Car Wreck Laws

Car Wreck Laws in North Carolina

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.

“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. The law requires that all juries decide the verdict based on the damages and not the ability to pay. Juries are not allowed to consider where the money is coming from, or the effect that it may have on the defendant. However, some jurors fail to follow this law out of sympathy for the defendant.

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 negligent in an accident, you have no claim to recover any of your damages or injuries. For example if you failed to stop at a stop sign, you would be considered to have contributory negligence for this accident.

Insurance companies will try and fool the juries with contributory negligence. Even in rear end collisions, they will try and blame the plaintiff. They may allege that the plaintiff stopped suddenly or somehow was a cause of the wreck. If they don’t win this liability argument, insurance companies think that it has a tendency to reduce damages verdicts. Unfortunately, contributory negligence is an “all or nothing” rule is unjust and results in hardships for many.

Greensboro Car Accident Lawyer: Fighting for Just Compensation

As you can see, if you want to maximize your chance of obtaining just compensation for your loss in an accident, you are going to need a highly skilled and knowledgeable Greensboro personal injury attorney. 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. You need the best when it comes to your car accident lawyer.