After a car wreck, your entire life could be upended. Medical bills could be stacking up all while you’re missing days at work. You don’t need to deal with these challenges on your own, however.
Our skilled team of car accident lawyers can help you seek compensation if someone else is responsible for your crash. A Morganton car accident lawyer from Farmer & Morris Law, PLLC can handle your case from start to finish.
You Could Be Entitled to These Types of Compensation After a Car Wreck
Our attorneys will help you seek compensation for many types of losses after your wreck. You could stand to recover all your medical care costs and much more.
The following forms of damages could be available:
Economic Damages
Economic damages refer to financial expenses that resulted from the wreck and your injuries. These could include medical bills, the cost of repairing your vehicle, and other expenses. We can demonstrate these damages by gathering receipts, invoices, or bills for the actual costs resulting from your car wreck.
Specific economic damages may include:
- Hospital or medical bills
- Towing expenses
- Vehicle repair expenses
- Property damage
- Costs of a car rental or other transportation expenses
- Loss of wages
- Future earnings loss or reduced earning capacity
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages are losses that cannot usually be backed up with receipts or invoices. These losses could include things like psychological suffering, diminished quality of life, and other impacts on your well-being, such as:
- Pain and suffering
- Impaired mobility
- Scarring and disfigurement
- Loss of consortium
You could be eligible for additional compensation depending on the specific circumstances of your wreck.
When Can Punitive Damages Be Awarded in a Car Accident Case?
Punitive damages are not awarded often in car accident claims. They are only awarded in instances where the court finds the defendant’s actions grossly negligent or abhorrent. Punitive damages are not a type of loss injury victims are entitled to recover as part of their car accident claim, but a means of punishing the defendant beyond your compensatory losses.
How Farmer & Morris Law, PLLC Can Help You With Your Morganton Case
Our attorneys are ready to get to work for you. A car accident lawyer from our team can do several things to help you with your case, including:
- Provide legal advice
- Determine an accurate settlement estimate
- File all the legal paperwork on time
- Review crash report and conduct necessary investigations to determine liability (i.e., who is at fault)
- Analyze all evidence, including crash reports and medical records
- Interview the witnesses who were present at the scene
- Provide testimony on your behalf by hiring experts
- Collect evidence to strengthen your injury case or wrongful death case
- Represent you in negotiation meetings and court appearances and speak on your behalf
- Keep you updated on the progress of your case
- Seek a court award by presenting all pertinent evidence at trial
- If a settlement cannot be reached, file the case with the civil court
Along the way, insurance adjusters or attorneys may try to undervalue your claim. We are prepared to demonstrate that you deserve fair compensation, however.
At Farmer & Morris Law, PLLC, we negotiate with insurance adjusters and will represent you in court if necessary. While some lawyers are not trial attorneys, our firm will fight for you in court if this is essential to getting fair compensation.
Common Car Wreck Injuries to Sue for
Motor vehicle wrecks continually produce devastating injuries. Many injury victims have concerns that their injuries are not debilitating enough to warrant legal action.
However, the type of injury you have sustained will not have any impact on whether you have grounds for a case. Instead, your car accident lawyer will be looking at the ways your injuries have affected your life. This is far more important than the type of injury you were diagnosed with.
Some types of car accident injuries are more common than others. These include:
- Traumatic brain injury (TBI)
- Head injuries, including concussions or contusions
- Paraplegia, quadriplegia, spinal cord injuries, and paralysis
- Amputations
- Emotional and behavioral trauma
- Internal injuries, including organ failure and internal bleeding
- Compound fractures and bone breaks
These are just a few of the different types of injuries you may be able to sue for. If you have been diagnosed with another type of injury related to your car accident, you may have the right to financial compensation. Be sure to discuss your options further when you contact our office.
Car Accident Cases We Handle
If you were injured in a collision, regardless of the type of vehicle, we can assess your legal options for recovery. However, here are some common kinds of car accident cases we handle:
- Commercial driving accidents, including collisions with semi-trucks, delivery vans, buses, and passenger vans
- Motor vehicle accidents, including collisions with passenger cars, trucks, or motorcycles
- Pedestrian and bicycle accidents if you were injured by a vehicle
- Work-related accidents for motorists who were acting under the scope of their employment when they had a collision
- Ridesharing accidents, for drivers, passengers, or third-party motorists injured in an Uber or Lyft
Within each of these categories, there are specific kinds of accidents related to their common causes. You may have been involved in these kinds of accidents:
- Distracted driving accident
- Aggressive driving accident
- Drunk or impaired driving accident
- Improper-lane change accident
- Failure-to-yield accident
- Speeding accident
No matter the cause or type of car accident you endured, we can investigate to uncover the at-fault party. We will use the evidence we find to hold them accountable for your losses.
Who Is Liable for Your Car Accident?
Arguably the most important task in any car accident claim is figuring out who is responsible for causing it. The liable party will be compelled to cover your damages in their entirety.
There are a variety of parties who could share liability for your car wreck, depending on the circumstances of your case. Some of the more common parties held accountable for car accident damages include:
- Negligent or irresponsible drivers
- Social hosts
- Dram shops
- Government agencies such as the North Carolina Department of Transportation
- Government officials
- Municipalities
- Safety inspectors
- Maintenance professionals
- Motor vehicle dealerships
- Auto parts designers, manufacturers, and distributors
- Executives
- Other third parties
An in-depth investigation into your Morganton car accident will reveal who is responsible for causing your injuries and resulting damages.
How Long do I Have to File a Car Accident Claim?
It is best to file a legal action as soon as possible so your attorney can ensure it is filed within the statute of limitations in North Carolina.
North Carolina state law mandates different statutes for filing dates depending on the type of lawsuit. North Carolina statute G.S. § 1-52 allows up to three years from the crash date to file a personal injury suit. A wrongful death action resulting from a car crash can be filed two years after the decedent’s death, per North Carolina statute G.S. § 1-53.
You don’t have to stress about your compensation deadlines. We’ll take care of everything, so you won’t run out of time.
Our Attorneys Get You the Answers You Need for Your Car Accident Case
We understand that the legal process can be confusing. We can get you the answers you need. Consider our answers to these common questions:
How Much does It Cost to Hire a Lawyer?
Often, the cost of attorney fees is a major consideration for crash victims. If you decide to work with one of our attorneys, you won’t owe us anything if we aren’t able to get compensation for you. Our contingency fee structure means we won’t charge you anything upfront—no hourly rates, retainers, or other charges. The only fees we charge are based on the success of your lawsuit or settlement.
Should I Work With a Lawyer After a Wreck?
This is ultimately your choice. However, there are many reasons why you may want to get legal help after a car wreck. You may want to hire our help if:
- Your injuries are serious. If you’re facing significant injuries and medical bills, you may want legal representation. We can help you recover the costs of your past, present, and future medical care needs. Our goal is to ensure you don’t have to pay out of pocket for medical costs.
- You want to ensure the best possible chances of a recovery. We will seek the best possible settlement for you. Our attorneys know how to determine what a fair offer looks like, and we can help you negotiate the best possible compensation.
- You aren’t physically or emotionally prepared to handle a legal case. Seeking fair compensation after a wreck can take time and energy. You could even face aggressive tactics from insurance companies. You shouldn’t have to worry about handling these challenges when you’re recovering.
Should I Give a Statement to the Insurance Company?
It is never in your best interest to give a statement to the insurance company without your attorney present. You do not want to risk being misunderstood or having unwarranted fault placed on you for the wreck.
You can avoid this by having your attorney provide the insurer with the facts of your case so there are no discrepancies.
Contact a Morganton Car Accident Lawyer Today
At Farmer & Morris Law, PLLC, we offer a free legal consultation. You can ask us all of your questions and find out what our attorneys can do for you in your case.
Our personal injury lawyers at Farmer & Morris Law, PLLC are ready to help you after a car wreck. Let us handle the legal matters while you do what you need to do to recover. Contact us today. We can provide you with more information about filing a personal injury or wrongful death claim and getting fair compensation.