Burlington Car Accident Lawyer
According to the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles, the number of crashes in Burlington ranked the city 16th in the state for 2015. During that year, the number of accidents in the city numbered 2,530 total crashes, including property damage, causing 943 injuries and four deaths.
After a collision, some may not know that drivers who are even partially to blame cannot collect damages. In fact, an at-fault driver will be required to pay the others involved who have no fault. The reason is that North Carolina uses the “contributory” doctrine of negligence law. Negligence is the foundation for adjudicating damages for personal injuries and wrongful deaths.
If you have been involved in a car accident, contact a Burlington car accident lawyer. A skilled personal injury lawyer can work diligently to get justice for you. En Español.
No-Fault Insurance
North Carolina requires no-fault auto insurance, which pays for the medical and other expenses incurred by those injured, or the surviving family members of those who died in the wreck. The state requires a minimum of $30,000 for each person injured in the other vehicle. Insurance companies also offer higher limits at a higher cost.
Potential Damages
Injured persons or families of those killed must file a lawsuit to claim damages with the proper court within three years of accident date, or two years if the crash caused a fatality. Missing the deadline means the suing party can never file a lawsuit claiming damages for that collision.
The damages those injured in crashes may claim to include the cost of medical care and therapeutic treatments, loss of income, disfigurement, disability, pain and suffering, and mental anguish. If the act that caused the wreck was horrific, punitive damages can apply, but the state places a monetary limit for that claim.
Negligence Fundamentals
Contributory negligence, beyond holding all those who contributed to the crash responsible for damages, must be proven by a preponderance of the evidence. The Burlington car accident lawyer explains that negligence has four elements and each one of them must meet the test of proof before a person is deemed by the law as negligent.
The first element is duty of care. In society, prudent people must treat others with a measure of care to avoid causing injury, death, or property damage. Because motorists share the roads, they owe other drivers and passengers the duty of care. The second element is breaching the duty of care. This can be any act that places someone else in harm’s way, such as running a red light or turning left in front of an oncoming car without ample time and distance to avoid a wreck.
Causation is the third, and it simply means that the breach was why the accident happened and why people were injured or killed. Lastly, actual monetary damages must have occurred. Without damages, there is no civil harm done. Medical and other expenses meet this test.
Talk to a Burlington Car Accident Attorney Today
An auto collision attorney may have a wealth of experience working on and winning these cases by fighting hard. Your attorney can evaluate how strong the case is during a free consultation. If you or a loved one were involved in any type of car accident and you suffered injuries due to the negligent acts of another person, then do not hesitate to contact a Burlington car accident lawyer who can examine all the aspects of your case and help you to decide your next steps going forward.
