FIRST ON 3: Port of Wilmington facing possible fine after man injured

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — As a man recovers from injuries suffered in an incident at the Port of Wilmington, WWAY has learned the port did not follow protocol after the injury.

According to Neal O’Briant, a spokesman with the NC Department of Labor, a man was injured Monday, January 25. When WWAY asked O’Briant about the incident last week, he said the department had not received information about the injury. He said the Occupational Safety and Health Division followed up after our inquiry and opened an investigation.

O’Briant said under previous regulations, the type of injury the employee suffered would not be one the Port of Wilmington would have to report. But as of January 1, 2015, he said regulations changed to require employers to report when someone is admitted to a hospital after a workplace injury.

O’Briant said the port could be cited for failure to report the incident within 24 hours, which carries a possible $2,500 fine. He said that fine could be adjusted based on certain factors you can see by clicking here. There’s no word on when investigators will decide whether to fine the port.

When WWAY reached out to port spokesman Cliff Pyron last week, he said he could not comment on the incident. Today, he sent WWAY an e-mail saying:

The North Carolina Department of Labor is conducting an investigation of a workplace incident that occurred at the Port of Wilmington on January 25, resulting in an injury to one of our employees. As is standard procedure, Authority employees have met with representatives from the NCDOL to answer questions and provide information pertaining to the incident.

The safety of our employees is our chief concern and we will continue to work closely with the NCDOL regarding this issue.

Pyron has not yet responded to a question of why the port did not report the incident to the Department of Labor.