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Answers To Frequently Asked Questions About Car Accidents

Many of our North Carolina clients and prospective clients have similar questions. We provide helpful information by answering these common FAQ about personal injury accidents claims. If you have any questions about your case, call 336-273-0508 to speak directly with an experienced North Carolina injury lawyer.

What if the other driver has $30000 worth of insurance but my insurance is worth 100000?

If you have Underinsured Motorist Insurance coverage of 60000 or more, you can collect from your company up to the policy limits. However, this is an involved subject that needs to be dealt with on an individual basis.

How much is my case worth?

There are several items to be considered.1) The first is medical and drug bills, and your transportation back and forth to the medical provider. 2) The second item is loss of time from work. We will get your employer to sign a statement saying how much time you lost from work, and your rate of pay. We will also need a note from your doctor, taking you out of work. However, if you are self-employed, this is more complicated, and we will take it up with you on an individual basis. 3) The next item to be considered is pain and suffering. Just about everybody has pain and suffering, but it’s not easy to convert pain and suffering into dollars and cents. However, we have several ways to do this, and when we make a demand on the insurance company, we will ask for an amount to adequately cover your pain and suffering. 4) Other items that we consider are future lost wages, future medical bills, and of course permanent injury.”

Who is going to pay my damages?

Almost always, the wrongdoer does not have sufficient funds of his own to make payments, unless it’s a big company. So in the usual case where an individual is involved, we are looking to the insurance company. How much insurance does a person have to carry? If a policy is written after July 1, 2000, the amount of insurance that is required to carried in North Carolina is $30,000 per person or $60,000 dollars per accident. Now what that means, is that if there are five people involved in a single accident, the total amount that all five of them could be paid as a group is $60,000, and the most an individual person could collect would be $30,000.

What if the other driver has no insurance?

Unless you have rejected it, you have what is known as Uninsured Motorist Insurance, which means that if the wrongdoer is uninsured, your insurance company will pay your damages up to your policy limits. Your insurance policy takes the place of the insurance company that the uninsured driver didn’t have. Using your uninsured coverage does not cause your insurance rates to go up.

Might other insurance be available to me?

Yes, other insurance coverage may apply, such as Medical Payments, or medpay as we call it, accident insurance where you work, and insurance carried by other members of your family. We investigate to obtain ALL insurance coverage available to you.

How Do You Proceed With My Case?

While you are treating, we consult with your doctors and other medical providers and get periodic reports and bills from them. We also check with your employer and find out information about your lost wages. We research all legal questions and compare your case with similar cases. We then compile a settlement brochure, which we send to the insurance company. We always ask for more than we expect to get, and within a week or 10 days, we normally hear from the insurance company, offering us less than we are willing to take. The procedure at that point is that we come down a little bit at a time, and get the insurance company to go up, until we get what we consider to be their best offer. If we can agree that this is an adequate offer, we settle the case right then. If the case cannot be settled, we file suit.

What Should I do Next?

The first thing that you should NOT be doing is talking to ANYONE about this case except us and your doctor. This includes your neighbors and anyone that you may see in a shop or other place. IT IS NOBODY’S BUSINESS WHAT’S GOING ON. A lot of times, things that you say can come back and hurt you. The second thing to do is see your doctor when you’re supposed to and don’t miss any appointments. If there’s any change to your condition, let him know, then let us know. Rest assured we’ll do everything we can to get you the maximum recovery as soon as possible.

What should I do about seeking medical advice?

If you are hurt, seek it, and seek it soon. Now, there are some doctors who won’t accept personal injury cases unless the money is paid upfront. Sometimes our clients don’t have the funds to make such a payment. If you have this problem, let us know. We can help. Be sure to talk to your doctor and tell him where you hurt, when you hurt, and how much you hurt. Unless you tell him about it, he won’t put it in his reports. If it’s not in the reports, it doesn’t exist to the insurance company. Be sure to tell the doctor what is wrong with you. Another thing that you should be aware of is that when you make an appointment with the doctor, be sure that you go. If you make an appointment and don’t go, the doctor puts it in his records that you skipped an appointment. When the insurance company sees that, they’ll say you must not have been hurt very bad. If you can’t go to an appointment, be sure to call the doctor’s office and let him know.

My son is starting to drive. What is the best advice I can give him?

Rear-end collisions are the most frequent and occur because someone is following too close. Teach him to remember this important rule: You should be far enough behind the car in front of you so that if that car suddenly turned into a brick wall, you could stop before you hit it.

I’m the parent of a newly licensed driver. How can I afford insurance?

Buy auto insurance that includes a million dollars or more of uninsured/underinsured coverage. Even careful, experienced drivers can be seriously injured by a careless driver with minimum ($30,000) liability coverage. It’s inexpensive and pays you up to a million dollars (or more) to cover your losses if the at-fault driver has low coverage or none at all. Don’t rely on the insurance salesperson! Call our office at 336-273-0508 for more information.