Charlotte Injury Lawyers Blog
Charlotte Personal Injury Attorney Matt Arnold answers the question: ” If an incident report was filled out, do I have a right to receive a copy?”
If a car pulls out in front of your vehicle, liability may appear clear. “That driver is clearly at fault!” you might think. However, sometimes, things are not always as they seem in car accidents in which a vehicle pulls out in front of another car.
Situations in which a driver hits another car after it pulls out in front of them are not uncommon, and while it might seem that you have a valid personal injury claim to pursue damages, complications may arise when determining who was at fault for the collision.
Luckily, a Charlotte personal injury attorney can help you prove the other party’s fault in a rear-end, side-impact, or another type of motor vehicle crash.
Car Pulls Out in Front of a Tractor-Trailer in Charlotte
One such crash has recently occurred in Charlotte. According to WSOCTV, local authorities were investigating a deadly crash that involved three vehicles. The accident occurred just after 4 p.m. last Wednesday in northwest Charlotte.
According to the report, the multi-vehicle car collision happened on Moores Chapel Road near Old Mount Holly Road happened after a 2003 Infiniti G35 pulled out in front of a tractor-trailer. The Infiniti was struck on the driver’s side, which caused the vehicle to collide with a 2012 Mercedes Benz ML350. The driver of the Infiniti died at the scene.
An early investigation showed that neither drunk driving nor speed was a factor in the deadly accident. No charges have been filed so far.
Can You Sue a Driver Who Pulled Out in Front of You?
While you do have a right to sue a driver who pulled out in front of your vehicle, which caused you to hit their car, the other motorist might claim that you were partially or fully at fault. Since North Carolina follows the standard of contributory negligence, determining fault is a tricky subject in rear-end and other types of car crashes.
Under North Carolina’s contributory negligence law, you cannot recover compensation if you are even partially at fault. For example, if you exceeded the speed limit or were drunk at the time of the collision, you will most likely not be eligible to seek compensation.
The same can be said if the motorist who hit another car that pulled out in front of him or her made an illegal lane change, failed to yield the right of way, was traveling too closely, drove too fast for conditions, or violated any other North Carolina traffic law.
Fault in Rear-End Accidents
Regardless of whether a car made a left turn in front of your vehicle or made an illegal lane change, the other motorist may say that the accident was your fault. Establishing fault in these scenarios boils down to determining which party violated a traffic law.
While it might seem that the driver who hit another car from behind is always at fault, there are cases in which liability is not as clear as it might seem. For example, the driver who was hit in a rear-end collision may have come to an abrupt stop, or the driver of the rear vehicle may have had malfunctioning brakes.
Contact a Charlotte car accident attorney to determine fault in a vehicle crash where one of the drivers pulled out in front of another car. Speak with our lawyers at Arnold & Smith, PLLC, to establish negligence in your case. Contact Arnold & Smith, PLLC, to establish liability in your case. Call us at 704-370-2828 for a consultation 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.
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