North Carolina Personal Injury Lawyer

Accidents happen every day in North Carolina. All too often, they are not random, unavoidable events. Instead, they result from the careless and reckless decisions and actions of others. If you are facing physical, emotional, and financial pain due to someone else’s wrongful actions, you should seek legal help without delay.

The North Carolina personal injury attorneys at Ward Black Law are here for you. For more than 30 years, we have fought tirelessly for justice and for the care our clients need as they recover from accidental injuries. We want to help you, too.

Call or reach us online today to discuss your situation in a free initial case evaluation with an experienced personal injury lawyer from our law offices.

Why You Need Our NC Personal Injury Attorneys

Dealing with the injuries caused by an accident can be difficult enough. That is especially true when your injuries require extensive medical care, keep you out of work, and take a toll on you mentally as well as physically. You should not try to go through the process of seeking compensation for your injuries alone.

If you have never filed an insurance claim before or had to take legal action to protect your rights after an accident, you will benefit from working with an experienced North Carolina personal injury lawyer. While you focus on your healing and well-being, a knowledgeable personal injury attorney at Ward Black Law can help you understand your rights, explore all of your legal options, and pursue the maximum amount of compensation in your case.

What Makes a Personal Injury Claim?

With our extensive background in North Carolina personal injury law, the attorneys at Ward Black Law stand ready to review your situation and explain your options for seeking full and fair compensation. Generally speaking, to recover compensation in a personal injury claim, you must be able to prove four basic elements:

• Duty — The other party must have owed you a duty of care or had some form of legal responsibility for your safety and well-being. For instance, drivers have a duty to drive safely, follow the rules of the road, and avoid causing crashes.
• Breach — The at-fault party must have failed to uphold the duty of care owed to you. A driver, for example, may try to send a text message instead of focusing on the road.
• Causation — The other party’s careless or reckless actions also must have caused your injuries. Showing causation in defective product-related cases may require extensive investigation, consultation with knowledgeable professionals, and aggressive litigation, for example.
• Damages — You must have suffered actual harm from your accident and injuries, which could include medical bills, lost wages, pain, suffering, and more.

In North Carolina, under a doctrine called contributory negligence, you can be barred from recovering any compensation if the other party can prove that you were partially at fault for your accident and injuries. That is another reason why it is crucial to work with a personal injury law firm that will fight hard to protect your rights and block the insurance company’s attempts to shift blame onto you.

What Types of Situations Can Give Rise to Personal Injury Claims in North Carolina?

At Ward Black Law, we help personal injury victims and their families throughout North Carolina in a wide range of cases, including:

• Car accidents — Crashes often result from drunk driving, texting while driving, fatigued driving, and drivers choosing to violate the law by speeding, running red lights, and making dangerous passes or lane changes.
• Truck accidents — Although truck drivers play a vital role in our economy, they can also engage in careless behavior behind the wheel that leads to catastrophic harm.
• Motorcycle accidents — Too many drivers in North Carolina fail to share the road responsibly with motorcycle riders. Because of the lack of structural protection on a motorcycle, these crashes can result in life-changing injuries.
• Pedestrian accidents — Serious harm can occur when drivers fail to follow the rules of the road, yield to pedestrians at intersections, or otherwise keep a proper lookout for them on the road.
• Bicycle accidents — Unfortunately, many drivers fail to respect the rights of bicyclists, including leaving reasonable space when passing them.
• Work accidents — If you suffer a work injury or occupational disease, you may be eligible to receive medical care and compensation for your loss of income through the North Carolina workers’ compensation system. Third-party personal injury claims could also be an option in some situations.
• Construction accidents — Construction sites can be dangerous for workers due to the risks of falling from heights, getting struck by objects, and suffering tool- or equipment-related injuries, among many other hazards.
• Premises liability — Property owners, including stores that invite you to stroll down their aisles, can be held responsible when they fail to uphold their duty to provide a reasonably safe environment and, as a result, slip-and-fall accidents and other types of harm occur.
• Nursing home abuse and neglect — Sadly, the nursing homes and individual health care professionals we trust to take care of our elderly loved ones may, instead, mistreat or take advantage of them.
• Defective products — It is important for consumers to stand up and protect their rights when companies make and distribute dangerous drugs, defective medical devices, and other faulty products that lead to injuries.
• Asbestos and mesothelioma claims — Although many decades have passed since asbestos was banned in North Carolina, people continue to suffer mesothelioma and other forms of cancer as a result of their exposure. Several sources of compensation could be available to people with exposure-related conditions.
• Wrongful death — Surviving family members may have a right to recover damages, including the loss of financial support, when a loved one dies due to someone else’s wrongful conduct.

Types of Injuries in NC Personal Injury Cases

It is essential to work with a North Carolina personal injury attorney with experience handling a wide range of injury cases. Some examples of the most common injuries include:

What Types of Compensation Can Be Recovered?

At Ward Black Law, we are proud to have obtained settlements over $150 million for our clients. We know how vital compensation can be for personal injury victims and their families as they move forward after an accident. The compensation in a personal injury case may include:

In every case, we tirelessly pursue the maximum compensation for our clients and their families.

Deadlines for Filing a Personal Injury Claim in NC

It is critical to pay attention to the statute of limitations that applies to your case. Generally, under North Carolina law, you must file a lawsuit against the party responsible for your accident and injuries within three years from the date of the injuries (or the date when they reasonably should have been discovered). If you are seeking compensation through a wrongful death lawsuit, you generally must file the claim within two years from the date of your loved one’s death.

An attorney from Ward Black Law can explain how these deadlines impact your personal injury lawsuit.