How Does North Carolina’s Negligence Laws Affect Your Case?

How do you calculate damages in a fatal accident cases? Here in North Carolina, a wrongful death lawsuit after a car accident has to be brought by the representative of the deceased's estate; but what's recovered is for the use of the surviving family. It's important to work with an attorney to be sure you've properly calculated everything and bring a strong claim. How Do You Calculate Damages in a Fatal Accident Case? The representative of the estate has the duty to bring a claim against the person or entity whose wrongful act, neglect, or default caused the death and would have given the decedent a personal injury claim if they had survived. In general, the damages available to be recovered are: Any expenses for care, treatment, and hospitalization for the injury that caused death Compensation for the decedent's pain and suffering up until the point of death All reasonable funeral expenses "Value" of the decedent to dependents, including their expected net income, services, protection, care, and assistance Compensation for the loss of the decedent's society, companionship, comfort, guidance, and advice Punitive damages, if they apply under ordinary personal injury law or if the death was caused deliberately Calculating the Damages There is no fixed formula for this, and the final number will depend on the evidence and the skill of your attorney to gather that evidence and use it convincingly. Adding Up Known Losses This is the easy part, because it involves gathering bills and receipts for medical care, funeral expenses, and any personal property loss from the accident. Pain and Suffering This is trickier, and the amount will depend on how long the decedent suffered before their death. For an accident where death was nearly instant, the number will be a lot lower than if the decedent spent several weeks in the hospital before finally succumbing to injuries. Lost Income and Services Here's where things can become very difficult to calculate, and it's important to have a lawyer's advice on what's fair and reasonable. For example, when considering net income, you must first find the decedent's current salary and then extrapolate out how long they could have been expected to keep working and what raises they could have expected over a lifetime. From that, it would also be reasonable to assume that the decedent would have spent some money on personal things that did not benefit their family, and that should be subtracted from the total. Punitive Damages Punitive damages are fairly rare, and it does require clear and convincing evidence to prove that the defendant is liable for these. A lawyer can tell you how likely it is that they will be awarded as well as what a jury is likely to consider fair. Get Help With a Car Accident Wrongful Death Claim Calculating damages and proving every part of the claim with the right evidence can be tricky. For help with a claim, contact David and Associates in Wilmington for a free consultation. We also have offices in Clinton, Supply, Jacksonville, Wallace, and Whiteville.

Personal injury recovery can happen after an accident on the water here in North Carolina, but watercraft incident liability differences dictate how you pursue a claim. Talk to a lawyer with experience in watercraft incidents to make sure you know your rights and are pursuing them appropriately. Personal Injury Rules and Watercraft Incident Liability Differences Navigable Waters Navigable waters in our state's laws include the Atlantic Ocean off the North Carolina coast, the Intracoastal Waterway, major rivers such as the Cape Fear, and other waterways used or capable of use in interstate commerce. On those waters, you're not dealing just with state laws, and sometimes not with state laws at all, but are in federal admiralty jurisdiction. If the incident occurs on a non-navigable pond or small private lake with no connection to interstate commerce, North Carolina state law controls everything. Under state law, you must prove ordinary negligence, and North Carolina follows a contributory negligence rule, so if you bear any degree of fault at all, you likely can't recover anything. Under general maritime law, the standard is pure comparative fault, so you can recover, but your recovery is reduced by your percentage of responsibility. Things can get very complicated quickly, and it's best to speak with a legal professional to sort everything out. Limitation of Liability Watercraft vessel owners like to invoke the Limitation of Liability Act whenever possible. This is a statute that lets an owner petition a federal court to cap their total liability at the post-incident value of the vessel, plus pending freight. If their boat is destroyed or left with little residual value, the cap can be near zero, and, unfortunately, many recreational craft remain eligible for the limitation. You must challenge the petition very quickly if you want to keep the full value of your claim available, so talk to a lawyer as quickly as you can. Insurance Issues North Carolina does not require liability insurance for recreational boats, so many owners carry none, and homeowners policies routinely exclude watercraft liability above a certain (small) size or very small horsepower limits. When the at-fault operator has no coverage, you may face an uninsured defendant whose only reachable asset is the damaged vessel itself. Duty of Care Inland Navigation Rules and the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea determine who has a duty of care and under what circumstance. Generally speaking, vessel operators must maintain a proper lookout by sight and hearing, proceed at a safe speed, and take early action to avoid collision. Failure to keep a lookout, operating under the influence, excessive speed in restricted visibility, or overloading a boat beyond the capacity plate limits can establish negligence per se. Witness statements, Coast Guard or Wildlife Resources Commission reports, and any available electronic data, such as GPS tracks or engine diagnostics, can all show those violations. Talk to an Experience Attorney Today If you have been involved in a watercraft incident, contact David & Associates, Injury Attorneys right away for a free consultation. Our attorneys have more than 136 years of combined experience helping injured people throughout eastern North Carolina, and we serve clients in Wilmington, Clinton, Supply, Whiteville, Wallace, and Jacksonville and all surrounding areas.

If you've been in a crash, you likely have a lot going on right now, and it's easy to get distracted and let too much time pass. If you go too long, you could lose your right to bring a claim under North Carolina law. Talk to a car accident lawyer as soon as you can after the crash to make sure you don't miss the deadlines. Time Limit for Filing Your Lawsuit in North Carolina You generally have three years from the date of the car accident to file a lawsuit. The clock usually starts on the day the accident happened, though there are some rare exceptions. If you don't bring the claim in three years, you'll likely lose the right to seek compensation through the courts. Insurance companies know this rule well and may try to drag things out until time runs out, so it's important to talk to a lawyer as soon as you can and track everything right from the start. You don't want to realize too late that your chance to recover medical bills, lost wages, or other costs has slipped away. Exceptions and Changes to the Deadline Late Discovery of Injuries If your injuries weren't obvious right away, the deadline might start on the date when you discovered (or reasonably should have discovered) the issue. Courts look at what a typical person in your situation would have known to make this decision. However, most claims are still limited to a max of ten years from the last act that caused the problem. Wrongful Death If your case is wrongful death because you've lost a loved one in a car accident, you have just two years from the date of death to bring an action. Government Employee If the at-fault driver was a government employee or the crash involved a government vehicle, your timeline is the same, but there are extra rules and hoops to jump through. Your case will be heard by the Industrial Commission rather than go through the courts, and you have to start by filing an affidavit with them. Incapacitation If you were under eighteen at the time of the accident, the three-year clock generally doesn't start running until you turn eighteen. This is because children are considered "incapacitated" in terms of the law; they cannot bring a legal claim on their own. If you were incapacitated for a time – such as if you were in a coma after the accident – the clock usually doesn't start running until you regain capacity. Fraud and Flight Some situations pause or "toll" the statute of limitations. If the at-fault driver leaves the state to avoid responsibility, the clock will usually stop until they return. If they've committed fraud or concealed facts to avoid their responsibilities, then again, the clock will probably start running when the fraud is discovered. You'll need to talk with a lawyer about this, however, and how to prove it. Talk to a Car Accident Lawyer Today If you're dealing with a crash, don't wait until the last minute to figure out your next steps. Contact David and Associates Injury Attorneys in Wilmington, NC today to request a free consultation on your case. We also have offices in Clinton, Jacksonville, Supply, Wallace, and Whiteville.