Automobile Accident

NC Highway Patrol Warns Drivers To Watch For Those On Roadsides :: Car Wreck Lawyers and Attorneys in Charlotte, North Carolina

January 17, 2013 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

It’s tragic that data shows more than 150 police officers have died since 1999 after being hit by passing vehicles on roadways across the United States. The numbers, recently released by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, serves as a painful reminder of how much police officers sacrifice to keep others safe.

WBTV reports that the North Carolina Highway Patrol is taking this opportunity to impress upon residents of the state how important it is to abide by the Move Over law, especially when emergency vehicles are stopped on the side of the road.

North Carolina is one of 43 states to enact such legislation. North Carolina implemented its version of the law in 2002. Though the law is now more than a decade old, many drivers remain unaware of it. According to recent polling, some 71% of Americans have never heard of “Move Over” laws. This despite the fact that 86% of those responding to the survey say they support enacting such legislation.

North Carolina’s law was designed to help curb the numbers of deaths suffered not only by police officers, but by other emergency responders and even civilians who were stranded on the side of the interstate. North Carolina’s law requires drivers to slow down and approach cautiously when an emergency vehicle is stopped on the shoulder of the roadway with its lights flashing. Motorists are required to move over to another lane away from the emergency vehicle on a multi-lane highway or slow down on a two-lane highway assuming they can do so safely.

Car Accident Lawyers and Attorneys in Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina :: The Reason Behind Low Insurance Rates in North Carolina

December 25, 2012 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

There’s been discussion among industry insiders about the low auto insurance rates paid by consumers in North Carolina and whether a raise in the rates might actually be a good thing in the long run. This might come as a surprise to drivers in the state given that North Carolinians currently enjoy some of the lowest car insurance rights in the country.

According to a survey by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, drivers in the state pay the eighth lowest amount in the country behind Maine, Idaho and five states in the Midwest. Another survey, from Insure.com, says that the state is doing in even better, coming in at the fifth lowest auto premiums in 2012.

However, the reason for the low rates reveals that it’s not all good news. Some of the reasons are great: good roads, good traffic enforcement and low population density are all contributing factors. However, a bigger reason is that North Carolina is one of only a few states with laws on the book that make it harder to win personal injury lawsuits by evaluating whether an injured person had a role to play.

In North Carolina, the law says that if you are even one percent at fault, you might as well be 100% at fault. That’s because unlike most states, North Carolina follows an old common law rule known as contributory negligence. Under this approach, when a person is found to have any responsibility at all for his or her injuries, that person is then barred from recovering damages for those injuries. That means, that if a person is responsible in the smallest way for an accident, the defendant will avoid having to pay anything for the harm they caused. There are a few ways around this strict rule, including if the defendant acted in a willful or wanton manner or if the defendant had the last chance to avoid an accident and failed to do so. Currently only three other states and the District of Columbia follow the contributory negligence approach.

The vast majority of states use some version of a comparative negligence system where the amount a plaintiff can recover is reduced according to the percentage they are found to be at fault. For instance, if a plaintiff is found to be 10% responsible for an accident and the defendant is found to be 90% responsible, the total damage award will be reduced by 10%.

There have been several attempts to change the outdated system used in North Carolina, including last year’s vote in the House in favor of a bill replacing the contributory negligence system with a modified comparative negligence system. Though the House passed the bill, it failed to get the necessary votes in the Senate due to language inserted by legislators friendly to the insurance industry.

Personal Injury Attorneys and Lawyers in Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina :: Red States and Blue States Differ on Fatal Traffic Accident Rates

December 11, 2012 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Though most of us know about the cultural differences that appear to exist between people in red and blue states, we likely have never heard that there are also differences in fatal traffic accident rates. According to a recent article in the LA Times, red states have significantly higher fatal traffic accident rates than blue states.

Some may try to extract political reasons for the difference, but experts agree that the real reason is one of geography. Most red states have higher speed limits than blue states given the increased amount of open, rural roadways as opposed to dense, urban population centers. Moreover, red states often see drivers having to travel longer distances and go further to find a hospital or emergency services. Blue staters are more likely to use public transportation, further dropping their chance of being killed on the road.

Public transportation usage dramatically reduces the rate of road deaths, so much so that many people have used the data to push for an increase in government money directed towards rail projects. Nearly all of the least fatal states have comprehensive public transportation systems which keep residents from driving much of the time.

The site revealed that the 10 highest death rates, per 100,000 people, occurred in states that voted for Mitt Romney in the recent election. Even more surprising is that fully 17 out of the 18 deadliest traffic accident states voted Republican in 2012. The 10 states with the highest traffic death rates per 100,000 population are: Wyoming, Mississippi, Arkansas, Montana, Alabama, Oklahoma, Kentucky, South Carolina, South Dakota and West Virginia.

Dram Shop Attorneys and Lawyers in Charlotte, NC :: North Carolina Dram Shop Laws Receive Attention After Tragic Accident

November 29, 2012 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

A heartbreaking drunk driving crash in Charlotte, NC that severely injured a young couple and killed their unborn child and the drunk driver shed light a law that is meant to prevent bars and restaurants from serving alcohol to already intoxicated customers.

The innocent North Carolina couple was driving home in October of 2010 when police say a drunk driver with a blood alcohol level more than three times the legal limit crashed into them going more than 100 miles per hour. The drunk driver had just left a bar in south Charlotte where he had been served at least 10 drinks.

The couple spent more than a month in the hospital and the wife lost the baby and more than 40% of her own blood. Extensive surgery was required for both the husband and wife in addition to many months of rehabilitation after the accident.

Earlier this month a jury in Charlotte returned a $1.7 million verdict against the bar, finding that the restaurant was negligent in serving alcohol to a person it should have known was drunk. Though the bar has not been found criminally liable, saying an investigation by the Mecklenburg County Alcoholic Beverage Control Board found that the bar had not served alcohol to the drunk driver after he was “visibly intoxicated,” the civil standard is less stringent.

The innocent couple sued the bar under North Carolina’s law that makes establishments that serve alcohol to obviously drunk or underage customers who then cause death or injury to others liable. The laws, known as dram shop laws, are on the books in all but seven states. Some have criticized the North Carolina law for being vague; not specifying exactly what owners of such establishments should do to ensure they are not liable for the actions of their patrons.

Car Wreck and Personal Injury Lawyers in Charlotte, NC :: Charlotte, NC Woman Seriously Injured After SUV Runs Her Off the Road

November 1, 2012 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

A recent report in the Shelby Star revealed that a woman involved in a weekend car wreck on Polkville Road in Charlotte, NC is still in the trauma unit at Carolinas Medical Center recovering from her injuries.

According to North Carolina Highway Patrol, a woman in a car heading North on Highway 226 said she swerved to avoid a SUV that was in her lane. She ran off the right side of the road, overcorrected, and hit another car head-on.

The driver who swerved said that she and her daughter were bruised and shaken badly, but otherwise unharmed. The driver is eager to locate the SUV that ran her off the road and hopes that police are able to find the person responsible quickly.

The car that was hit head-on rolled five or six times following the impact. The woman’s husband, who was not in the car at the time, said his wife suffered a broken neck, fractured skull and a broken back. She had to be airlifted from the scene of the accident due to the severity of her injuries.

Personal Injury Lawyers in Charlotte, North Carolina :: EMT Killed When Ambulance Hit By Tractor-Trailer

October 11, 2012 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

A tragic accident occurred this week in North Carolina when an emergency responder was killed after an ambulance was involved in a crash with a tractor trailer right in front of a hospital.

The incident happened in front of Carolinas Medical Center-Union along U.S. 74 in Monroe, just before 11 a.m. Tuesday morning. The semi truck was traveling westbound on U.S. 74 when it hit an ambulance as the ambulance was pulling into the road.

Reports indicate that the ambulance was a part of the Sandhills Ambulance Service. Officials from the company released a statement saying that an EMT employee was killed in the crash.

The employee was later identified as Belinda Gayle Rivers, 43, who was sitting in the passenger seat of the ambulance at the time of the accident. The driver of the ambulance was also injured in the crash and was taken to the CMC-Main hospital in Charlotte to be treated for his injuries. He is currently said to be in stable condition.

The driver of the tractor-trailer suffered no injuries. Thankfully, no one else was on board the ambulance as it was headed to another hospital to pick up a patient when the accident occurred.

Car Accident Lawyers in Charlotte, NC :: Children Injured in West Charlotte Car Crash

October 9, 2012 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

According to a recent report out of WBTV, eight people have been injured in a car crash that happened in west Charlotte. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department says that the accident occurred just before 6 p.m. earlier this week. The collision happened at the intersection of West Boulevard and Old Steele Creek Road.

Sadly, two children were among the eight people injured in the crash. Thankfully for the families of the kids both children were reported to have non-life threatening injuries. They were both taken to the hospital and are being treated. Another victim of the car crash was transported to the hospital with what police have said were potentially life-threatening injuries. Six of those people injured in the accident were taken to CMC Main, and the other two were taken to Presbyterian Main.

The accident involved a car and an SUV and police report both vehicles were heavily damaged. The accident happened at rush hour causing traffic delays for commuters in the area. Police have so far remained quiet about the cause of the accident or if any charges will be filed as a result.

Car Wreck Lawyers in Charlotte, NC :: Charlotte Hit-and-Run leaves 21-year-old in Critical Condition

October 4, 2012 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

According to a report by WCNC, a young woman is in critical condition after a hit-and-run car accident on I-485 occurred late last month. The accident happened near the Providence Road exit.

The North Carolina Highway Patrol has said that a 21-year-old female driver passed an SUV in the right lane and attempted to get back in the left lane when the SUV clipped her car from behind and spun her off the road. Troopers said the SUV did not stop and continued down I-485 toward Pineville. The SUV is described as a light gray or silver with possible damage to the front right side.

The victim in the accident has suffered multiple broken bones, internal injuries and two collapsed lungs. Troopers have said that witnesses report the driver of the SUV may have had road rage issues prior to striking the young driver’s car.

After crashing into another car, the decision to bolt from the scene is not only heartless, it’s also against the law. Now, the driver responsible for the crash is likely to be convicted of criminal charges in addition to the civil penalties he could face. In North Carolina, hit and run accidents are governed by North Carolina General Statutes § 20-166. The law states:

(a) The driver of any vehicle who knows or reasonably should know:

(1) That the vehicle which he is operating is involved in an accident or collision; and
(2) That the accident or collision has resulted in injury or death to any person; shall immediately stop his vehicle at the scene of the accident or collision. He shall remain at the scene of the accident until a law-enforcement officer completes his investigation of the accident or collision or authorizes him to leave; Provided, however, that he may leave to call for a law-enforcement officer or for medical assistance or medical treatment as set forth in (b), but must return to the accident scene within a reasonable period of time. A willful violation of this subsection shall be punished as a Class H felony.

Charlotte Baseball Coach Seriously Injured After Accident With Speeding Driver

September 25, 2012 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

According to WBTV, a popular college baseball coach was critically injured after a police spokesman says he was involved in a crash along Interstate 77 in Charlotte, NC earlier this week.

The crash, which happened along I-77 north near I-485 and WT Harris Boulevard, sent at least two cars off the highway a little after 9 p.m. Dick Cooke, the Davidson College baseball coach, was injured in the crash which sent both vehicles slamming into a wooded area. The coach was hit from behind by a speeding driver according to police reports. Cooke has reported serious injuries, including bleeding on his brain, cracked ribs, lung issues and a leg that is broken in four places.

North Carolina Troopers have said they believe alcohol was involved in the crash. The N.C. Highway Patrol have since charged Brittany Alana Fitch, 27, of Clover, South Carolina with driving while impaired, driving with license revoked and reckless driving. The investigation is ongoing.

Breaking Down Insurance Coverage in North Carolina

September 13, 2012 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

When shopping for car insurance, many people are put off by not knowing which of the many varieties of coverage they may actually need and which ones are merely there to line the pockets of insurance companies. A recent article by Yahoo Finance analyzed some standard insurance policies to come up with a guide for what kinds of coverage the average consumer needs. The Yahoo article gave each variety of coverage a ranking according to color: red meaning the policy is urgent, orange to signify important and yellow meaning least critical. First things first, liability coverage:

• Liability Coverage
• Urgency: Red
Liability coverage exists to pay for bodily injury and property damage that you or others cause while operating your vehicle. Liability coverage will also cover court costs if you’re sued as a result of an accident. Given the description, the necessity of the policy is pretty obvious. It’s this coverage that is designed to protect your assets and future earning power if you are ever involved in a bad accident. A bit of good news is that it typically doesn’t cost much (less than $50 every six months) to double your current liability coverage, so it’s probably better to be safe than sorry.

• Collision Coverage
• Rating: Yellow
Collision coverage is what pays to fix your car in the event of an accident. The value of this policy depends almost entirely on money; how old and how much your car is worth, how much a repair might cost and whether you’re able to afford the repair on your own without collision coverage.

While collision coverage is important, as your car ages and depreciates, it might not be a bad idea to increase your deductible so that your monthly premiums go down or even consider dropping collision all together. This is an instance where leasing your car will result in a guaranteed purchase as companies will require you to carry collision coverage.

• Medical Payments Coverage
• Rating: Orange
Medical-payments coverage ensures that reasonable medical expenses are paid for those in your vehicle, regardless of who caused the wreck. The importance of this policy depends on your situation, if you don’t have insurance or are lacking, move the color up to red and carry the maximum that your company will allow. If you’re an avid carpooler then you’ll also want increased coverage to ensure that everyone in your car has his or her medical care covered in the event of an accident.

• Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage
• Rating: Red
Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage, or UM/UIM, exists to pay for injuries that results from an accident caused by a driver who either totally lacks or does not have enough insurance coverage of their own. The number of uninsured drivers in North Carolina is significant, estimated at 8% who lack proper coverage. Given the risk of running into one of these drivers (pardon the pun), this kind of coverage is absolutely critical for drivers in the state. Even if you’re in an accident with someone who has insurance, a lot of times they might not have enough insurance to cover the injuries you actually sustain.