Greensboro: Wrongful Death Lawyer
Our Fee is 25% of Settlement
Greensboro Wrongful Death Lawyer
Legal matters seem trivial in the wake of a fatal crash. However, the legal representatives of the at-fault driver never wait until the family is ready. Adjusters start calling within days. A two-year wrongful death suit-filing deadline begins running from the date of the crash. Decisions that affect what the family recovers get made during the first weeks when nobody is thinking clearly, and that isn’t anyone’s failing. Nagle & Associates, P.A. handles all of these early issues and legal details for the families of fatal accident victims in Greensboro.
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The Step Most Families Don’t Know About
A wrongful death lawsuit in North Carolina cannot be filed by a widow or other family member. It is filed by the estate.
That means an estate has to be opened for the person who died and an administrator appointed by the Clerk of Superior Court before anything can be filed on the family’s behalf. Families usually learn this late, and it costs them time they didn’t know they were spending. The process of appointing an administrator takes weeks, and the two-year deadline under the North Carolina Wrongful Death Act does not pause while this happens.
Families of motor vehicle accident victims who lose their life on the road should always act immediately to protect and enforce their legal rights. We invite an early call as we are glad to provide advice and your best plan of action through a free consultation, and we offer this help even if you prefer not to retain a lawyer.
Who the Money Actually Goes To
A wrongful death recovery doesn’t pass through the will. It goes to the family members who would inherit under North Carolina’s intestacy statute, N.C.G.S. Chapter 29, whether or not there was a will and whether or not the decedent’s will says something different.
In most cases that’s a surviving spouse and children. Parents sometimes share. Siblings sometimes share when there are no other family members. Blended families, estranged children, and second marriages complicate the arithmetic in ways families don’t expect, and it’s better to work that out early than to discover it at settlement. We walk every family through exactly who is entitled to what before anything is signed.
What a Wrongful Death Claim Can Include
North Carolina permits recovery for the medical bills incurred before death and for funeral expenses. Beyond that, the claim covers what the family lost.
Under the North Carolina Wrongful Death act, damages the family can collect include the income and services the decedent would have provided for the surviving heirs, and they can collect additional compensation for the companionship, comfort, and guidance they would have given. If the accident victim survived for any period after the crash, the family can also collect for the victim’s conscious pain and suffering. When the at-fault driver’s conduct was especially reckless, punitive damages may be available on top of everything else, and a drunk driving crash is the most common circumstance where that comes into play.
The Rule That Ends Cases in This State
North Carolina still follows pure contributory negligence, and it applies to fatal crashes the same as any other. If the accident victim who lost their life is found just 1% at fault for the accident, the family recovers nothing.
The difficulty is obvious. The one person who could explain what happened isn’t here to help. Insurance companies know that, and their investigation is always aimed toward avoiding financial responsibility for the fatal accident. These are large-loss, high-value cases, and with a lot at stake insurance companies oppose these claims aggressively. The will gladly underpay the family, regardless of the tragedy they are dealing with. This is why aggressive, early investigation and direct work with police matters so much in these cases, and why it has to happen before the physical evidence disappears.
Two retired North Carolina State Troopers work on our firm’s staff and assist with that side of the investigation. We will collect and preserve all evidence, and protect and enforce your rights. These cases are important, and a grieving family should seek early assistance. Body camera footage, scene photographs, and witness statements can often be obtained by a lawyer when a family would never know to ask for them.
What to Do, and What Can Wait
Funeral arrangements come first. Nothing legal has to happen in the first few days.
When you’re able, hold onto anything connected to the crash, including the crash report when it becomes available and any photographs of the vehicles or the scene. Decline to speak with the at-fault driver’s insurance company. They will call early, and they are not calling to help.
After that, two things are worth doing sooner than feels natural: opening the estate, and talking to a lawyer so you can learn more about your legal rights and the path ahead. These steps are critical, and neither commits you to hiring a lawyer.
Fatal Crashes We Handle Around Greensboro
Fatal wrecks in Greensboro concentrate on the high-volume corridors, including US 29 and Market Street, and on the I-40 and I-85 freight route that carries heavy commercial traffic through Guilford county. Motorcycle fatalities account for a larger share of fatal crashes compared to other types of accidents, for reasons that don’t need explaining. Late-night collisions on the routes leading out of downtown involve alcohol more often than any other factor.
Some of these cases begin as catastrophic injury claims and become wrongful death cases weeks or months later. When that happens, the two-year clock still runs for the victim’s family.
Why Families Bring These Cases Here
Nagle & Associates is the only law firm in North Carolina that takes motor vehicle accident cases and nothing else. Over roughly 30 years the firm has recovered more than $850 million for North Carolina car, truck, motorcycle, and roadway crash victims, including a substantial number of fatal crash cases. Carl Nagle is a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum and the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum. He and his team know how to build and win serious and fatal injury legal cases.
Carl is a former insurance claims adjuster and former insurance defense attorney, which means he spent years watching how carriers evaluate a death claim internally. He came to this work from the other side of it.
Most wrongful death cases settle privately. Thus, please don’t worry about having to go through a painful, complicated jury trial. However, we want to settle on your family’s terms, not the discounted terms the insurance adjuster hopes for. Also, if negotiations break down and the insurance company refuses to pay fair value for your losses, our firm is prepared to try your case in Guilford County Superior Court.
The Fee
Our firm’s contingency fee is 25% of settlement, compared with the 33.3% most personal injury firms charge. The family’s share of settlement is 75%, far more than the 66.6% share left with the industry standard fee.
We are not discount lawyers. Rather, we are a boutique law practice and we offer concierge level service to our clients. We have no voice mail – when you call, a real person answers every time. We handle all legwork for our clients, and develop the strongest and most valuable medical and legal evidence. This increases case value, and allows us to collect maximum compensation in every case. Because we focus on serious accidents with real injuries, and due to our success in this arena, we feel the smaller share is most fair and we prefer to leave a larger share of the case compensation for our clients when their cases are resolved.
A settlement in a death case is the last thing that person will ever provide for their family, and we are proud to charge a smaller share of the results we achieve. Also, there is no fee unless and until we collect and deliver money to the family. Also, in some cases, there are expenses that must be paid to retain experts or for lawsuit filing fees. Our firm advances every case cost and is never reimbursed unless there’s a recovery. The family is not billed for anything, at any point.
Client Reviews
What families tend to write afterward has less to do with the settlement than with the process and the service we provide. We explain what we are doing every step of the way. We don’t just work for our clients, we work with them. We also handle all insurance communications and all legwork, always seeking to make the legal and insurance claim process very easy for our clients.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do we have to present a fatal injury case?
Two years from the date of the crash to file a wrongful death lawsuit, which is shorter than the three-year deadline in injury cases. The estate has to be opened and an administrator appointed before the suit can be filed, so the practical window is shorter than two years.
Can we pursue a wrongful death claim if there was no will?
Yes. A will isn’t required and doesn’t control who receives a wrongful death recovery. North Carolina’s intestacy statute determines that, and the estate still has to be opened either way.
The driver is being prosecuted. Does that affect our claim?
The criminal case and the family’s civil claim run separately and can proceed at the same time. A conviction isn’t necessary for the family to recover, and an acquittal doesn’t end the civil claim.
Talk to a Greensboro Wrongful Death Lawyer
Our Greensboro personal injury office is at 7 Corporate Center Ct, Greensboro, NC 27408. Call (336) 723-4500 or (800) 411-1583 whenever you’re ready. If coming to an office isn’t something your family can manage right now, we’ll come to you.
