North Carolina Personal Injury Attorney

Car Wreck Laws

There are certain basic facts you need to be aware of when dealing with car wreck laws.  They affect the outcome of any settlement you may be entitled to, and most people in North Carolina are not aware of them. 

Contributory Negligence

Negligence is defined as failing to act reasonably, or as a reasonable person would act.   When you have contributory negligence, what this means basically is that some portion of negligence in an accident was contributed to by another.  Unfortunately in North Carolina, contributory negligence laws state that if you are even 1% negligent in an accident, you have no claim to recover for any of your damages or injuries.  For example if you slammed on your brakes at an intersection suddenly and also had no brake lights working and were rear ended by the vehicle behind you, you would be considered to have contributory negligence for this accident.  This would be obvious in this situation, you were driving without brake lights and stopped suddenly, contributing to the accident occurring.  On the other hand, if in this same situation you approached an intersection and were going to turn right, properly put on your turn signal, your brake lights were working fine, yet you were still rear-ended, it would appear clear you had no negligence on your part.  Insurance companies in North Carolina do not operate on that basis.  They will attempt to prove that you were somehow partially negligent, like failing to stop safely or no turn signal.  If they can prove this, they will be able to claim contributory negligence and not have to pay for any of your damages or take any responsibility for the other driver's negligence.  Unfortunately, this "all or nothing" rule is unjust and results in hardships for many.

"Insurance" can't be mentioned in court

If your case goes to trial, North Carolina does not allow the fact that the parties have insurance available to be admissible in court.  When a lawsuit is filed, no insurance company is mentioned, only the other party.  Nothing can be brought up as to how poorly an insurance adjuster might have handled the claim prior to it having to go to court.  Since the defendant is represented in court by the lawyers for the insurance company, they control what the settlement will be or whether they will choose to deny a claim, even when the defendant knows it was his fault and would prefer to settle.  This can greatly affect a settlement figure that a jury may want to award the victim of an accident, as they have no idea what type of insurance this person might have to cover his negligence.

Hire an Effective and Aggressive Trial Lawyer

As you can see, if you want to make sure you are able to receive compensation for your loss in an accident, you are going to need a highly skilled and knowledgeable personal injury attorney in Greensboro, North Carolina, if you hope to obtain a fair settlement. Go with the attorney who has a proven track record of successful settlements and trials.  James has handled cases in Greensboro, Lexington, Winston-Salem, Burlington, Rockingham, Reidsville and most other cities in the Piedmont Area.