Work site injury: what can I do?

North Carolina construction injury claims are filed in Superior Court in the county where the accident occurred. Wake (Raleigh), Mecklenburg (Charlotte), and Guilford (Greensboro) counties see the largest volume of construction tort cases. Standard construction accidents are state court matters with no federal MDL.

North Carolina's statute of limitations for personal injury is three years from the date of injury (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-52(16)). This three-year period is longer than many states, but North Carolina's statute of repose for improvements to real property (§ 1-50(a)(5)) bars claims based on a defective or unsafe condition of an improvement more than six years after the later of the defendant's last act or omission or substantial completion of the improvement.

North Carolina has no scaffold law. Liability is governed by negligence and premises liability under N.C. common law. North Carolina operates its own state OSHA plan (NC DOL/OSH Division) rather than federal OSHA. NC OSH inspection records, citations, and penalty assessments are subject to discovery and can be used as evidence of negligence in civil litigation.

North Carolina's workers' compensation act (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 97-10.2) is the exclusive remedy against the direct employer but preserves third-party claims. North Carolina follows contributory negligence — if a plaintiff is found even 1% at fault, recovery from a negligent defendant is barred. This makes plaintiff case selection and liability theory particularly important in NC construction injury litigation.