Tippens & Zurosky, L.L.P. was started in 1998 by two attorneys who wanted to defend and protect those individuals seeking just and fair compensation from auto accident cases, workers’ compensation cases and wrongful death cases. We champion the cause of the working-class informing them of their rights, and evening the playing field against those who may try to take an unfair advantage.
After a long day at work, you find yourself stopped for traffic just minding your own business, when suddenly another car smashes into the back of you. The negligent driver jumps out of his car, and rushes to tell you he is sorry, but he has good news – the back of your car is “just fine.” You are feeling stunned, but the at-fault party that hit you is ready to give you his liability insurance information, and he looks ready to leave the scene of the accident.
Have your property damage estimated as quickly as you can.
Don’t be pressured by the at-fault insurance company to settle.
An experienced automobile accident injury law firm like Tippens & Zurosky can evaluate your case, protect your rights, and ensure that you receive fair and equitable compensation. For twenty years, the attorneys at Tippens & Zurosky have represented people injured in automobile accidents in North Carolina and South Carolina, making sure they are treated fairly. Let us assist you with your automobile accident, and help you get your life back to normal. Call us toll free at (877) 872-3580, or 704-343-0018 to schedule a free consultation so that we may assist you.
Workers’ compensation covers an injured worker if they get injured in the scope of their employment. What is considered in the scope of a worker’s employment is generally treated as very broad by the courts of North Carolina and South Carolina. But, the courts have also narrowed certain exceptions for when a person is not considered an employee, and thus is not eligible for workers’ compensation benefits.
A juror serving jury duty is not considered an employee of the state or county for purposes of workers’ compensation. Likewise, an unpaid volunteer is also not considered an employee of the agency, company, or facility that they are volunteering at for the purposes of workers’ compensation. A prisoner who gets hurt while incarcerated in the state penitentiary is not an employee for workers’ compensation purposes, but they would be if they got hurt working at a work-release position at which they were earning compensation for their services. Workers’ compensation can be very fact dependent as when the North Carolina courts held that a man was an employee of a town after being deputized by his local sheriff and was injured while helping to serve a warrant.
Tippens & Zurosky is here to serve your auto accident and workers’ compensation needs, and has skilled and compassionate attorneys available to answer any and all questions that you might have about your case. 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.
The number of undocumented immigrants working in the United States has been a hot-button issue in recent years. In North Carolina and South Carolina, businesses have relied on undocumented workers to fulfill their employee needs in the areas of agriculture, construction, shipping and receiving, and manufacturing. But what happens when an undocumented worker gets injured on the job? Undocumented workers are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits in North Carolina and South Carolina. But, these workers often feel caught between a rock and hard place in pursuing a workers’ compensation claim.
The threat of deportation may cause an undocumented worker to not report an injury, and risk the job that is providing for their family. But, if the injured undocumented worker does not report the injury, their company, or the workers’ compensation insurance company, will not pay for medical bills, or provide benefits to allow the injured undocumented worker to support his or her family, while they are unable to work due to the workplace injury. Companies save money by hiring undocumented workers in terms of cutting safety costs because they know that undocumented workers are far less likely to report and file for workers’ compensation. The fact remains -- immigration status has no effect on an injured workers’ ability to file and collect workers’ compensation.
Workers’ compensation benefits are for all the workers in North Carolina and South Carolina. If you are an undocumented worker, and get hurt on the job you have rights! Don’t let an unscrupulous company intimidate you into not filing a claim. Companies do what is best for companies, and if you get hurt on the job, you need to do what is best for you! Tippens & Zurosky represents people injured on the job and in automobile accidents in North Carolina and South Carolina. Call us toll-free at 877-372-3580, or at 704-343-0018, for a free consultation. Let us help you!
In a time long ago, people would walk the streets of their towns and cities, and greet each other with a tip of the hat, or warm greeting wishing each other a good day. Neighbors would pitch in and help each other with watching children, tending crops, and rally together to combat any emergency situation. Proper manners were practiced by all members of society, and respect was routinely shown for the generations that came before. And, shockingly at night, people would have conversations with each other, and their children.
Today we shuffle through life as technology zombies, so reliant on our phones for staying connected that we don’t even notice the people we are passing by, and thus cannot connect with in a human fashion. We use technology as an excuse, burying our faces in our phones to purposely avoid human contact. In trying to stay connected to our news feed, social media, and text mates, we have succeeded in staying disconnected from the world. And, it starts at an early age, as today’s toddlers are pacified with tablets and phones, and thus develop the attention spans of mayflies.
We take our phones with us everywhere even when taking out the garbage, or utilizing the washroom. But, we are exposing ourselves, and those around us, to major danger when we bring our phones into our automobiles, and fail to disconnect. How many times have you looked over at someone next to you at a traffic light, and saw they were on their phone? That is of course assuming you looked over in the first place and weren’t staring at your own phone! How many times have you had to honk to get the person in front of you to recognize that the light had changed from red to green? The reality is that if you are looking at your phone, you are not paying attention to the road. Texting and driving can be an all too fatal way to stay connected with your social contacts. Trying to finish and send an email while driving might even be worse. Texting and email drivers are distracted drivers. It only takes a second to cross over the yellow line, catch the edge of the road, or fail to see that traffic has stopped in front of you. Put down your phone while driving, because your life literally may depend on it!
So, if all things tend to run in cycles, then perhaps we will go back to a time when people actually talked to one another. Can you imagine your life without social media, texting, and streaming? What would that even be like? Oh, yeah, it would be like the good old days, and maybe then people would treat each other like people, and that can never be a bad thing!
Tippens & Zurosky represents people injured on the job and in automobile accidents in North Carolina and South Carolina. Call us toll-free at 877-372-3580, or at 704-343-0018, for a free consultation. Let us help you!
North Carolina and South Carolina are seeing some of the coldest temperatures, and severe weather that has hit the area in decades. The freezing temperatures and inclement weather have brought hidden and obvious dangers to job sites, warehouses, parking lots, and other workplace common areas. Parts of North Carolina and South Carolina have seen record amounts of water, ice, and snow that make areas such as roadways, sidewalks, bathrooms, hallways, and parking lots hazardous to your footing. It is an absolute must to take extra care in these areas at your workplace that now may have hidden dangers to them that you are not normally used to having to worry about.
Likewise, at home if you need to use a supplemental heater that uses kerosene, or oil, make sure you do so safely. And, if your power, and/or heating sources all go south because of the weather from the north, please do not try to tough it out. Seek shelter as soon as possible so you don’t become a news story, or a statistic. Plan ahead for the weather, and above all be safe because Spring is just a few short months away! Tippens & Zurosky represents people injured on the job and in automobile accidents in North Carolina and South Carolina. Call us toll-free at 877-372-3580, or at 704-343-0018, for a free consultation. Let us help you!
The practice of making New Year’s resolutions began about 4000 years ago with the Babylonians, who did theirs in March, not in January as we do today. They were making promises to the gods, while we most often today make promises to ourselves. The Babylonians were looking for their gods to help them make things right. Most people today resolve to do things on New Year’s Eve that they think will help them do things the right way, or become a better person. Generally, folks are not successful with their New Year’s resolutions, which explain why the gyms and health clubs return to their normal level of business mere weeks after the New Year. No one ever said trying to be better was easy!
Perhaps, the key to a successful resolution is to make one that you can actually keep. If you have never liked to read books, resolving to read two or three a week is probably not going to happen. So, maybe it is a matter of not trying to do more, and not trying to do so at a faster pace than ever before. Resolve to do what you do well even better by working not longer, but smarter, and more efficiently. Focus on adding value, not adding activities, or time. If you do, these are the kind of New Year’s resolutions that you will actually keep!
Many companies have a yearly outing to Las Vegas, or another similar destination where alcohol is flowing freely, and judgment is often compromised by a “party” atmosphere. So, what happens if you get injured during the good times? Is your injury covered under workers’ compensation? If you slip and break your collarbone because you slipped on the casino’s marble steps, there are factors which dictate whether this is workers’ compensation or not. The workers’ compensation laws of North Carolina and South Carolina construe what is in the course of your employment very broadly.
Factors that come into play for an injury that occurred at a company outing include:
Whether the outing was sponsored, and paid for by your employer.
Whether you were paid wages for attending.
Whether the outing was considered a fringe benefit of employment.
Whether attendance was mandatory, and whether there would be a penalty for not attending.
And, whether the purpose of the outing was to benefit the employer, such as improving employer/employee relations.
So, if you have been hurt on the job during a company outing, 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!
