If you were involved in a car accident, our attorneys can help.
No matter how safely you operate your vehicle, car accidents happen every day in North Carolina and South Carolina by drivers who are reckless, distracted, drunk, or otherwise negligent. If you’ve been injured in a car accident in North Carolina or South Carolina that wasn’t your fault, you may be entitled to compensation for your medical expenses, missed work, and pain and suffering.
At DeMayo Law Offices, our experienced North Carolina & South Carolina car accident attorneys can evaluate your case and advise you on how to recover the cost of your car crash injuries. Call DeMayo Law Offices, Your North Carolina Law Firm™, at (866) 205-5181 to set up your free consultation. Our NC personal injury lawyers can help you get the compensation you need.
For a free legal consultation with a Personal Injury lawyer serving North Carolina, call (877) 333-1000
What to do after a car accident in North or South Carolina
The moments after a car accident can be harrowing, particularly if you or a loved one sustained a serious injury. If you can do so safely, exit your car and check on anyone in the other vehicle.
Next, call 9-1-1 to report the accident and any injuries so that first responders can get to the scene as soon as possible. You can take these steps after you’re safe to protect your legal right to compensation:
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Move the vehicles out of the road, if possible.
This may not be an option if your car is totaled, but it’s important to clear your car so that you can safely wait for help.
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Get contact information from the other driver.
You will need to collect insurance information from them so that you or your car accident attorney can communicate with their insurance company. If the driver is uninsured, ask for their direct phone number and address.
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Speak with any witnesses.
If anyone stopped to help after the crash, get their contact information. Their statement could be important evidence of the cause of the accident.
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Never admit to fault of any sort.
If you outright admit fault at the scene, the other driver’s insurer or attorney could use your statement against you. Be truthful to the police, but don’t try to explain why the crash happened.
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Call a car accident lawyer.
Don’t wait to contact a lawyer after your accident. Make the call to DeMayo Law Offices as soon as you can. Your attorney can take over communications with your insurance company and the other driver’s insurer. You should have the time and space to focus on healing from the injuries you sustained in the wreck.
Why your car accident lawyer should speak with your insurance company
Refrain from making statements to an insurance adjuster. Insurance companies look out for their bottom line, so it’s the insurance adjuster’s job to pay you as little money as possible. If you try negotiating with them directly, you could be shortchanged or denied compensation altogether.
Your personal injury lawyer knows how to cut through the legal jargon, negotiate on your behalf with both your own and the opposing insurance company, and explain what your coverage provides and what you can demand from the at-fault party.
An auto accident claim involves two parts: the personal injury claim and the property damage claim.
The personal injury claim seeks to compensate you for damages resulting from physical injuries from the auto accident. The property damage claim aims to pay you for damages to your car due to the accident.
Filing a property damage claim in North or South Carolina
You can file a claim against your insurance company or the other driver’s insurance company to receive compensation for damaged property. How you file your claim depends on which driver was liable for the auto accident and what type of insurance coverage you have.
North and South Carolina require all drivers to carry $25,000 of property damage insurance. This coverage is for direct and accidental loss to your vehicle.
There are two types of property damage insurance:
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Collision
Physical damage to your vehicle caused by a collision with other vehicles or objects. Collision coverage pays the lesser of the cost of repair or the actual cash value (ACV) of your automobile.
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Comprehensive
Losses caused by almost everything else (e.g., missiles or falling objects, fire, hail, theft, vandalism, earthquake, animals, etc.). Comprehensive coverage pays the cost of repair or ACV of your automobile, less the deductible.
North Carolina Car Accident Lawyer Near Me (877) 333-1000
In 2021, North Carolina reported 276,026 traffic crashes, an 11.7% increase from 2020.
According to the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT), 23.9% of all fatalities were related to speeding, 22.8% involved alcohol, and 17.9% of the crashes in North Carolina involved distracted drivers.
If you were injured in a DUI accident or by a speeding driver, you might be owed compensation from the drunk or reckless driver’s insurer.
You might be able to seek financial damages for any type of car accident if another driver, a motor vehicle manufacturer, or another entity caused it through negligence or recklessness. Our car accident attorneys have experience helping Carolinians get the money they need after being injured in an accident.
The types of car crashes we see often include:
- When a driver crashes into you and leaves the scene quickly, a car accident attorney can help you find the responsible party.
- Drunk drivers cause many accidents, including serious ones causing catastrophic injuries.
- An impaired driver may crash into another car when their reflexes are suppressed by the drugs they took.
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Distracted/Texting while driving
Distracted drivers take their eyes off the road, so their chances of hitting other vehicles are high.
- One of the most common types of accidents, rear-end collisions, can cause severe whiplash and spinal cord injuries.
- Speeding is a kind of reckless driving that can cause serious injuries. Speeding drivers cannot stop quickly, making them likely to cause crashes.
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Accidents with underinsured/uninsured drivers
If an uninsured or underinsured driver runs into you, a car accident lawyer can help you get the compensation you need. - Sometimes, potholes or other road defects can cause you to lose control of your car and crash, through no fault of your own. The negligent municipality in charge of the road may be liable for your wreck.
- Manufacturer defects can cause cars to stop working correctly, ultimately causing collisions. The manufacturer could be responsible for the damages they cause.
If your medical bills exceed the minimum coverage required by North Carolina law, this can be a problem.
The minimum coverage requirements in North Carolina are:
or death
involved in the wreck
The minimum coverage requirements in South Carolina are:
or death
involved in the wreck
Click to contact our personal injury lawyers today
Filing a car accident injury claim in North or South Carolina
North Carolina’s negligence laws are fairly strict because the state is one of the few that adheres to the doctrine of contributory negligence. This means that if you are even partially at fault for the accident, you can’t file for any damages, no matter how badly you were injured. That’s why you need a good attorney.
Due to South Carolina’s “comparative negligence” system, you may be able to recover damages even if you contributed in part to the loss you suffered.
That’s why you need an experienced car accident lawyer.
Make sure you contact a lawyer to file promptly. North and South Carolina’s personal injury laws outline a three-year statute of limitations. After the deadline, you may not be able to recover the compensation you deserve.
To make your personal injury claim go as smoothly as possible, your car accident lawyer will ask you for documentation of all the costs you incurred due to the car accident, including:
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Medical records and bills
Keep records of all hospital bills, surgery costs, doctor appointments, and any future estimated costs related to your injuries.
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Lost wages
If you missed work while you recovered from the wreck, you could be entitled to compensation for those lost wages.
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Future lost wages
If your injuries don’t allow you to resume your prior job duties and it hurts your future earning potential, you could ask for damages. Your lawyer will help estimate what you’re owed.
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Car repair costs
You can demand damages for the cost of your car repair or replacement if the wreck was not your fault.
Talking too much, saying the wrong things, or entering into hasty agreements after a car crash can prove very costly. Unfortunately, there is a lot of pressure to make those same mistakes when you’re caught up in the turmoil of an accident.
Too often, people who truly deserve financial compensation for their accident injuries make statements that prove detrimental to their own claim.
To prevent that, you’ll want to avoid these common mistakes:
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Admitting fault
Even a simple sentence like “I’m sorry” can be used against you. Be careful of what you say to anyone else at the scene.
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Failing to get a police report
The other driver in the accident will sometimes say that a police report isn’t necessary. You should have an officer file your car accident report because you will need it for your insurance claim.
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Talking to the other side’s insurance company
Never talk to an insurance representative until you’ve consulted with your car accident attorney first. The insurance companies do not work for you, they do not represent your interests, and they are not on your side.
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Signing a settlement
Agreeing to a settlement – even over the phone — is almost always a mistake. The insurance company’s job is to pay you as little as possible. Their settlement offer is likely far less than you deserve.
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Not calling a car accident attorney
Auto accident injury claims are complicated. People who try to handle them on their own usually stumble into critical pitfalls along the way. Talk with a professional instead.
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Compensation process
for injured passengers
To collect compensation, an injured passenger must make a claim against an at-fault driver’s insurance policy.
Filing an injury claim as a passenger may involve one or more responsible parties. For example, the passenger’s driver, as well as another driver, could share liability for the crash—this would require two separate car accident claims. In some cases, liability may belong to a car’s manufacturer or a car product’s manufacturer.
Filing a car accident claim can be a complicated process. An experienced car accident lawyer can guide you through the process, helping to ensure no insurance money is left on the table.
FAQs: About Car Accidents
You may be able to handle your auto accident claim without the aid of a car accident lawyer, but it will be much more difficult. A car accident lawyer will have experience dealing with insurance adjusters and insurance companies, investigate the auto accident, and help show that the auto accident was not your fault. Finally, settlements reached with the aid of an auto accident lawyer are generally more substantial than settlements reached without an experienced car accident lawyer.
Yes, even though calling the police after an auto accident is not mandatory in all states. However, by contacting the police after your auto accident, you will be able to obtain a police report about the auto accident. A police report can be essential to your auto accident claim because it should detail the evidence you need for your claim.
Contact DeMayo Law Offices to schedule your free initial car accident consultation.
Yes. Many times, injuries sustained during an auto accident do not arise for some time after the accident occurred. While you may feel well right now, you could still be injured. You should always seek medical attention after being involved in a car accident.
If you are not liable for the auto accident, you will be able to receive compensation for any medical costs you have to pay following the auto accident.
Insurance adjusters work for insurance companies, and it is their job to save the insurance company as much money as possible from your auto accident. While it is all right to speak with the insurance adjuster about the auto accident, you should always have some sort of witness present, preferably an experienced car accident lawyer.
Our car accident lawyers are available if you have questions or concerns. We will work with you to make sure no questions are left unanswered. We focus on you and what we can do to make this time in your life easier.
Call our team at DeMayo Law Offices, Your North Carolina Law Firm™, to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation. We can take your call today at (866) 205-5181.
