What do you do when you are in a wreck?
May 5th, 2024 by admin
Of all the columns I have written over the last twenty years on common legal issues, the columns I wrote a few years ago concerning property damage and personal injury claims, especially those in motor vehicle wrecks, are by far the most asked about by the readers.
So today begins a series of columns in this lane of the law but updated with several changes in the law to make them current.
Here are the key issues:
- When are you required by law to contact the authorities to investigate a wreck?
- How do you assure you are properly reimbursed for your property damage and personal injuries if you are not at fault in the wreck?
- Why is it important to document that you received timely and necessary medical treatment if you are injured?
- Do you need a lawyer to help you? Maybe not. And a good rule to determine when it may be time to hire a lawyer.
- What liability insurance policies may provide additional coverage dollars if your injuries are more serious, and how do you identify them? Some may not be readily apparent.
- What are medical care liens? Medical care providers can have valid liens which the law requires you to pay out of your recovery. What reductions would be justified?
WHEN YOU ARE IN A WRECK
North Carolina law requires a driver in a collision to contact the authorities when any person is injured OR there is property damage of $1000 or more.
Most bumps or dings on a bumper are going to result in damage greater than $1000. So, one should always contact the authorities to investigate the wreck, whether one has a personal injury or not.
No one likes to deal with the unexpected time it takes to investigate a wreck, but the investigating officer may suggest you go to the emergency room to be examined for your injuries, which may not be apparent to you, particularly musculature injuries. These are real and often lasting injuries, not feigned in any way, which may not be fully apparent to the most honest people until hours later. And which often surprises us, the truth be told.
If the officer tells you to go to the ER, do it. It helps you medically to get appropriate treatment. But it also validates you were, in fact, injured. If you decline the recommendation to go to the ER and you complain later, which happens more than you realize, the insurance adjuster for the at-fault party may legitimately ask whether you were injured in the wreck to the extent you now claim.
What if the cause of the wreck is not fully clear? What if the at-fault party claims later you could have been partially at fault as well?
The law on this issue may surprise you. North Carolina is one of three states which follows the unconditional contributory negligence rule. (Instead of a comparative negligence standard.) If the facts suggest you are even 1% at fault, except in limited cases, you are NOT entitled to recover.
But an impartial officer will record what the parties said at the scene about how the wreck happened. This goes a long way toward “locking in the facts” to avoid, shall we say, creative memories of the at-fault party later about what you did which allegedly contributed to the cause of the wreck.
NEXT TIME: Additional commonsense steps to take to be sure you get a fair resolution of your claim.Remember: An informed choice is a smart choice.
Mike Wells is a partner with Wells Law, PLLC in Winston-Salem. His email address is mike@wellslaw.us and his telephone number is 336.283.8700. His legal column has been published continuously since 2003.
Posted in: WS Journal Articles