Charlotte Injury Lawyers Blog
Personal injury Lawyer Matt Arnold answers the question: “I was involved in a motor vehicle accident with injuries. Do I need a lawyer?”
Two North Carolina cities rank among the least safe for drivers in the United States. The findings of a new study by Go Safe Labs show that Charlotte and Raleigh had some of the highest car crash totals in 2019.
The nonprofit organization’s study showed that Charlotte was the second most dangerous city for drivers, with over 21,800 car accidents. Only Houston surpassed the Queen City with its nearly 22,200 collisions last year.
Raleigh was not far behind. The North Carolina city ranked No. 6 with its more than 12,800 crashes. The top five of the least safe cities for drivers also included Los Angeles, Austin, and Dallas.
Overall, Car Accidents in Charlotte and Raleigh Decreased Compared to 2018
On a positive note, both Charlotte and Raleigh had fewer accidents in 2019 than in 2018, the study showed. Charlotte saw a 13.3% decrease while Raleigh’s car accident totals were 25.5% lower. However, the study noted that nationwide, accidents jumped 6.8% from 2018 to 2019.
Go Safe Labs evaluated cities based on more than 1.8 million accident reports from January 2018 to December 2019. The study’s rankings also included Oklahoma City, Baton Rouge, Nashville, and Phoenix in the top 10. However, the study’s results seem to contradict recent studies on driving safety. In January, WalletHub named North Carolina the third best state for driving.
Interestingly, the same platform ranked Charlotte and Raleigh among the most driver-friendly cities in the U.S. Previously, reports named Charlotte’s most dangerous intersection.
Seeking Compensation After a North Carolina Car Accident
Under North Carolina law, injured motorists and pedestrians are entitled to compensation for their personal injuries. The injured party can recover damages for their medical expenses, property damages, lost wages, and other economic and non-economic damages (pain and suffering).
If a motor vehicle collision caused injuries, the at-fault party and their insurance carrier would provide compensation to the injured party. When a motorist acts negligently, carelessly, or recklessly and causes a car crash, he or she may be held liable.
However, when the crash involves an uninsured or underinsured motorist, or it was a hit-and-run collision, the injured party’s insurer may cover their damages, depending on the terms of their policy. Your Charlotte car accident attorney will negotiate with both your own insurance carrier and that of the at-fault party.
If a collision involves a commercial vehicle, the driver’s employer may be held liable, in addition to the driver and the insurer. Thus, trucking companies are typically responsible for the negligent acts of their drivers in truck accidents.
Recovering damages is more complicated in North Carolina than in other states because NC is one of few states that have the contributory negligence rule. The doctrine bars victims from receiving any compensation if they contributed even a small portion to causing their accident.
Thus, if you were deemed even 5% at fault for your car accident in Charlotte or elsewhere in North Carolina, you will not be able to collect any damages from the other party who was deemed 95% responsible.
Contact our Charlotte-based attorneys from Arnold & Smith, PLLC, to challenge the other party’s accusations that may prevent you from recovering damages. Call us now at 704-370-2828 to speak with our lawyers to explore your legal options or fill out our contact form. Now taking cases throughout North Carolina with offices in Uptown Charlotte, Mooresville and our new location in Monroe.
The skilled personal injury attorneys at Arnold & Smith, PLLC are dedicated to maximizing the financial recovery and obtaining justice for every personal injury client injured by another party’s negligence. The issues our personal injury clients may be facing include, but are not limited to, slip and fall injuries, wrongful death, product liability, catastrophic injuries, dog bite claims, car and truck accident injuries, motorcycle injuries, traumatic brain injury (TBI), nursing home negligence, spinal cord injury, boating accidents, and defective medical device injury. Our personal injury attorneys understand the devastating impact such an injury can have on a person’s life, and that the effects so often go beyond physical pain and suffering. The personal injury attorneys at Arnold & Smith, PLLC are dedicated to helping clients determine the strength of their claims, and to aggressively pursuing the means necessary to achieve the best possible end result for each client’s particular situation.
Source:
https://gosafelabs.com/research/review-of-2019-accident-data
https://wallethub.com/edu/best-worst-states-to-drive-in/43012/
Image Credit:
https://www.freeimages.com/photo/driver-1431212
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