Winston-Salem, NC (June 12, 2021) – Authorities are investigating after a 63-year-old man died in a landfill accident in Winston-Salem on Friday, June 11th. Officer responded to the Hanes Mill Landfill around 4:30 p.m. following reports of a workplace accident.
When police arrived, they located a man lying on the ground. The man, later identified as Thomas Michael Thompson, of Pinnacle, was pronounced dead at the site. According to preliminary reports, Thompson worked at the landfill and died while he was working on Friday. There is no other information regarding the events leading up to his death. No additional injuries were reported. The landfill was closed pending an investigation.
The Winston-Salem Police Department and OSHA are currently looking at the circumstances surrounding Thompson’s death. No further information is available at this time.
We would like to extend our thoughts and condolences to the family of Thomas Michael Thompson following this tragic accident in Winston-Salem.
North Carolina Workplace Accidents 
Many people who report to work on a daily basis do not necessarily have to consider their physical safety to be at risk. Some workers, however, are employed in inherently dangerous jobs that bring risks of injury and even death on a daily basis. Professions such as police officers, firefighters, construction workers, factory workers, and others must always consider the risk of bodily injury any time they report to work. Unfortunately, workplace accidents in the United States take place thousands of times per year. In 2019, more than 5,000 people were killed in accidents that took place on the job. In our state, 186 people died in North Carolina workplace accidents in that same year. Any time an accident takes place on the job, a careful investigation into the circumstances of the incident must be conducted.
If you or a family member have been hurt while working for an employer, you could have valuable legal rights. North Carolina’s worker’s compensation laws will normally apply to your case. In special cases, however, you may be able to go beyond these laws to seek additional recovery. If you were injured on the job by a third party, a negligence action against that party may be possible. Further, in some situations, you may be able to bring a wrongful death claim for your workplace accident in North Carolina. The circumstances in each case are different and speaking with an experienced attorney will help to ensure that you understand your rights and that you are fully protected.
At Burton Law Firm, we are here to help during your time of need. North Carolina personal injury attorney Jason M. Burton has handled hundreds of accident claims. Since 2012, our firm has successfully recovered nearly 40 million dollars for injured victims and their families and we would be honored to help you as well.
Protecting your legal rights is one call away. We offer free consultations to all potential clients. To set up a time to speak with a member of our team, please reach out to us at the contact link on our website or give us a call at (833) 623-0042.
Note: Burton Law Firm utilizes a variety of outside sources in the creation of these accident news posts. These sources include news bulletins, police reports, first-hand accounts, news stories, as well as additional outside sources. For this reason, the details surrounding this accident have not been independently verified by our office or writing staff. If you find information that is not correct about an accident that we have written about, please contact our firm as soon as possible so that we can promptly correct the information. If you would prefer that we remove the story, contact us directly and we will make every effort to remove the story in a timely manner.
Disclaimer: Our team of personal injury lawyers at Burton Law Firm has taken pride in being active members of our local business community for more than 8 years. We are always striving to improve the quality of life for our community members and improve the overall safety and well-being of all North Carolinians. We hope that by providing this information about the dangers of driving that we will bring added awareness and drivers will use increased caution when operating a motor vehicle. Our thoughts are with everyone who may have been affected by this incident. This post is not a solicitation for business. None of the information in this post should be misconstrued as medical or legal advice. The photos in this post are not a depiction of the actual accident scene.