history.  N.C.G.S 97-12.1 governs willful misrepresentation when applying for a job.  If a worker is found to have knowingly and willfully made a false representation as to their physical condition, compensation for their workers’ compensation case may be barred.

Often a worker has worked past his previous restrictions, or has gotten clearance from a subsequent doctor to do the job.  However, they still might find their case denied by their company’s workers’ compensation insurance company.  The employer also must show they relied upon the false representation in the hiring process, and there was a causal connection between the false representation, and the injury.  Some workers will be literally facing the choice of feeding their children, or having their medical history keep them unemployed.  There are no easy answers for these folks, who are simply trying to be productive members of society.

If you have been injured in an automobile accident, or hurt on the job, please reach out to our firm so we can put our years of experience to work for you.  Tippens & Zurosky has knowledgeable, experienced attorneys who can fight for your rights if you have been injured on the job, or in an automobile accident in North Carolina, or South Carolina.  Call us toll-free at 877-372-3580, or at 704-343-0018, for a free consultation.  Let us help you!

Distracted Driving is Dangerous Driving

In this day and age of smart phones, it is extremely easy to succumb to the temptation to text, or simply look at your phone while driving.  Even a quick glance down at your phone can have deadly consequences because it is simply impossible to pay attention to what is happening around you, if your eyes are on your phone.  The reality is no matter if it is a phone, a rambunctious child in the back seat, or a meal you are trying to eat, being distracted can result in you causing, or being involved in a motor vehicle accident.

Studies show that teenage drivers are particularly susceptible to being distracted while driving.  Most state laws prohibit teenage drivers from using electronic devices, or phones while driving.  If you have a teenage driver make sure you set strict rules about radio and phone use, and encourage their good habits by modeling your own good habits and caution when you are driving.  The reality is that there is no text, or email that is worth your life, or that of an innocent party that comes into contact with you the distracted driver!  

If you have been injured by a distracted driver in an automobile accident, or hurt on the job, please reach out to our firm so we can put our years of experience to work for you.  Tippens & Zurosky has knowledgeable, experienced attorneys who can fight for your rights if you have been injured on the job, or in an automobile accident in North Carolina, or South Carolina.  Call us toll-free at 877-372-3580, or at 704-343-0018, for a free consultation.  Let us help you!

What is a Personal Injury Attorney?

A personal injury attorney is one that specializes in helping individuals that get injured in motor vehicle accidents, on the job, or in other circumstances.  Over the years, this section of the law has taken quite a public relations beating in the media with terms like “snake,” “shark,” or “ambulance chaser” being used to describe attorneys that work exclusively helping individuals, not corporations.  The reality is that personal injury attorneys are the only attorneys that have the knowledge, experience, and resources to take on the big corporations, and insurance companies, and help the so called “little guy” get the compensation he deserves.

Throughout recorded history those with power and money such as big companies have used this power and money in certain circumstances to exploit their workers, or gain an unfair advantage.  To the insurance companies, people that file claims are literally just claim numbers, rather than people with families to support.  It is the job of the insurance company, or self-insured big corporation to try and pay the person that they injured as little as possible because it’s just “good for business.”

Personal injury attorneys are the last white knights that exist in today’s society, and can literally be the only thing preventing a person from getting taken advantage of by an insurance company, or self-insured corporation.  Without personal attorneys, justice is often not served.  For through lawsuits brought on the behalf of the injured, personal injury lawyers have acted to check corporate recklessness, and made the world a fairer and safer place.

If you get in an auto accident, or are injured on the job in North Carolina, or South Carolina during this time, Tippens & Zurosky is available to serve your auto accident and workers’ compensation needs.  Tippens & Zurosky has represented people involved in auto accidents, or hurt on the job in North Carolina and South Carolina for nearly twenty years.  Let us answer any of your questions regarding any automobile accident, or work-related injury.  Call us toll free at (877) 372-3580, or 704-343-0018 to schedule a consultation so that we may assist you.

Should You Talk To The Insurance Company After An Accident?

Silence is Golden

When you get injured in an automobile accident, or get hurt onthe job, it is very easy to get confused by the vast amount of information that you may hear from friends, family, or co-workers.  Like the old saying goes – everyone knows a little bit about something!  But, when you are injured in an automobile accident, or get hurt on the job, the one group of people that know information that you do not are the insurance adjusters.

If you are injured in an automobile accident, or get hurt on thejob, one of the very first people you may speak with is an insurance adjuster, who rest assured knows the ins and outs of what makes your case one they accept responsibility for and one that they do not.  Sometimes it literally is just a matter of what words you choose to describe an accident on the job, or an auto accident that makes your case one they pay on, or one they do not.  Unfortunately, there are some adjusters that are very skilled in leading you through a series of questions that has the end result of your claim being denied.

So, if you have been injured in an automobile accident, or hurt on the job, don’t speak with the insurance company, and especially don’t give a recorded statement, until you have had the chance to consult with an attorney.  Tippens & Zurosky has knowledgeable, experienced attorneys who can fight for your rights if you have been injured on the job, or in an automobile accident in North Carolina, or South Carolina.  Call us toll-free at 877-372-3580, or at 704-343-0018, for a free consultation.  Let us help you!

Stay Safe & Avoid Accidents During Spring Brake

Spring Break…

Although this past winter was rather mild, we are all still looking forward to that first warm Spring day when we can get outside and enjoy a bit of the sun.  It is beginning to stay light longer, and people seem to be more interested in getting out and about to spend more time enjoying school, church, or social activities.  It is easy to become distracted as Spring fever hits full force, and perhaps we find ourselves enjoying the breeze from our open car window, or looking at that beautiful crepe myrtle and don’t pay attention to the car in front of us.  Make sure you are giving yourself plenty of following distance, and have your eyes on the road, and not what is going on in the fields, parking lots, or even the car next to you.

If you are attending a neighborhood block party, or work get together, make sure you are using a designated driver if you are going to be drinking.  Warmer weather and alcohol can be a potentially lethal combination as we stay out later, and possibly consume more than we should at social gatherings.  If you are on the road at night on the weekends during the Spring, you need to be aware that others might not be choosing to act responsibly, and take extra care on the road.

Likewise, if you decide to travel to the beach, or mountains with the kids for Spring Break from school, make sure you give yourself extra time, and are plenty rested before you start the drive.  Be aware of tractor trailers, and other commercial vehicles on the highways and byways with you, and keep your eyes open for distracted, or impaired drivers.  Remember Spring Break can be as hectic as it is fun and relaxing, so be sure to not let yourself be one of those distracted drivers.  

If you get in an auto accident, or are injured on the job in North Carolina, or South Carolina during this time, Tippens & Zurosky is available to serve your auto accident and workers’ compensation needs.  Tippens & Zurosky has represented people involved in auto accidents, or hurt on the job in North Carolina and South Carolina for nearly twenty years.  Let us answer any of your questions regarding any automobile accident, or work-related injury.  Call us toll free at (877) 372-3580, or 704-343-0018 to schedule a consultation so that we may assist you. 

If You Get In a Fight At Work Can You Claim Workers Compensation?

Fighting on the Job and Workers Compensation. 


Most of us have had situations in our working lives where we have really wanted to punch a co-employee in the nose. But, if you did punch your co-employee, and knock them to the ground where they broke their arm, can they file workers’ compensation? The rule is if one worker injures a fellow co-worker because of a dispute about the manner in which work is being performed then the injured worker’s injuries are compensable under workers’ compensation. For example, if in the midst of a discussion about how to properly stack widgets so that the manager will not write them up for incorrect procedure, one worker strikes another with the widget and injures them, those injuries are compensable.


However, if one employee assaults the other solely from anger, revenge, hatred, or sheer vindictiveness and is not motivated by an incidence of employment, it is not compensable. For example, one co-worker was in the habit of insulting another’s mother, and finally in defense of mom, the miffed co-worker slammed his co-worker in the face with a hammer. Another common instance is romantic rivals fighting over a newly found out personal relationship. Just because work was a convenient venue for the assault to occur, it does not make it a compensable worker’s compensation case.


So, if you have been hurt on the job because of a work-related dispute report it immediately, and then pick up the phone and call Tippens & Zurosky, so we can be your voice, answer all of your questions, and file your claim! Tippens & Zurosky has knowledgeable, experienced attorneys who can fight for your rights during this often long and difficult workers' compensation process. Call us toll-free at 877-372-3580, or at 704-343-0018, for a free consultation. Let us help you!

Is It Workers’ Compensation If I am Travelling for Work?

On the Road Again – Is It Workers’ Compensation If I am Travelling for Work and Get Hurt in North Carolina or South Carolina?

If your job involves travelling away from your employer’s premises, you are generally found to be within the scope of your employment continuously.  For example, injuries you might suffer out of the obvious need to sleep in a hotel, or motel, and eat in a restaurant are usually held to be compensable workers’ compensation cases.   Likewise, injuries you suffer travelling between your hotel and a restaurant, for example in a car accident, are also generally held to be compensable.  You are also considered on the job as you make your way back from where the work is to be performed as long as there is reasonable continuity between the travel and the employment. 

This rule holds true unless there is proof of a distinct and total departure on a personal errand, or the trip is made for primarily social, or personal reasons.  For example, taking off for the weekend on a personal vacation in a company vehicle and socializing with a company contact, but not at the direction of your employer, but for personal reasons is not typically going to be found compensable.  The reality of this subsection of workers’ compensation law is that nothing happens exactly in the same way, and the blurring of personal versus business can be a fine line between a compensable case and a denied one!      

So, if you have been hurt on the job while travelling for your job report it immediately, and then pick up the phone and call Tippens & Zurosky, so we can be your voice, answer all of your questions, and file your claim!  Tippens & Zurosky has knowledgeable, experienced attorneys who can fight for your rights during this often long and difficult workers' compensation process.  Call us toll-free at 877-872-3580, or at 704-343-0018, for a free consultation.  Let us help you!