The experienced legal team at The Bishop Law Firm represents car accident injury victims in North Carolina. We do not get paid unless you win your case. Call us today at (919) 615-3095 for a free case review or start your free case review now.
North Carolina Car Crash Facts
In 2023, according to the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NC DOT), there were 284,157 car crashes, 1,565 fatal crashes, and 74,161 injury crashes in North Carolina. The 2023 crashes resulted in the injuries of 115,009 people and the deaths of 1,686 people.
Of the crashes, 12,146 involved alcohol, 15,139 resulted from speeding, 60,725 from lane departure, and 47,986 from distracted driving.
Unfortunately, these numbers represent an increase from 2022 for the total number of crashes and injuries.
Being injured in a North Carolina car crash can make a victim feel singled out, but unfortunately, injuries from car accidents happen in North Carolina to over 315 people a day.
These numbers are staggering, considering drunk driving, speeding, and distracted driving are all 100% preventable causes of car accidents.
If you have been injured in a North Carolina car accident, you are not alone, and hiring an experienced car accident lawyer can ensure that you and your family are protected financially.
North Carolina Car Accident Law
North Carolina car accident law addresses negligence, the types of damages a victim can recover, and the timeframe for filing a car accident lawsuit.
Contributory Negligence
North Carolina is one of the four (Alabama, Maryland, and Virginia) remaining contributory negligence states. This means that the victim must not be at fault to recover for their car accident injuries.
Contributory negligence often results in unfair outcomes for victims, but it is the law in our state. One exception to contributory negligence is the “last clear chance doctrine”.
The last clear chance doctrine can help victims if the at-fault party had the last opportunity to change course and avoid the injury. The last clear chance doctrine is rarely helpful to thwart contributory negligence.
How is fault determined in a car accident in NC? After a car wreck, the police officer will usually cite the at-fault party and include a description of the accident at the bottom of the second page of the accident report.
As a matter of course, it is challenging to get accident reports corrected. In some cases, no one receives a ticket, but it is still clear who is at fault.
In other unfortunate cases, it’s difficult to determine who is at fault, and this often results in arbitration for property damage claims and litigation for those seeking compensation for injuries sustained.
Also read Raleigh Car Accident Reports & Twenty Tips to Avoid Raleigh Car Accidents
Economic and Non-Economic Damages
If you have been injured in a car accident through no fault of your own, you can recover the costs of your missed time from work, medical expenses, and be compensated for your pain and suffering.
Future medical expenses and lost wages should also be included if warranted.
While lost wages and medical expenses are economic damages, pain & suffering are non-economic damages; thus, they are more challenging to quantify.
Punitive damages are awarded to punish the at-fault party for egregiously wrongful acts—drunk drivers who harm others while behind the wheel may be liable for punitive damages.
However, simply causing an accident due to distracted driving may not rise to the level of “egregiously wrongful.”
Medical Bills after Motor Vehicle Accidents
Medical bills after an NC Car Accident can be handled in a few different ways. Many of our clients initially file claims with their health insurance, as medical providers want to be paid promptly.
Next, you should file an insurance claim with the at-fault party’s car insurance company. A personal injury claim will be opened for your injury, and a property damage claim will be opened so you can get your car repaired. Different adjusters usually handle Personal Injury claims and Property Damage claims.
The personal injury adjuster may request that you provide a recorded statement or ask for a list of your medical providers so they can obtain your medical records/bills. A personal injury claim can be a time-consuming process, but rushing the insurance adjuster is often counterproductive.
If your auto insurance has medical payments coverage (Med-Pay), you may be able to recover some of your medical expenses that way. Lastly, you can enter into a payment arrangement/lien with the medical provider if you do not have health insurance.
If the driver who caused the car accident does not have car insurance coverage, your last resort is to file a claim under your own insurance company for uninsured motorist coverage.
Read more at Medical Bills After a Car Accident.
What can I claim in lost wages?
A lost wage claim is a claim that a car accident victim can assert against an at-fault driver for losing time from work because of his or her injuries.
To seek recovery for a lost wage claim, an injured accident victim has to have documentation of the actual days he or she has missed from work due to their injuries.
The employer of the injured accident victim must verify the lost wage documentation. The employer should provide payroll records stating the number of days the accident victim missed work and the injured accident victim’s rate of pay.
Commissioned and self-employed car accident victims can meet with opposition from the other driver’s insurance company due to the difficulties surrounding “lost earning capacity.” Nonetheless, a car accident victim should be compensated for their lost wages, no matter how they earn them.
What is pain and suffering?
Pain & suffering damages are the law’s way of trying to compensate a car accident victim for the non-tangible (but very real) consequences of being injured in a car accident. Physical pain and mental suffering are hard to quantify, but a victim has to endure them all the same.
If you break your leg, you will experience not only physical pain but also mental and emotional distress. Unfortunately, injuries can leave us with visible (and invisible) scars that affect our self-esteem.
Read more at Pain and Suffering in North Carolina Personal Injury Cases.
Statute of Limitations
How long after a car accident can you sue in North Carolina? NC has a three-year statute of limitations from the date of injury for car accident negligence.
If your loved one was killed in a car accident, you have two years from the date of death to bring a wrongful death lawsuit.
If you were injured while at work in a motor vehicle accident, you could have an NC Workers’ Compensation case as well as a car accident claim.
What about self-driving cars?
Do You Need North Carolina Car Accident Attorneys?
Minor car accidents with minor injuries may not warrant the involvement of a car accident attorney, but when an insurance company will not pay a victim's bills, is that minor? We think not.
If there are fault issues, problems dealing with the adjuster, or if the insurance simply won't make a fair offer of settlement, calling a car accident attorney should be the victim's next step.
Also watch Raleigh Car Accident Lawyer - Seven Reasons Why You Need One
Was the auto accident your fault?
If you received a citation (ticket) for the accident, law enforcement likely determined you to be at some level of fault for the collision. In North Carolina, if you have been chosen to be at fault in any way for the accident, you cannot be compensated.
If you are looking for your automobile accident report, you can try your local police website, your County Sheriff’s office, or the NC State Highway Patrol, depending on what official was called to the scene of your accident.
Rear-end collisions, multi-car accidents, and fatal crashes can be complicated, to say the least. It can be challenging to determine who is actually at fault in some motor vehicle accident cases.
The insurance adjuster may deny that their insured is at fault. A North Carolina car accident lawyer can help determine if you have an injury claim and give you legal advice about recovering your losses from the car crash.
Dealing with the Insurance Adjuster
Dealing with the insurance company is not simple, straightforward, or quick. It is common knowledge that the insurance company wants to pay as little as possible, preferably nothing, and will employ various tactics to delay, frustrate, and minimize your car accident claim.
The choice to hire an accident attorney to help with your claim can set the tone for how the insurance company treats you. Without the proper inspiration from an attorney, your claim may gather dust on an adjuster’s desk or get lost in the shuffle.
Unfortunately, insurance adjusters can use an injured person’s financial hardship against them and force them to take little to nothing for their case.
Even worse, some insurance adjusters will hold onto claims until the statute of limitations expires, leaving the injured with no recourse to recover their losses.
Simply put, a car accident attorney can make sure your claim goes as smoothly as possible and help you decide if you should take the insurance company’s offer or pursue a car accident lawsuit.
How hard is it to win a car accident lawsuit?
Location matters more than one may think. Juries in certain counties are more likely to award higher damages, while in other counties the opposite is true.
If you have a car accident lawyer, it will be easier to navigate the litigation process. A well-written complaint with focused discovery will also put a victim closer to maximum compensation.
However, even with the assistance of car accident attorneys, evidence remains key to winning any lawsuit.
Accident reports, medical records, documentation of lost wages, impact statements, accident reconstruction reports, photographs, videos, and other relevant evidence are essential.
In addition to the evidence, the effective presentation of the evidence to the jury is also imperative.
In summary, presenting essential evidence effectively, along with asking the right questions of the Defendant, will increase the likelihood of winning a car accident lawsuit. Without this, it will be tough to win the case.
Read: NC Personal Injury vs. Property Damage Claim & What does a Raleigh Car Accident Lawyer do?
Injuries Caused By Car Accidents
The actions of the at-fault driver can cause life-changing injuries for victims. Drunk, distracted drivers, and drivers with a sudden emergency can make rash driving decisions that result in injuries to victims.
Unfortunately, specific injuries from car accidents may not be covered by your insurance policy, and it’s all too easy to get stuck with a bill you cannot afford because of the sometimes-frustrating way that hospitals assess who pays what for medical services.
Depending on your injury, there can be a higher likelihood of long-term effects, need for future medical care, or complications (such as brain injury, orthopedic injuries, etc.).
Common serious injuries you may sustain from an automobile accident include:
- Back Injury After Car Accident
- Neck Injury After Car Accident
- Chiari Malformation After Car Accident
- Brain Injury After Car Accident
- Blunt Force Trauma To Head From Car Accident
- Shoulder Injury After Car Accident
- Leg Injury After Car Accident
- Foot Injury After Car Accident
- Skin Injury After Car Accident
- PTSD After Car Accident
- Vehophobia After Car Accident
- Chronic Conditions From Car Accidents
- Delayed Symptoms After Car Accident
In many cases, injuries as a result of an auto collision entitle the injured party to compensation. However, if you’re trying to settle with the insurance company that is at fault for your injury, they will be looking out only for their interests when it comes time to pay up.
It’s essential to work with your North Carolina car accident lawyer and provide them with all the necessary information to make the most reliable and honest claim.
Also read Car Accident Roadmap - What to do after you have been hit
How to Calculate a Car Accident Settlement in North Carolina
A very basic calculation of an NC car accident injury settlement would look like: (Medical expenses + lost wages) + pain and suffering. There are different ways to calculate non-economic damages (pain and suffering). Some NC personal injury lawyers use medical expenses and lost wages as a base for calculating pain and suffering: Economic Damages x Multiplier = Pain and Suffering amount.
The multiplier can range from 1 to 5+, with a value of 5+ typically applied in wrongful death claims.
Car Accident Settlement Example
As an example, Donald Duck was injured in a car accident and sustained $20,000 in medical bills, prescription costs, and medical supplies. He was out of work for two weeks. He makes $1,000 a week from his job. During this time, Donald had severe pain from his personal injury and was unable to sleep or bathe without assistance.
The hypothetical settlement using a multiplier of 2 would be $66,000 (($22,000 x 2) + $22,000).
The amount of compensation you are eligible for depends on the extent of your injuries and your financial losses. Every car accident case is different.
It would seem logical that the greater your injury, the greater your expenses, and thus the greater your car accident settlement.
While this is usually true, cases involving a drunk driver, children, or a highly publicized automobile accident can increase the average car accident settlement due to the likelihood that a higher jury verdict may be returned.
Another important consideration is the at-fault party’s insurance policy limits. Read our post: NC Car Accidents and Insurance Policy Limits.
Also read: How much will my car accident injury settlement be?
Is it worth getting an attorney for a car accident?
Obtaining compensation for your losses should be as simple as filing a claim with the adjuster at the driver’s insurance company.
However, insurance companies often deny liability in car accident claims or refuse to cover the cost of necessary medical treatment. In other situations, insurance companies will use your situation against you and persuade you to settle your claim for less than you are entitled to receive.
An insurance adjuster may attempt to settle an injury claim before all necessary medical treatment has been completed or wait until the statute of limitations has expired, leaving the accident victim with no recourse.
If you have sustained a serious injury from an auto accident that was not your fault, an experienced car accident attorney will be able to guide you through the process and ensure that each of your interests is represented to the insurance company or the jury, if needed.
This is especially true when your injuries and subsequent medical treatment are complex.
Car Accident Attorneys Can Add Value to Your Claim
A car accident lawyer can foresee and tackle the legal issues that you may not be aware of at the time of your claim. The attorney you hire after a car accident, truck accident, or other motor vehicle wreck will set the tone for how the at-fault party’s insurance company treats you.
The Bishop Law Firm is a contingency fee law firm, which means we do not get paid unless you win. There are no upfront costs, and we get paid out of your settlement. This ensures that we are very interested in attaining fair compensation for our clients.
Contact The Bishop Law Firm Today
When you have been a victim of a car accident, it is essential to know that there are car accident attorneys in Raleigh who can help you get the maximum compensation. We understand how stressful this time may be for those involved and hope we can help in some way. With car crashes, we represent the victims of:
- Pedestrian Accidents
- Motorcycle Accidents
- Drunk Driver Accidents
- Bicycle Accidents
- Wrongful Death
- Catastrophic Injuries
- Construction Accidents
- Ambulance Negligence
- and more..
Call us today at (919) 615-3095 for a free case review or start your free case review now.
The Bishop Law Firm represents car victims of auto accidents in Raleigh, Cary, Durham, Rocky Mount, Wilson, Fayetteville, Smithfield, Louisburg, Chapel Hill, Roanoke Rapids, Apex, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Greenville, and more!
We look forward to working with you and wish you a speedy recovery.
