Car accidents can leave victims with significant physical, emotional, and financial burdens. Victims deserve fair compensation for their losses, but car insurance companies often aim to minimize payouts on car accident claims. If you or your family members have been injured in a car accident, our experienced Wilmington car accident lawyer can help you level the playing field.
Contact our Wilmington personal injury attorneys at Shipman & Wright to schedule a free case evaluation, and let us help you secure the compensation you deserve for your injury claim. Call (910) 762-1990 to get started.
Why Choose Our Wilmington Car Accident Lawyers?
Choosing the right car accident attorneys can make a significant difference in the outcome of your car accident case. Here’s why our Wilmington, NC, personal injury law firm is the right choice to handle your case:
- In-depth experience: Each injury attorney at our law firm has a deep understanding of North Carolina’s traffic laws and has successfully handled countless car accident cases.
- Personalized attention: We provide personalized legal services, ensuring that you are not just another case number.
- Proven track record: Our law firm has a history of securing favorable settlements and verdicts for our clients.
How Our 40+ Years of Experience Can Help Maximize Your Case’s Success
Our Wilmington personal injury law firm offers more than 40 years of legal experience where we have collected over $1 billion for our clients in settlements. Securing the services of our skilled Wilmington car accident attorney can significantly enhance your car accident claim’s chances of success. Here is how:
- Investigation and evidence gathering: Your auto accident attorney in Wilmington will collect crucial evidence to build a strong case for compensation.
- Skilled negotiations: We will leverage our experience to negotiate with the at-fault party’s insurance company for a fair settlement.
- Navigating the legal complexities: We will use our in-depth understanding of state and local laws and regulations to help you navigate the legal system effectively.
- Maximizing compensation: We will work tirelessly to ensure you receive the full compensation you are entitled to for your losses.
- Litigation: We will represent your interests in court, if necessary, to fight for your rights.
Let our law firm help you navigate your legal journey with confidence. We are dedicated to justice and committed to your cause. Contact us for a free consultation today.
What Should I Do After a Car Accident Occurs in Wilmington, NC?
After a car accident, it is important to take the right steps. This means actions that will protect both your physical health and a potential legal claim. A car insurance company will carefully assess the steps you took (and did not take) to determine your eligibility for financial benefits during your claim. Here’s what to do:
- Pull over at the scene of the accident. Make sure you are in a safe location that is out of the way of moving traffic. Turn on your emergency lights.
- Check yourself and your passengers for injuries. Then, check the people in the other vehicle when it’s safe to exit. Provide assistance to injured victims, if you can.
- Get medical care immediately. This may involve calling an ambulance or going to the nearest hospital in Wilmington.
- Call 911 to report the car accident to the Wilmington police. If the accident involves injuries or at least $1,000 in property damage, they should send an officer to the scene.
- Exchange names and contact information with the other driver. This includes car insurance information. Do not admit fault in any way.
- Document the scene while you wait for the police to arrive. Take photographs of the crash scene and gather eyewitness information.
- If a police officer investigates the scene, be sure to get your side of the story on the police report. Ask for your report number before you leave.
- Notify your car insurance company of the crash, even if you were not at fault. Keep your answers to questions about the accident and your injuries short and simple.
- Stay off of social media. Do not post about the car accident online. Car insurance companies can access your profiles and use your social media activity against you
- File a claim with the at-fault driver’s car insurance company. If you are offered a quick settlement, wait to accept. Talk to a lawyer first.
A Wilmington motor vehicle accident lawyer can give you honest advice and information to help you move forward in the right way after your crash. This may mean settlement negotiations to increase the value or taking your case to court. You can trust a lawyer to advocate for your rights while you focus on healing.
Navigating the Car Accident Claims Process in Wilmington, NC
Like most states, North Carolina uses an “at-fault” law to determine who pays for car accidents. Under this law, the driver or party at fault for causing the collision is held liable, or financially responsible, for the damage involved.
To obtain compensation from another driver, you or your vehicle accident lawyer in Wilmington, NC must prove fault. This requires evidence that the other party is more likely to be at fault than not at fault. Most car accident cases require proof of negligence, or someone’s failure to act with proper care in relation to the collision.
Evidence that may be available to prove your Wilmington car accident case includes police reports, witness statements, photos and traffic camera footage, expert testimony, medical bills, and other proof of your losses. A lawyer from Shipman & Wright can help preserve and gather evidence for your case.
Required Insurance in North Carolina
As a fault state, North Carolina requires all drivers to carry liability car insurance. All motorists must purchase and maintain the following amounts of insurance to ensure that they can pay for crash-related damage:
- Bodily injury insurance for one person: $30,000
- Bodily injury insurance for two or more people: $60,000
- Property damage insurance: $25,000
These are types of liability insurance, meaning they can be used to pay for the losses of others after an at-fault accident, not the policyholder’s bills. Drivers must purchase additional types of insurance for first-party coverage.
If another driver does not have enough insurance to pay for your car accident, you may be able to seek supplemental coverage from your own insurance provider. Bringing a claim against a third party, such as the government or an automaker, may also be a possibility depending on the situation.
What Is the Average Car Accident Settlement in Wilmington, North Carolina?
There’s no clear-cut “average” car accident settlement in North Carolina because settlement amounts can vary widely. A minor collision resulting in a single doctor’s visit might settle for around $5,000, while severe accidents involving significant injuries and long-term recovery can reach $500,000 or more.
The truth is, calculating a true average isn’t practical. Every case is unique, with countless small factors influencing the final amount. Plus, most car accident settlements are confidential, making it difficult to determine an accurate statewide average.
Types of Wilmington Car Accident Cases We Take On
We have extensive experience handling a wide range of motor vehicle accident cases and are dedicated to helping victims receive the compensation they deserve. Here are just a few:
- Amazon delivery accident
- Collisions with a motorcycle
- Collisions with pedestrians
- Distracted driving accidents
- Drunk driving accidents
- Head-on collisions
- Highway accidents
- Hit-and-run accidents
- Intersection accidents
- Lyft accidents
- Multi-vehicle pileups
- Rear-end accidents
- Reckless driving accidents
- Rollover accidents
- School zone accidents
- Sideswipe accidents
- Teen driver accidents
- T-bone accidents
- Truck accidents
- Uber accidents
- Uninsured or underinsured driver accidents
Please keep in mind that this is not an all-inclusive list of cases we take on. We encourage you to contact us so we can discuss your case and any potential legal options that can be taken.
What Compensation Can I Receive After a Car Accident in Wilmington, NC?
Injury victims of car accidents in Wilmington may be entitled to various types of compensation, addressing both economic and non-economic damages that may include:
- Medical expenses: Coverage for current and future medical treatment related to your car accident injuries.
- Lost wages: Compensation for lost earnings and diminished earning capacity.
- Pain and suffering: For physical discomfort and emotional distress resulting from the auto accident.
- Property damage: Reimbursement for the cost to repair or replace a damaged vehicle or other personal property.
- Punitive damages: In cases of egregious negligence, additional compensation may be awarded to punish the wrongdoer.
Understanding the full scope of compensable damages is crucial for ensuring you receive the restitution you deserve after a car accident.
North Carolina Is a Contributory Negligence State
A law that could significantly impact a crash victim’s ability to recover financial compensation from another driver is North Carolina’s contributory negligence law. This legal doctrine takes away an individual’s ability to recover compensation if he or she is even partially at fault for an automobile accident. N.C. General Statutes, Chapter 1, sections 1-139 states that the burden of proving contributory negligence rests with the defendant.
Most other states have changed their contributory negligence laws to comparative negligence – a legal doctrine that is more forgiving toward accident victims. In comparative negligence states, a victim can still receive partial compensation if he or she shares the blame. The victim’s recovery is reduced by an amount equivalent to his or her degree of fault. In North Carolina, however, any degree of fault automatically bars a crash victim from recovering financial compensation.
Can I Still Recover Compensation Even if I’m Partially At-Fault in Wilmington, NC?
Under North Carolina’s strict contributory negligence law (N.C. General Statutes, Chapter 1, sections 1-139), you cannot recover any compensation if you are found even 1% at-fault for the accident. This emphasizes the importance of having a skilled Wilmington car crash attorney who knows how to overcome the challenges posed by contributory negligence if need be. In such cases, an experienced attorney can work to ensure that you are not unfairly blamed for the accident and help gather crucial evidence to prove that the other party was entirely responsible.
Proving the Wilmington Car Accident Injury Victim Was Not At Fault
Protecting yourself from the contributory negligence defense is vital in North Carolina. Your financial future rests on your ability to prove that you were not at fault for the collision. An experienced car accident lawyer at Shipman & Wright can work toward achieving this goal with aggressive legal strategies. This may include:
- Conducting a comprehensive investigation of the accident to search for signs of the other party’s negligence or fault.
- Collecting evidence, including subpoenaing the other driver’s cell phone records or surveillance footage of the crash.
- Hiring experts, such as crash reconstructionists and roadway engineers, to prove how and why the car accident took place.
- Obtaining copies of police reports, official photographs, witness statements and other documentation to serve as evidence.
- Using legal resources, compelling storytelling techniques and diagrams to demonstrate that someone else is to blame.
- Taking your car accident case to trial for a jury to decide on fault if a car insurance company is refusing to cooperate.
The best thing you can do as a crash victim to protect your right to recover compensation is not to admit fault. Do not apologize to the other driver or say that you had anything to do with the crash. Instead, wait for the insurance company and the police to investigate the cause of the accident. A confession of guilt could prevent you from making a financial recovery even if you didn’t actually cause the crash.
How Long Do I Have to File a Car Accident Claim in Wilmington, North Carolina?
In North Carolina, the statute of limitations for filing a car accident claim in court is generally three years from the date of the accident (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-52). However, certain situations may extend or shorten this timeframe.
It is also important to note that these limitations apply to filing a lawsuit, not an insurance claim, which should be initiated as soon as possible. Understanding these time constraints is vital to protecting your right to compensation.
Common Causes of Auto Accidents in North Carolina
Car accidents in Wilmington occur for a variety of reasons, but some causes are more common than others. Here are some causes that our car accident injury attorneys in Wilmington often see:
- Distracted driving
- Driving under the influence of drugs
- Fatigued driving
- Poor road conditions
- Reckless driving
- Running red lights or stop signs
- Speeding
- Tailgating
- Drunk driving
- Weather conditions
Common Injuries in Wilmington Car Accidents
Car accidents can lead to a wide range of injuries, from minor to life-threatening. The type and severity of the injury often depend on the nature of the crash, the speed at which it occurred, and the safety features of the vehicles involved.
Here are some common injuries seen in car accidents:
- Chest injuries
- Concussions and traumatic brain injuries (TBI)
- Fractures and broken bones
- Internal injuries
- Lacerations and abrasions
- Soft tissue injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Whiplash
- Wrongful death
If an accident was so severe that is caused your loved one to pass away, you may be eligible to file a wrongful death claim with the help of our Wilmington wrongful death lawyer.
What Our Client Had to Say
“While driving home after a vacation in North Carolina, we were struck head on by a vehicle traveling 70 mph. The team at Shipman and Wright, especially Kimberly Smith, [They] did a wonderful job looking out for our interests as we dealt with insurance companies. They were kind, compassionate and they listened! We recommend them without any reservations.”
Steve & Sylvia Boyce | Google Review
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Contact Our Wilmington Car Accident Lawyer Today For a Free Consultation
If you or a loved one have been involved in a car accident in Wilmington, do not navigate this challenging time alone. Our local car accident lawyers at Shipman & Wright are ready to stand by your side, offering experienced legal guidance and support.
Our dedicated team is committed to securing the compensation and justice every injury victim deserve. Call Shipman & Wright today at (910) 762-1990 or fill out our online form for a free case review. Let us help you take the first step on your path to recovery.
Wilmington Office
575 Military Cutoff Road
Suite 106
Wilmington, NC 28405
(910) 762-1990