You Don't Always Need A Lawyer

Yup... sounds strange, doesn't it?  A personal injury lawyer saying, "you don't always need a lawyer".  Well, it's true.  When someone has been in an accident, they don't always need to hire legal counsel to help get their claim resolved.  There are times someone can easily and efficiently deal with an insurance company and get a fair settlement.  So what does that type of claim look like?  It's probably better to look at some of the reasons people hire lawyers in the first place to understand when you don't need a lawyer. Those reasons often include:

1.  Disputed Liability - this is when the insurance carrier is refusing to accept responsibility for your claim.  Most often the insurance company will claim that you were partially at fault in causing the accident (also known as contributory negligence). This usually forces a person to either abandon their rightful claim, or hire an attorney to fight the insurance company.
2.  Disputed Injury - this is when the insurance company does not believe you were injured.  They will pick apart your medical records, dredge up information about your past health and look for any way to claim that you could not have possibly been injured in the accident.  A popular claim by the insurance company is to say that based upon the amount of property damage to your vehicle, the force of the impact was insufficient to cause you injury.
3.  Complex or Lengthy Medical Treatment - usually, the higher your medical bills are, the more your claim is worth.  Thus, if you get any form of extended treatment past the emergency room, the insurance company will start looking for ways to discount your continued treatment.  They may claim that you waited too long to seek medical attention after the accident, or that it was not medically necessary for you to seek additional medical treatment.  Lately, almost every visit someone makes to the doctor seems to be a battle with the insurance compaines. 
4.  Unreasonable Insurance Adjuster - this is that person assigned to help you with your claim (the word "help" being a bit laughable).  Never forget... this is the person that has been hired by the insurance company to get your claim resolved as quickly and as CHEAPLY as possible.  They are not on your side.  You are not in good hands.  They are not a good neighbor.  They can be rude, dismissive, unreasonable, unresponsive and distrustful of everything you say.  Now, I know there are nice adjusters out there.  My law partner was an Allstate adjuster and she was extremely nice to deal with when she was on the opposite side.  But she will tell you as well, the insurance adjuser is NOT looking out for your best interest.  They are looking out for their employer's best interest.

So these are the main reasons we see people calling us for help, not to mention it is time consuming and stressful to have to deal with all of it.  Now for the real dirt... when don't you need an attorney?  You probably do not need an attorney if you are in a very clear liability accident, the insurance company is not disputing that liability, and you are not injured.  Typically, that may look like a rear end collision and you choose to go to the emergency room to get checked out.  You may be sore and stiff for a few days, but by the 3rd or 4th day you are 100% fine with no residual pain.  In that scenario, you probably can handle your claim with the insurance company on your own with little to no effort on your part.

However, let me offer just a few "bewares":
1.  Make sure you are 100% injury free.  Once you settle your claim, you are forever barred from coming back and making additional claims. As such, we do recommend people wait at least 30-60 days before they attempt to settle their claim to ensure hidden injuries do not surface.
2.  If you are in any way hurting or in pain, even if it is nominal, you should get medical treatment.  The longer you wait, the more reason the insurance company has to deny your claim.
3.  Make sure you claim to the insurance company 100% of your medical bills, even if paid already by medpay or health insurance.  You are entitled to be reimbursed the full amount of the itemized charges, not the balance due after other insurance payments.
4.  Make sure you claim a reasonable amount for your pain and suffering.
5.  Never hesitate to contact an attorney and ask if the final offer by the adjuster is a reasonable one.  We get calls all the time from people just wanting to know if they should take an offer and we are always glad to evaluate your case for you.

Bottom line.. we do not take every case that comes in our door.  We would rather tell people how to handle it on their own if they can and save them the attorney fee.  By the same token, we will always be up front with those folks that we believe need an attorney's help and protection.

Can You Be Fired For Filing a Workers' Compensation Claim?

Often, injured workers’ wonder what will happen to their jobs if they choose to pursue their protected rights under the Workers’ Compensation Act. This is particularly true given the recent economic troubles that the nation has faced in the last several years. Jobs are hard to come by and the last thing that an injured worker wants to do is lose their job because of a workers’ compensation claim.


In 1992, The North Carolina General Assembly enacted the Retaliatory Employment Discrimination Act (REDA). This act protects employees or anyone acting on behalf of an employee against any retaliatory acts related to rights protected under the Workers’ Compensation Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the Mine Safety and Health Act of North Carolina, and the Wage and Hour Act of North Carolina . REDA defines a retaliatory action as “discharge, suspension, demotion, retaliatory relocation, of an employee, or other adverse employment action taken against and employee in the terms, conditions, privileges, and benefits of employment.” The protected rights include filing a complaint or claim, initiating an inquiry, investigation, inspection or any other proceeding, testifying or providing information to any person with respect to any of the acts listed above .

So what does this mean for the injured worker? This means that should you file a workers’ compensation claim, your employer cannot fire you, demote you, suspend you, or move you to another position or job location, merely because you have instituted a workers’ compensation claim. If the employer does take such action against you, the employer has to prove with the greater weight of the evidence that it would have taken the same action in the absence of your workers’ compensation claim .

If you have any questions about whether you have been a victim of employment discrimination, you should contact the North Carolina Department of Labor Employment Discrimination Bureau. Should you have questions about your workers’ compensation claim, you need to contact an attorney who can explain your legal rights as an injured worker and discuss your claim.

Contributory Negligence - Is It Fair?

North Carolina has a little known law by most people called Contributory Negligence.  In it's barest terms, it means that if you are in an accident that is someone's fault, and you are in any way also at fault, you can recover nothing... nada... zip!  Even if you were only 1% at fault!

So, say you are at a stop light and you are going to make a left hand turn.  Your light turns green (green arrow).  Even though you have the right of way, you look to the left, then to the right to ensure no one is coming, and then you enter the intersection to start your left hand turn.  At the same time, an 18 wheeler is coming from your left.  He comes around a curve which prevented you from seeing him on the first look to the left.  He is speeding, not paying attention, and blows right through the red light crashing into your vehicle and causing you very serious injuries.  The truck driver is clearly at fault for running the red light... you should be able to recover monies from that trucker's insurance company for your devastating injuries.  It's clear, right?   WRONG!  You may be held accountable for just a tiny fraction of fault for failing to look left a second time after looking right to continually ensure that the intersection was clear.

Because of the law of contributory negligence, there are many insurance companies who would deny your claim simply for failing to look back left again.  Now you should see the problem with this law.  It gives an opportunity for fair and just claims to be denied by the insurance companies.  So in this scenario... your claim gets denied, you then have to hire an attorney who would be willing to file a lawsuit on your behalf, and take your claim through a lengthy process in the court system to try to recover for your injuries... all because you didn't look left one more time.  Is that justice?  This is just one of a host of insurance issues that can cause you stress to deal with.

Liability Insurance Coverage

So this is our first blog entry and I pondered, and I fretted, and I pondered some more, and I couldn't think of what should be the first topic I should discuss.  And then it hit me... what do most people want to know about when they are in a car accident?  They want to know "who is going to pay for my car?"  or "who is going to pay for my injuries?" 

Essentially, North Carolina is a "fault based" state, meaning everyone is required to carry liability insurance coverage.  This coverage will pay if you are involved in an accident and it is your fault.  Conversely, if you are injured in an accident as a result of someone else's fault, you will be making a claim against the liability insurance coverage.  You are entitled to be reimbursed for various things such as your medical bills, lost wages and pain and suffering to name a few.  If you have been injured by someone who carries no insurance coverage, you will then look to make a claim with your own insurance company using your uninsured motorists coverage.  Our biggest advice... do NOT settle your claim with the liability insurance company until you are 100% recovered from your injuries or you have been given a permanent impairment rating by your doctor (at which point you will have a future damages claim).  Because once you settle your claim, you are forever barred from coming back and making additional claims.

There are alot of other insurance coverages that may or may not apply to your claim (more to come in future blogs).  If you ever have any doubts as to the insurance that is available to you, contact a qualified attorney to discuss your rights.