Don't Wait - Get the Compensation You Deserve
A personal injury case arises when someone is injured due to another person or entity’s negligence or wrongful actions. These cases seek to recover compensation for the victim’s damages, such as medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering. Common examples include car accidents, slip and falls, medical malpractice, and workplace injuries.
If you were injured due to someone else’s negligence or wrongful actions, you may have a valid claim. Factors like clear evidence of fault and measurable damages (e.g., medical bills, lost wages, or physical suffering) strengthen your case. An initial consultation with an attorney can help determine your claim’s validity.
Most personal injury lawyers work on a contingency fee basis, meaning you don’t pay any fees upfront. Instead, the lawyer’s fee is a percentage of your settlement or court award. If your case isn’t successful, you typically owe nothing. This structure ensures access to legal representation without financial risk.
You may be entitled to compensation for medical expenses (current and future), lost wages, property damage, pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life. In cases involving egregious wrongdoing, punitive damages may also be awarded to punish the responsible party.
The time limit to file, known as the statute of limitations, varies by state and type of case. In most personal injury cases, you have between one and three years from the date of injury. Failing to file within this window can result in losing your right to seek compensation, so it’s crucial to act promptly.
Seek medical attention right away, even if your injuries seem minor. Document the scene by taking photos and collecting contact information from witnesses. Avoid discussing fault or making statements to insurance companies without legal advice. Contact a personal injury attorney as soon as possible to guide you through the next steps.
Most personal injury cases are resolved through out-of-court settlements. However, if the opposing party refuses to offer fair compensation, your lawyer may recommend taking the case to trial. While going to court is less common, having an attorney prepared to litigate can strengthen your position during negotiations.
In many states, you can still recover compensation even if you were partially at fault. The total compensation may be reduced by your percentage of fault. For example, if you were found to be 20% at fault, your award would be reduced by that amount. An attorney can help evaluate your case and navigate comparative negligence laws.
The duration depends on the complexity of the case, the severity of injuries, and whether a settlement can be reached quickly. Simple cases may resolve in a few months, while cases involving severe injuries or disputed liability may take a year or longer, especially if they go to trial.
It’s best to avoid speaking with the insurance company without consulting an attorney. Insurance adjusters often aim to minimize payouts and may use your statements against you. A personal injury lawyer can handle communication with the insurer to protect your rights and maximize your compensation.
In North Carolina, your first duty, after stopping your car, is to check for injured persons. North Carolina law requires that you render reasonable assistance to any injured person. If someone is seriously injured, try to get a doctor or call an ambulance-whichever is quicker.
Comfort the injured persons, but do not move the person unless you are skilled in said practice. Even good intentions on your part could result in further injury to the person. You may need to transport such a person to a physician or hospital for medical treatment if it is apparent that such treatment is necessary or requested by the injured person.
Generally, anyone who renders first aid or emergency assistance at the scene shall not be liable in civil damages for any acts of omissions unless such services amount to reckless, wanton, or intentional wrongdoing. If the accident occurred in a city or town, the appropriate agency is the police department of the city or town.
If the accident occurred outside a city or town, the appropriate agency is the State Highway Patrol or the sheriff’s office or other qualified rural police of the county where the accident occurred.
Absolutely not! Today more than ever, you need effective counsel in order to recover the full value of your claim. Good faith claims handling and outstanding customer service are pledges often made by insurance companies and insurance adjusters. Unfortunately, the reality is often sadly different. Insurance companies will even promise to pay for your medical expenses, and even if by some miracle they make a full payment, which rarely happens, you will still miss out on other types of damages that you may be unaware of.
Today, most insurance companies are publicly held entities with the overriding mandate to their stakeholders to constantly and continuously improve the bottom line at the expense of the injured. More often than not, adjusters will offer low settlements, as they are aware that you do not have recourse and will likely accept it. In doing so, they improve their bottom line and maximize profits.
Not in North Carolina, where spouses have complete immunity for torts and negligence of each other.
Pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 52‑12, no married person can be held liable for damages accruing from any tort committed by his or her spouse, or for any costs or fines incurred in any criminal proceeding against such spouse.
Likewise, marriage does not affect tort liability incurred by one spouse before marriage.
On the other hand, a husband and wife can have a cause of action against each other to recover damages sustained to their person or property as if they were unmarried.
The insurance adjuster investigating the accident will attempt to determine who is negligent or at-fault. He or she will consider a number of factors, which generally include: police report, pictures of the accident and property damages, witness statements, statements from both drivers, traffic signals sequence reports and other factors.
North Carolina Contributory Negligence Law (See our Blogs for more details) completely bars a driver from collecting any damages if determined to be even 1% at fault. Thus, in essence, if you contribute to an accident in any way, you may not be able to collect on a liability claim. Any disagreement will ultimately have to be resolved in a court of law, which can be extremely costly.
As such, the insurance adjuster will focus hard on finding fault on your part or for any other reason to deny your claim.
In North Carolina the driver of any vehicle who knows or reasonably should know:
1. That the vehicle which he or she is operating is involved in a crash; and
2. That the crash has resulted in serious bodily injury or death to any person,
shall immediately stop his or her vehicle at the scene of the crash. The driver shall remain with the vehicle at the scene of the crash until a law-enforcement officer completes the investigation of the crash or authorizes the driver to leave and the vehicle to be removed unless remaining at the scene places the driver or others at significant risk of injury.
A willful violation of this subsection shall be punished as a Class F felony.
In addition, the driver shall give his or her name, address, driver’s license number and the license plate number of the vehicle to the person struck or the driver or occupants of any vehicle collided with, provided that the person or persons are physically and mentally capable of receiving such information, and shall render to any person injured in such crash reasonable assistance, including the calling for medical assistance if it is apparent that such assistance is necessary or is requested by the injured person.
A violation of this subsection is a Class 1 misdemeanor.
In addition, the Division of Motor Vehicles will revoke the driver’s license of a person convicted of violating these requirements.
Collision means physical damage to your covered vehicle caused by an impact with another vehicle or object. This coverage pays the cost of repair or actual cash value of your automobile, whichever is smaller.
Comprehensive coverage pays the cost of repair or an actual cash value of your automobile less any deductible. The following list of losses falls under comprehensive coverage:
Missiles or falling objects;
Medical payment coverage or MedPay is a relatively inexpensive coverage that pays for reasonable and necessary medical and funeral expenses due to an automobile accident. It is a no-fault coverage, which means that irrespective of whether you caused the accident or the other party, you will get reimbursed for reasonable medical expenses. Moreover, though MedPay is provided by your own insurance company, since it is a no-fault coverage your premiums will not go up. As such, MedPay is one of the ways to remedy the harsh North Carolina rule of Contributory Negligence.
Individuals covered under this coverage include:
The standard auto insurance policy will pay up to the limits listed in your policy for each individual injured. The Medical Payments coverage will not provide coverage for any expenses if the injuries occur while occupying a motorized vehicle with less than four wheels.
Distracted driving can be defined as any activity that could divert a person’s attention away from the primary task of driving. All distractions endanger driver, passenger, and bystander safety.
These types of distractions include:
Because text messaging requires visual, manual, and cognitive attention from the driver, it is by far the most alarming distraction.
Uninsured Motorist coverage will provide protection when an uninsured driver, who is at-fault, injures you or another covered individual. It also provides property damage coverage. Since 2009 this type of coverage is mandatory in North Carolina.
Though this may never have crossed your mind, there are millions of people in your state that drive daily without having motor vehicle insurance coverage.
All told, about 29.7 million people were uninsured during that year with these states having the greatest percentages of uninsured drivers:
This coverage will provide protection when an underinsured driver, who is at-fault, causes injury to you. An underinsured driver is one whose limits of liability are less than your UIM limits, and not sufficient to cover the losses and injures you have sustained.
UIM coverage does not provide protection against property damage. The UIM coverage will pay a maximum of the difference between the other driver’s Liability limits and your UIM limits.
You definitely need advice from an experienced attorney in this situation. The insurance company will not provide coverage if you or your attorney settles the bodily injury or property damage without your company’s written consent. Calling an attorney here is a must in order to preserve your right under the UIM policy provisions.
No insurance points following an accident will be charged when:
YOU CAN BE HELD LIABLE IN AN ACTION FOR DAMAGES FOR NEGLIGENT ENTRUSTMENT OF A MOTOR VEHICLE TO ANOTHER PERSON IF:
Under the negligent entrustment theory the owner of the vehicle is held liable, not for any imputed negligence, but by reason of his own independent and wrongful breach of duty in entrusting his automobile to one he knows or should know is likely to cause injury; proof of negligence of the driver merely furnishes the causal connection between the primary negligence of the owner and the injury or damage.
In North Carolina, the statutory period in which you can bring an action for personal injuries is three (3) years.
The North Carolina statute also states that “no cause of action shall accrue more than 10 years from the last act or omission of the defendant giving rise to the cause of action.” Presumably, an action could be brought no more than ten years after the last act of the defendant, so long as the injury was discovered within ten years of that act and the action is brought within three years of discovery.
In North Carolina, the fact that you were not wearing a seat belt may not be introduced in an action for damages. In other words, you cannot be accused of contributory negligence in an automobile accident lawsuit if you did not have your seatbelt on.
Yes. North Carolina has no automobile guest statute. As such, a driver will be liable for injuries to his guest if they result from the driver was negligent. In other words, if the driver has not exercised ordinary care under the circumstances
When you make file a claim against your own insurance policy, it can do one of three things:
As a general rule, when an insurer issues a reservation of rights letter, it is telling you that it is reserving the right to disclaim coverage in the future. For example, a letter may state the following: “We are investigating this claim but preserve our right to later deny coverage if investigation shows that it is not a covered loss.”
Res ipsa loquitur (From Latin: “the thing speaks for itself”) is an evidentiary rule which in a proper factual setting permits a party to prove the existence of negligence by merely establishing the circumstance of an occurrence that produces injury or damage.
In other words, res ipsa loquitur means that the occurrence itself warrants an inference that the defendant was negligent, as otherwise the negligent action would not and most likely could not have occurred.
Respondeat Superior (“let the master answer”) is a doctrine that is raised when the driver of a motor vehicle commits a tort while operating someone else’s motor vehicle. As a result, the vehicle owner can also be held liable for the harm caused through use of his motor vehicle.
One of the theories of such liability is generally referred to as Respondeat Superior (vicarious liability), where the negligent acts of the driver (an agent) are imputed to his principal. This most commonly arises in the employer/employee situations. Therefore, all employers must carry workers’ compensation insurance or they risk being personally liable for the injuries.
The term “Vicarious Liability” (also referred to as “imputed negligence”) refers to the doctrine that makes one person responsible for the negligent actions of another.
Vicarious liability is an exception to the normal principle of individualized fault and enables an injured person to seek redress from another who is not the party primarily responsible.
In a case involving imputed negligence, liability will be imposed on one person for the negligence of another based on the relationship between the parties, or arising from a positive rule of common or statutory law, or contract.
Injured due to someone else’s negligence? You can trust our team to provide dedicated and assertive representation to achieve the justice and compensation you deserve.
