CHARLOTTE PERSONAL INJURY LAWYER

Personal injury law in North Carolina is complicated and making mistakes can be costly. Insurance companies are out for profit and have high-powered lawyers on staff who will try to get you to accept the lowest amount possible. This is not a battle you should fight on your own. When you hire our personal injury lawyers, you have an experienced legal team on your side to fight for justice and the settlement you deserve. We can help by:

• Evaluating your losses and the circumstances of your case to determine what a fair settlement would be
• Investigating the accident scene and gathering evidence such as surveillance videos, and police and medical reports to show that the defendants were at fault
• Interviewing witnesses, police officers, and first responders
• Filing all paperwork in accordance with deadlines, court requirements and North Carolina legal requirements
• Hiring experts to reconstruct the crash scene and to testify on the extent of your injuries and the suffering you are undergoing
• Negotiating with insurance companies and their attorneys for a fair settlement
• Building your case and taking it to trial and advocating for you in front of a jury if necessary.

Be assured that our personal injury lawyers will work for your best interests, proceeding with due diligence and confidentiality and avoiding conflicts of interest.

Types of Cases Our Personal Injury Attorneys Handle

OUR LAWYERS HANDLE A WIDE RANGE OF INJURY CASES

Personal injury lawsuits are civil cases, as opposed to criminal ones. When you file a claim for personal injury, you are attempting to collect financial compensation from the party that was negligent and caused you harm.

The Sumwalt Anderson Law Firm handles a wide range of personal injury cases, including:

• Car, truck, and motorcycle accidents
• Slip-and-fall injuries
• Premises liability actions
• Dog bites and dog attacks
• Product defects and product liability claims
• Medical malpractice
• Brain injuries and spinal cord injuries.

If the accident has resulted in the death of a loved one, we can file a wrongful death lawsuit on your behalf. A wrongful death case is like a personal injury case where the personal representative of the deceased person’s estate files for damages, as the deceased can no longer do so. According to North Carolina General Statutes section 28A-18-2, a wrongful death is one caused “by a wrongful act, neglect, or default of another.” If your loved one died as a result of negligent actions by another, our personal injury lawyers will advise you on the legal options available to you.

Damages Our Charlotte Personal Injury Attorney Can Win for You

OUR LAWYERS CAN HELP YOU GET A DAMAGE AWARD THAT COVERS YOUR FINANCIAL LOSSES AND PAIN AND SUFFERING

In a successful lawsuit, our Sumwalt Anderson personal injury lawyers can win a damage award that compensates you for both your economic damages, which have a calculable dollar value, and your less tangible, non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering. Punitive damages may be available as well.

ECONOMIC DAMAGES

Economic damages are to cover your monetary costs including:

• Medical, rehabilitation, and continuing care bills
• Lost wages and lost future wages, if you are unable to work
• Property damage and other monetary losses.

NON-ECONOMIC DAMAGES

Noneconomic damages are more subjective and do not have a specific dollar value, so they are often subject to negotiation. They can include:

• Pain and suffering
• Emotional anguish and mental stress and anxiety
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Loss of consortium and negative impacts on personal relationships.

PUNITIVE DAMAGES

In some rare situations, North Carolina law allows the injured party to recover punitive damages. Punitive damages are above and beyond compensatory damages and are meant to punish egregiously wrongful acts and serve to deter such acts from happening again. In North Carolina, punitive damages cannot exceed the greater of three times the amount of compensatory damages or $250,000.

Damages for Personal Injury Case Involving a Wrongful Death

DAMAGE AWARDS FOR A PERSONAL INJURY CAN BE SUBSTANTIAL

If you are filing a case for wrongful death of a loved one, you may recover damages that include:

• Expenses for care, treatment and hospitalization involving the injury that resulted in death
• Compensation for the deceased person’s pain and suffering
• Funeral expenses
• The present and expected monetary value of the deceased person, including net income, services, protection, care and assistance, society, companionship, comfort, guidance, and advice
• Punitive damages for wrongfully causing the death through malice or willful or wanton conduct, as defined in S. 1D-5
• Nominal damages found by a jury.

Amounts of Damage Awards a Personal Injury Attorney Can Win

There is a wide range of compensation that may be awarded from a successful personal injury case, from the thousands to millions of dollars. The amount you receive depends on many factors that include:

• The extent and permanence of your injuries
• Your age and family responsibilities
• The costs of your bills and treatment
• Whether you will require continuing care and modifications to your home and vehicle
• The circumstances of the accident and available proof of liability and damages
• The amount of property damage and lost wages
• The availability of insurance and assets of the defendants
• The sympathy of the individual judge and jury involved
• How well your attorney can negotiate a settlement or litigate your case.

Our personal injury lawyer in Charlotte will discuss these factors with you and what range of settlement offers it would make sense to accept. We will also advise you about whether you should consider taking a case to trial. Should your case proceed to court, we are strong litigators who will mount a powerful argument on your behalf. Our personal injury attorneys will fight for justice and all the compensation you deserve.

Charlotte Personal Injury Attorneys Must Prove Negligence

PROVING ANOTHER PARTY WAS NEGLIGENT IS ESSENTIAL TO YOUR CASE

To win your case, our Sumwalt Anderson personal injury attorneys must prove that another party, the defendant in the case, was negligent or at fault for causing the injuries you received. Proving negligence legally means showing the following elements:

• Duty: The defendant owed you a duty of care not to cause harm
• Breach: The defendant breached this duty by actions or failure to act
• Cause: The defendant’s breach caused your injuries
• Damage: You suffered damages as a result. 

Everyone has a duty of care to act responsibly to avoid harming others, or they may be held liable for damages. Examples of breaching duty and being at fault for causing personal injury include:

• A drunk driver ran a red light and caused a crash that left you with brain damage and totaled your car.
• A surgeon committed medical malpractice by leaving a surgical sponge in your body that caused infection.
• An airbag was defective and exploded, causing severe lacerations and scarring from shrapnel.
• A property owner failed to fix a broken stair railing, causing you to fall down the steps and break your neck, resulting in paralysis.
• An unleashed dog ran on your property and attacked you, causing severe bites and scarring.

RECORDS THAT HELP YOU PROVE YOUR PERSONAL INJURY CASE

You must be able to show proof of the damages you suffered. Therefore, to receive maximum compensation for your actual losses from the accident, it is important to save documents such as your medical and therapy bills, past pay stubs to prove wage loss, and receipts for all care and expenses pertaining to your injury and property damage. Since pain and suffering can be compensated in North Carolina, you should keep a journal and take relevant photographs and videos to document how the injuries have negatively impacted your life.

Here’s a quick list of items to retain as proof:

• Photos or videos of the scene of injury
• Medical and therapy bills
• Past pay stubs
• Documents associated with any medical care
• Bills for, and documentation of, property damage
• Journal containing comments that related to pain and suffering.

Personal Injury Cases in North Carolina: Frequently Asked Questions

The following are answers to some questions our clients often ask our personal injury lawyers in Charlotte:

Can You File Workers’ Comp After a Personal Injury Accident on the Jobsite?

When your personal injury accident or illness occurs during the normal course of performing your job, you may be able to file a workers’ compensation claim. When filing this type of claim in North Carolina, you will need to show that you suffered economically because of your work-related injury. You may have medical bills or you may need to miss work. The accident attorneys at Sumwalt Anderson are ready to help you present your case.

Count on our workers’ compensation lawyer to always have your best interests at heart. We do not back down when the case is difficult or when we encounter challenges in dealing with the workers’ comp insurer. You deserve compensation, and we will work tirelessly to help you receive it.

Determining the Chances of Winning a Workers’ Compensation Injury Claim

Just because you suffer an injury at work, it doesn’t mean you automatically will receive an award from workers’ comp insurance. You still have to prove that a few circumstances existed at the time of your injury at the worksite, including:

• You are an employee.
• You were performing normal job-related duties.
• The employer is large enough to carry workers’ comp insurance.
• You missed or will miss work time because of your injury.
• You accumulated medical bills as a result of the injury.
• You notified your employer about your injury within 30 days of its occurrence (according to North Carolina law).

Multiple types of injuries can occur at the worksite. A personal injury case could involve a fall from height, a car accident, or a machinery accident. It also can involve exposure to dangerous chemicals over time, leading to an illness or disease. Our team is ready to help with any of these kinds of workers’ compensation cases. We have more than 75 years of experience representing car accident and injury victims in the workers’ comp system.

Client Testimonial

”Rick is the best! One else gave me a chance to explain what happened but he did! And he did all he could to help me win my case!! Rick and his staff are very educated, professional and caring!. I would recommend them any day! For help with a injury case! AMAZING job guys!” – Starr Doll (Google Review)