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.