Automobile Accident

Two North Carolina Women Die In Head-On Accident :: Personal Injury Attorneys and Lawyers in Charlotte, NC

July 11, 2013 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “What if the accident was my fault?”

Police in North Carolina say two women were killed in a head-on accident in Perquimans County early this weekend. According to news reports, the accident took place early in the morning on Friday.

The names of the two women have not yet been released as authorities say they are still trying to notify their families. According to reports, a man crossed the center lane of Harvey Point Road near the intersection of Burgess Road and slammed into the oncoming car carrying the two women.

The man, whose name has also not yet been released, was taken to the Vidant Medical Center in Greenville for treatment of serious injuries. Police say they are still investigating what may have caused the fatal accident and are considering filing criminal charges against the male driver for failing to maintain control of his vehicle.

Head-on accidents are just what they sound like when the front of a car, truck or motorcycle slams into the front of another motor vehicle. Such accidents are generally serious and have a higher rate of causing fatalities than other crashes, with the exception of rollover accidents. In 2005, only two percent of all car accidents were head-on collisions but they accounted for 10 percent of fatal accidents.

North Carolina Rail Safety Summit Convened After Huge Spike In Deaths :: Personal Injury Attorneys and Lawyers in Charlotte, NC

June 18, 2013 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “Can I wait a few months to pursue a personal injury claim?”

The number of deadly train accidents across North Carolina has increased dramatically so far in 2013 and state safety officials are eager to come up with a solution to end the escalating problem. To help with that, a rail safety summit took place late last month with railroad officials, government workers, police officers and public safety advocates.

The numbers so far this year clearly demonstrate the problem: so far 15 people in North Carolina have died in train-related accidents. In all of 2012 there were only 18 train-related fatalities. Authorities say most of the deaths were due to pedestrians who were on railroad tracks, meaning they trespassed onto land that the railroad operators control. Nine out of the 15 deaths have involved such trespassers, something law enforcement officials are struggling to deal with.

Police say if someone is caught trespassing on a railroad’s right-of-way that person can be charged with a misdemeanor, but this has not appeared to prevent people from continuing to trespass. Experts say the reason for the trespassing varies, some people are just bored and out for a walk, others are trying to tempt fate while others were taking what they thought was an uneventful jog.

Those deaths that do not involve pedestrians are typically caused because drivers either disregard or never noticed warnings at railroad crossings. In some cases, rushed drivers attempt to cross already lowered crossing gates thinking they can beat the oncoming train. The state Transportation Secretary, Tony Tata, says that drivers need to understand that it’s far better to wait a few minutes than to never arrive at all.

Charlotte, NC Driver Charged After Rush Hour Accident :: Personal Injury Attorneys and Lawyers in Charlotte, NC

June 13, 2013 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “What can you sue for in a personal injury case?”

A Charlotte woman was injured after a car accident that took place earlier this week during the afternoon rush hour on I-485. The accident, which took place just after 6:30 p.m., happened along the I-485 outer loop between Providence Road and Rea Road.

North Carolina Highway Patrol has said that a 26-year-old driver, Kathleen Thomas was driving along I-485 when she pressed her brakes and lost control of her vehicle. Her car then spun out, crossed the median, clipped one vehicle and was ultimately hit by an oncoming SUV.

Charlotte emergency responders say it took the Fire Department a substantial amount of time to extract the woman from her smashed vehicle. Thomas was taken to the hospital for treatment of injuries including a fractured pelvis and leg injuries. The driver of the SUV, who has not yet been identified, was also injured in the accident.

Police say that since the accident they have charged Thomas with reckless driving and DWI. An investigation after the wreck turned up six different medications in Thomas’ car which led to the impaired driving charges.

Though many drivers may not realize it, the problem of impaired driving is not limited to alcohol. Driving under the influence of prescription drugs raises many of the same concerns given that powerful medication can act on the brain to impair a person’s motor skills, reaction time and judgment. Drugged driving is a public health concern because it puts not only the driver at risk, but also passengers and others who share the road.

Head-On Accident In Charlotte Leaves One Dead And Two Others Injured :: Personal Injury Attorneys and Lawyers in Charlotte, NC

June 11, 2013 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “What exactly is a wrongful death claim?”

Just last week one person died and two others were killed in a tragic accident on the north side of Charlotte. According to a spokesperson with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, a 19-year-old woman was driving a 1996 Ford Mustang when she collided with an oncoming 1994 Chrysler Lebaron. The accident took place on the 8300 block of Beatties Ford Road around 9 a.m.

Investigators say that they are still trying to reconstruct the accident, but it appears as if the driver of the Mustang drove her car over the centerline and into oncoming traffic, hitting the Chrysler directly head-on. Police say they still do not know what may have led the driver to drift out of her lane, but are looking into various possibilities including distracted driving. Authorities say they are able to rule out alcohol, but continue to pursue other leads.

When emergency medical responders arrived at the accident scene they pronounced the passenger in the Chrysler dead. The driver of the Chrysler was taken by ambulance to Carolina’s Medical Center for treatment of life-threatening injuries. The teenage driver of the Mustang was taken to Carolina’s Medical Center by helicopter given the severity of her injuries.

Police say that once the driver of the Mustang is released from the hospital they will arrest and charge her with misdemeanor death by vehicle.

Charlotte Driver Charged In Deadly Tractor-Trailer Wreck :: Personal Injury Attorneys and Lawyers in Charlotte, NC

May 23, 2013 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “Are the laws or rules applying to a wrongful death claim different from a personal injury not involving death?”

Police in Winston-Salem say they have filed charges against a driver from Charlotte, NC after a deadly tractor-trailer accident on U.S. Highway 52 occurred earlier last month. Officers say they issued a warrant for Hiep Tan Truong’s arrest on Monday.

Authorities say Truong lost control of his commercial vehicle on U.S. 52 at the beginning of May and drove into a concrete median. The accident set off a chain reaction of collisions that involved four other vehicles and left several injured and one man dead.

Police say that Truong was driving his box truck at more than 15 miles per hour above the speed limit in the midst of a downpour. After hitting an oncoming car head-on, the truck continued and crashed into two more vehicles before finally overturning.

Police say Kenneth Leroy Baum was thrown from his Chevy Impala and died as a result of the accident. Truong was charged with misdemeanor death by motor vehicle for his actions that morning and is being held under a $5,000 unsecured bond. Truong is not set to appear in court until June 24th.

North Carolina Couple Victims In Deadly Charter Bus Accident :: Workers’ Compensation Law Firm in Charlotte, NC

April 11, 2013 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “What should I do if I have been injured by another party but I can’t afford a lawyer?”

A terrible charter bus accident in Virginia left one person dead and multiple people injured, including a couple from North Carolina. Authorities in Norfolk, VA say that the woman, Theresa Watson, is improving after suffering serious injuries. A spokesperson with the Norfolk General Hospital have said that Watson has now been upgraded to fair condition after initially being classified as in critical condition.

Tragically for Watson, her husband, Doval Emmanuel Watson, was killed after being ejected from the bus. The couple, from Chapel Hill, was on the bus to go on a college tour at Hampton University.

Police have said that the accident occurred when the driver lost control and the bus ran off the road and overturned in a ditch. Police have charged the 62-year-old driver, Larry Brocks, with reckless driving. The bus was owned and operated by a Washington-based company, Horizon Coach Lines.
Sadly, fatal charter bus accidents are not uncommon occurrences. Instead, accidents involving such large buses are frequently deadly because of the number of passengers onboard and secondly, because they do not have the safety features of passenger vehicles. Charter buses almost never have things like airbags and seatbelts, features that are standard on even the most basic passenger cars. This means that passengers are unprotected in the event of a crash and can be thrown from their seats, like the man in this case, which can lead to severe injuries, permanent disabilities and even death.

Distracted Driving Leads To Deadly North Carolina Accident :: Personal Injury Attorneys and Lawyers in Charlotte, NC

April 9, 2013 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “What should I do if I have been injured by another party but I can’t afford a lawyer?”

Police investigators with the Asheville Police Department have announced that a woman from Candler, NC died and several others were injured due to distracted driving. Specifically, officers say they found three phones, two of which were open, in the car of Donna May, the woman who ultimately died after the three-car wreck.

Police say they are currently in the process of gathering evidence about what May was using the phones for at the time of the deadly accident. A judge from Buncombe County approved a request by the police to download information contained on the phones to help piece the events of that morning together.

So far, investigators say they know that May was driving east on I-40 in her Ford Thunderbird headed towards the exit ramp for I-26 a little after nine in the morning when she slammed into the back of a Land Rover. May was driving quickly in very congested, morning rush hour traffic and, given her distraction, did not see that the exit ramp was backed up. She then drove directly into the Land Rover, hitting it hard enough to push it into a Ford van. May was taken to a local hospital where she later died from her injuries. Two passengers in the Land Rover were also hospitalized, but have since been released after receiving treatment.

The dangers of distracted driving are clear and law enforcement officials have taken pains to remind drivers about how using cellphones while driving can greatly increase your risk of being involved in an accident. Every single day distracted driving is thought to contribute to 8,000 car accidents. AAA says that those drivers using cellphones while behind the wheel quadruple their risk of being in an accident.

No Headlights At Night Lead To Accident in North Carolina :: Car Wreck Attorneys in Charlotte, North Carolina

February 22, 2013 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

A terrible accident took place in Newport, North Carolina a few weeks ago that resulted in several people being taken to the hospital for treatment of their injuries. The two vehicle crash took place early one evening and is being blamed on one driver’s failure to turn on her headlights.

Police say they have charged the one driver with failure to burn her headlights and to properly inflate her tires. The woman was driving her car, an older model Pontiac, west on Highway 70 in Newport, NC with only her parking lights on. It was then that a van making a left turn onto Highway 70 crashed into the Pontiac. Five people were taken to a local hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries, while emergency responders at the scene treated a sixth person.

In a normal accident that unfolds in this way, many might think that the car that turned left onto Highway 70 and thus into the path of the Pontiac would be at fault since it did not respect the right of way of the oncoming vehicle. However, the driver of the Pontiac did not have her headlights on which meant she is being held liable for the terrible accident.

North Carolina General Statutes § 20-131 is very clear on the requirement for drivers to keep their headlights on. The language of the law reads:

The headlamps of motor vehicles shall be so constructed, arranged, and adjusted that, except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, they will at all times mentioned in G.S. 20 129, and under normal atmospheric conditions and on a level road, produce a driving light sufficient to render clearly discernible a person 200 feet ahead.

Injured NASCAR Fans Look For Legal Representation :: Personal Injury Lawyers and Attorneys in Charlotte, North Carolina

February 19, 2013 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Several of the fans injured in the recent NASCAR Nationwide Race in Dayton have retained lawyers to ensure that they are compensated for the injuries they sustained in the fiery accident.

The crash took place during the February 23rd Nationwide Series race at Daytona. At least 28 people were injured when a section of Kyle Larson’s car went airborne and overshot the catch fence designed to protect spectators from harm. Flaming debris then went flying into the front-stretch stands during the last lap of the race; sending a few dozen people to the hospital for treatment.

Some injuries were relatively minor, with only scrapes and small cuts. Others were much more serious, so serious in fact that two people remain in the Daytona Beach Halifax Health Hospital today, weeks after the crash. The two remaining patients were injured after being hit by Kyle Larson’s tire and each suffered what were initially life-threatening injuries.

One man from North Carolina was injured in the NASCAR crash. The man, from Angier, NC, was taken to a Daytona hospital to receive medical after suffering from cuts to his face and body. The cuts were deep enough that he had to receive 12 stitches in his head. He’s now back home recovering from his wounds.

Some legal experts interviewed by USA Today are saying that NASCAR could face liability for the accident, despite issuing tickets that say spectators assume the risk of any injuries. Some have said that a strong case could be made that the organization could have done more to prevent these injuries from occurring by using a stronger fence or better assembling it to hold up to the force of a crash.

Charlotte Launches Campaign To Protect Pedestrians :: Personal Injury Law Firms Attorneys and Lawyers in Charlotte, NC

February 7, 2013 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

According to a recent report by WBTV, pedestrians in Charlotte might have some good news in terms of safety. That’s because the city has announced the start of a new program designed to make sidewalks in Charlotte safer for those on foot.

The campaign was started after joggers, disabled citizens and those walking to work and school voiced complaints with the city about the lack of safety for pedestrians. The complaints began after a string of traffic crashes were reported last year involving pedestrians. The accidents were bad enough that two resulted in fatalities for innocent pedestrians.

Last year a terrible accident crystalized some of the problems seen in Charlotte that are caused by overly crowded sidewalks. A student at Myers Park High School was riding his bike when he tried to avoid a garbage can that had been placed on a sidewalk. When he swerved to avoid the can he fell off his bike into the street where he was hit and killed by a passing vehicle.