Charlotte Injury Lawyers Blog
Who Pays for Damages After a Car Accident in North Carolina?
Car accidents occur quite often. There were more than five million accidents reported to police in the United States in 2020 alone. Most crashes are minor, but some result in major damages as well as injuries and fatalities. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, NHTSA, more than 38,000 people were hurt in car accidents in 2020. There are about four injuries per minute due to traffic crashes. If you were hurt in a car accident, you will need to know who pays for the damages that you incurred.
Common Damages Caused by Car Accidents
Damages is a term that is used to describe the remedy that a party requests in a personal injury claim. The purpose of seeking damages is to put you back into the same position you were in before the accident. Compensatory damages are those that have costs associated with them. Some examples of damages include medical bills, rehabilitation costs, lost wages, and money for pain and suffering. Damages may also include the costs to repair or replace your vehicle. In order to collect damages, you must prove that the other driver was responsible for the accident.
Managing member Matt Arnold answers the question, “Who Pays for Damages After a Car Accident in North Carolina?”
What is Negligence?
Every driver has to take care to prevent harm to others while they are behind the wheel. Negligence is the failure to use ordinary care, which is the care that a reasonable person would normally exercise in the same situation. A driver may be negligent by speeding or driving too fast and causing an accident. To seek damages from the negligent party, you must show that the driver had a duty of care, that they breached that duty, that their breach of duty caused the accident, and that you suffered damages as a result of their negligence.
Contributory Negligence
Contributory negligence is the amount of fault ascribed to each party in an accident. In North Carolina, a person cannot collect compensation for damages in a personal injury claim if they are at all responsible. For instance, if one driver is found to be 80% responsible and the other driver is found to be 20% responsible, a driver cannot collect compensation. Therefore, you may only seek damages for a car accident if you were not at all negligent.
Getting Compensation for Your Damages
Most auto accident claims get handled through insurance companies. Once you submit the information, the insurance adjuster will review the details of the claim to determine who was at fault for the accident. Sometimes, you may find that the insurance company found you partly negligent and, therefore, might deny the claim. It is helpful to have a knowledgeable personal injury attorney fight for your rights. Your lawyer will work with the insurance company, and if an adequate settlement cannot be reached, your attorney may recommend taking the matter to court. Each case is different, and the outcome will depend on a variety of factors. You will want to talk to a skilled personal injury attorney to learn your options.
If you were hurt in a traffic collision that was not your fault, you may be owed money for your damages. Call us today at Arnold & Smith, PLLC, at (704) 370-2828 to schedule a free initial consultation to discuss your claim or fill out our contact form. Now taking cases throughout North Carolina and South Carolina.
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://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/damages
Image Credit:
https://www.freeimages.com/photo/accidents-3-1493140
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