North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog

In North Carolina, Juan Arango, the son of Gloria Inez Suarez, a woman who died in a fire in her apartment that destroyed her building in the Colonial Village complex at Highland Hills in Carrboro last September is suing Colonial Properties Trust and property manager Renee Schumacher for improper maintenance and poor construction.

The Carrboro Fire Department has not determined the cause of the fire, but Arango says that it was the faulty construction and negligent maintenance that caused the flames to spread so fast. Firefighters were only able to look in 4 of the 14 units before the building started to fall down. Two women that jumped from their second-story balconies suffered injuries.

The fire reportedly burned for nearly 30 minutes before anyone reported it.
Arango says that none of the smoke detectors in the building were in operation. According to a fire department report, the fire detectors did not alert the victims that there was a fire.

Arango’s North Carolina wrongful death lawsuit accuses Colonial Properties and Schumacher of not creating proper fire barriers and failing to keep the common areas and crawl space free of combustible items.

In North Carolina, apartment landlords and managers are supposed to take the proper safety and maintenance precautions to ensure that there are no unsafe conditions on the premise or in a building or residential unit that can cause injury or death.

Failure to put in place and maintain the proper safety measures can be grounds for a North Carolina premises liability lawsuit if the injured person can prove that the manager or owner knew of the potentially unsafe condition but failed to eliminate this hazard.

Our North Carolina premises liability attorneys know how to properly investigate and pursue your case so that you can receive recovery for your injuries or the death of your loved one.

Woman's death in fire leads to lawsuit, NewsObserver.com, June 4, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Colonial Properties Trust

Premises Liability, Justia

Continue reading "Son of North Carolina Woman Killed in Apartment Fire Files Premises Liability-Related Wrongful Death Lawsuit" »

Posted by Michael A. DeMayo | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Premises Liability

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In Catawba County, North Carolina, two Longview police officers were injured after falling through a roof. The men were inspecting what they thought was a break-in at a roofing equipment and tools company E.L. Hilts & Co.

The two officers saw that the gate to the building was unlocked and a ladder was leaning against the building. One man climbed the ladder and fell through the roof. The other officer fell soon after. There apparently were two fiberglass-like skylights that had been painted over to match the color of the roof and the men had stepped on them.

One officer sustained serious head injuries from falling 20 feet. He was taken to Winston-Salem by airlift where he was admitted to Baptist Medical Center. The second police officer landed on the banister of a stairwell and his injuries were not as serious. He was taken to a Hickory hospital and later released.

Longview police later discovered that an employee that worked for the company had left the ladder against the building and forgot to lock the gate.

It is the responsibility of all North Carolina property owners to make sure that any hazardous conditions are removed from the premise so that patrons, visitors, employees, residents, or guests are safe from serious harm. In the event that there is an unsafe condition that exists on the premise, property owners must provide proper warning and take the correct safety precautions so that serious injuries and deaths are prevented.

Please contact our North Carolina premises liability law firm to discuss the specifics of your injury case.

Fall accidents, especially from elevated heights, can lead to serious injuries, including spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, massive organ injuries, permanent disabilities, and wrongful death. You may be able to file a claim or lawsuit against a negligent party. You will increase your chances of obtaining a successful financial recovery by retaining the services of an experienced North Carolina premises liability lawyer.

Falls through skylights injure 2 officers, Charlotte.com, May 8, 2008

Fall through roof injures officer, Hickoryrecord.com, May 7, 2008

Continue reading "Two North Carolina Police Officers Are Injured After Falling Through Building Skylights" »

Posted by Michael A. DeMayo | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Premises Liability

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Ag-Mart Produce has agreed to settle the birth defects lawsuit filed by the parents of Carlitos Candelario, a 3-year-old boy born without arms or legs. The boys’ parents Abraham Candelario and Francisca Herrera had worked for the tomato grower in fields in North Carolina and South Carolina that had been sprayed with pesticide while Francisca was pregnant.

Candelario and Herrera filed their birth defects lawsuit against Ag-Mart in 2006. They have accused the family of spraying pesticides on the fields while workers were present and not waiting long enough to send workers back to the field after the pesticides were applied.

A hearing has been scheduled this summer in North Carolina by the state pesticide board to determine whether Ag-Mart workers were exposed to toxic chemicals in pesticides. The tomato grower grows grape tomatoes in Brunswick County, North Carolina.

In 2005, Ag-Mart was charged with 369 violations of the state’s pesticide law. Company officials, however, says that many of the charges are false because North Carolina investigators had misinterpreted work records.

To this day, Ag-Mart continues to deny responsibility for causing Carlitos’s birth defects. Other farm workers under its employ also had children with birth defects around the time that Carlitos was born.

Ag-Mart has also voluntarily stopped using certain pesticides that appeared to be responsible for developmental problems in lab animals.

The terms of the birth defects settlement between Ag-Mart and Carlitos’s family is confidential, but their personal injury lawyer says that Carlitos will receive financial support for his medical costs, plus income, for life.

In South Carolina and North Carolina, our personal injury lawyers represent children and adults that have sustained catastrophic injuries because of the negligent or careless actions of people and/or corporations.

Ag-Mart settlement with couple OK'd, News and Observer, April 18, 2008

Board revives pesticide case, News and Observer, March 12, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Ag-Mart Produce

Beyond Pesticides

Continue reading "Plaintiff Mother In Ag-Mart Birth Defect Lawsuit Worked in North Carolina Tomato Fields While Pregnant With Son Born Without Limbs" »

Posted by Michael A. DeMayo | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Catastrophic Injuries , Personal Injury , Premises Liability , Products Liability

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In North Carolina, Jeffrey Mertz is suing the REACH Shelter of Jackson County, a Sylvia domestic violence shelter for women, for the murder of his mother, Bonnie Woodring.

Mertz is accusing the shelter of not providing adequate security in September 2006 to prevent his stepfather, John "Woody" Woodring, from locating and entering the shelter.

Mertz was 13 at the time of the murder. He says that the REACH shelter did not take the necessary steps that could have prevented his stepfather from finding the shelter’s address.

In his lawsuit, Mertz says that one of the shelter’s employees had purposely left a side door unlocked so another employee could enter the premise. The unlocked door allowed Woodring to enter the shelter without permission. He was carrying a sawed off shotgun.

Woodring had threatened to kill Bonnie just three days earlier.

Mertz is suing REACH for $75,000 for failing to provide his mother with shelter. He says that suffered serious anguish from having to witness his mother’s dead body.

Premises Liability Cases
Property and premise owners are legally obligated to ensure that they maintain and provide a safe environment for patrons, visitors, residents, and/or workers where conditions are safe and there is adequate security. Each state has its own laws about how to determine liability on the part of the premise owner or manager.

Common kinds of premises liability cases include inadequate security cases, slip and fall cases, falling merchandise cases, and a defective product on a premise.

If you or someone you love was seriously injured on another party’s premise in North Carolina or South Carolina, contact our premises liability law firm today to discuss your personal injury case.

Son Of Victim Files Lawsuit Against Women's Shelter, News Channel 7, March 11, 2008

Family sues shelter where woman was slain, Citizen-Times, March 11, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Sylva woman shot to death at shelter for women, Citizen-Times.com, December 20, 2006

REACH of Jackson County

Continue reading "Teenage Son Files Lawsuit Against North Carolina Domestic Violence Shelter For Mother’s Murder" »

Posted by Michael A. DeMayo | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Premises Liability , Wrongful Death

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