What Are The NC Car Accident Laws?
In North Carolina, there is not a specific set of car accident laws. Instead, attorneys use the existing set of case law to guide them. What this means is that rather than look to a NC car accident law, your Charlotte, NC personal injury lawyer assesses the body of cases that have been tried, to date.
How Will NC Case Law Affect Negotiations For My Car Accident?
Depending upon what judges and juries have decided in the past, regarding specific fact patterns in a NC car accident, your personal injury lawyer can better predict what a judge or jury will decide about your case. While there are instances where case law becomes “codified” or is passed as a statute in the state, most case law accumulates over the years in a way which helps lawyer assess whether they can win your case based on the facts you have.
Is Contributory Negligence Case Law?
If you’ve been reading about NC car accident laws, no doubt you’ve read about Contributory Negligence. Contributory Negligence is a doctrine that is followed by our state. As was decided in Sorrells v. M.Y.B. Hospitality Ventures, 332 N.C. 645, 648 (1992), “[A] plaintiff’s contributory negligence is a bar to recovery from a defendant who commits an act of ordinary negligence.” In that case, a patron became intoxicated at a restaurant and drove his car, which resulted in his death. His estate attempted to make a claim against the establishment that served him but his estate’s claim was barred by his contributory negligence.
Determining whether someone is contributorily negligent is also based on case law, as was decided in Newton v. New Hanover County Bd. of Educ., 342 N.C. 554, 564 (1996), where it was determined that “A plaintiff is contributorily negligent when he fails to exercise such care as an ordinarily prudent person would exercise under the circumstances in order to avoid injury.” These are the very elements of your case that your personal injury lawyer will argue for you, both at the claims level and at trial.
But How Will NC Car Accident Laws Apply To MY Case?
If you would like personal injury lawyer to assess your case for you, simply reach out to us. The assessment is free and there’s no obligation to move forward with our firm. You can reach us at 704.749.7747 or give us an email address HERE and we’ll reach out to you. We hope you’ll choose to Recover With Us.