Raleigh Car Accident Lawyer

Getting into a vehicle accident can be a terrifying experience. Crash victims in Raleigh, North Carolina, often struggle to recover compensation from insurance carriers and at-fault parties. However, at Nagle & Associates, our team is ready to help. We have extensive experience handling complex vehicle accident claims in Raleigh and throughout North Carolina. Carl Nagle represents victims throughout North Carolina, including in Winston-Salem, Asheville, and Wilmington. Mr. Nagle and his team have recovered over $290 million in compensation for victims throughout the state.

Serving Auto Accident Victims Throughout North Carolina

At Nagle & Associates, we provide compassionate, personalized assistance to people who have been involved in serious motor vehicle accidents. With over 20 years of experience purely in the motor vehicle accident arena, Raleigh car accident lawyer Carl Nagle represents victims throughout North Carolina, including in Winston-Salem, Asheville, and Wilmington. Mr. Nagle and his team have recovered over $290 million in compensation for victims throughout the state.

We understand the financial issues and legal issues that arise from serious motor vehicle accidents because we practice exclusively in this area of law. Our focus on traumatic injury cases arising from car, motorcycle, bicycle, pedestrian, truck and other vehicle accidents has led us to forge strong relationships with a wide range of experts in this area, ranging from doctors and surgeons to accident reconstruction engineers, law enforcement, economists and vocational rehabilitation experts. Having previously worked in the insurance industry, Mr. Nagle knows the tactics that insurers and their attorneys often use to unfairly limit their payouts to accident victims. As a former insurance adjuster and former insurance company lawyer, Carl will craft persuasive strategies to protect your rights, maximize compensation, and solve problems in your time of need.

How Will an Attorney Help a Car Accident Claim?

Car accident claims can be notoriously challenging, particularly when it comes to determining the liability of the other driver(s) involved. Most individuals who sustain injuries and property damage do not have the resources necessary to handle every aspect of their claims. In fact, insurance carriers count on this.

When an attorney gets involved in a case like this, their role will be multifaceted. An attorney can use their resources to handle every aspect of the claim, including the following:

• Obtain all evidence needed to prove liability, including the police report, video surveillance, photographs taken at the scene of the incident, statements from eyewitnesses, and more.
• Ensure their client is evaluated by trusted medical professionals who can treat their injuries and properly estimate total medical costs.
• Work with economic experts to calculate lost income and out-of-pocket expenses caused by the incident.
• Vigorously negotiate with aggressive insurance carriers to recover total compensation.

Even as settlement negotiations are ongoing, an attorney will also fully prepare to take a case to trial if necessary to ensure their client is treated fairly.

What Evidence is Needed to Prove Liability

There are various types of evidence that can help prove liability in the aftermath of a vehicle accident in North Carolina. Some of this evidence can be gathered at the scene of the incident, but other types of evidence may not be found until the days and weeks following the crash. We do want to point out how important it is to work with a skilled North Carolina vehicle accident lawyer when gathering evidence for these cases. Most individuals do not have the resources necessary to handle every aspect of these claims, but an attorney will be able to get involved early and work on your behalf.

Some of the main types of evidence that insurance carriers or personal injury juries need to determine liability include the following:

• Photograph taken at the scene of the crash
• Video surveillance captured on nearby cameras or dashcams
• Statements from any eyewitnesses at the scene
• Statements from other drivers and passengers involved in the crash
• Vehicle “black box” data
• Mobile device data to show distracted driving

In addition to the evidence that can help determine liability, medical records can also help substantiate what happened. For example, if an injured driver claims they were T-boned, medical records showing trauma to the side of the body where the incident occurred could help substantiate the T-bone claim.

For some vehicle accident claims in Raleigh and the surrounding areas, an attorney may need to work with accident reconstruction experts to help prove liability. These experts have extensive experience using science and mathematics to fully analyze the crash scene so they can determine exactly what happened. Accident reconstruction experts can provide 3D renderings and diagrams to present to insurance carriers, and they can testify in front of personal injury juries if necessary.

Types of Compensation Available for a Raleigh Car Accident Claim

There may be various types of compensation available for car accident victims in Raleigh, North Carolina. In general, our attorneys will help clients recover both economic and non-economic compensation in these situations.

• Economic compensation. This is also referred to as special damages after a vehicle accident occurs. These are calculable expenses that a person sustains as a result of the vehicle accident and can include the following:
  • Medical bills related to the incident
  • Lost income if a crash victim cannot work while they recover
  • Household out-of-pocket losses sustained by a crash victim
  • Property damage expenses for the vehicle, phones, computers, or any other damaged property
• Non-economic compensation. This is also referred to as general damages that occur as a result of a vehicle accident. These are the types of losses that are more immeasurable because there are no bills or receipts that can be added up and totaled. Some of the most common types of non-economic damages awarded after a Raleigh vehicle accident include:
  • Physical pain and suffering losses
  • Emotional and psychological damage
  • Loss of enjoyment of life damages
  • Loss of consortium for a spouse or family members

The total amount of compensation available to crash victims in Raleigh will vary depending on the factors related to each particular incident. In general, we find that the more severe the injuries, the more compensation crash victims are likely to receive through an insurance settlement or a personal injury jury verdict. Other factors that can affect compensation amounts include how long a person is away from work, the level of the victim’s pain and suffering, and the total property damage amounts.

What if an Insurance Company Made a Settlement Offer?

What should you do if an insurance carrier comes to you with a settlement offer?

There is no one answer to this question, but one thing is certain – you need to work with an attorney who can examine the settlement offer and help guide you towards the best response. The reality is that insurance carriers often put forth settlement offers early in negotiations in an effort to get a crash victim to settle for much less than their cases actually worth. Insurance carriers regularly do this if they know they are going to lose the case.

Early settlement offers can be tempting, particularly when crash victims have to worry about incoming medical expenses and property damage bills. However, an early settlement offer should be treated as the starting point for negotiations towards a higher amount.

It is crucial for all crash victims in Raleigh, NC, to understand that, once a settlement offer is signed and accepted, there will be no way to go back later on and reopen the case to recover more compensation. If a crash victim discovers that their injuries are worse than they originally thought, they will not be able to recover compensation for any additional medical bills if they have already accepted a settlement from the insurance carrier.

How Long do You Have to File a Claim?

Car accident victims in Raleigh, North Carolina, need to understand that they have a limited amount of time to file these claims. First and foremost, everyone needs to know that insurance carriers have very strict reporting deadlines. In most cases, insurance contracts stipulate that accidents be reported within a day or two after the incident occurs. We strongly encourage you to check with your insurance carrier about how long you have to file a claim. Failing to file a claim with an insurance carrier promptly could result in the claim being denied or delayed significantly.

Aside from insurance carrier deadlines, crash victims need to know that they also have a limited amount of time to file a lawsuit against the alleged negligent driver in their case. The personal injury statute of limitations in North Carolina is three years from the date an injury occurs. If a lawsuit is not filed in civil court against the alleged negligent driver within this three-year timeframe, the crash victim will likely be unable to recover the compensation they are entitled to.

What About Partial Liability?

Shared liability for a vehicle accident in North Carolina is a problem. In most states around the country, individuals are able to recover compensation even if they are partially responsible for causing a vehicle accident. However, North Carolina is one of the few states in this country that operate under a “contributory negligence” system. This means that a person will not be able to recover compensation if they are in any way responsible for causing an accident, even if it is just 1% responsibility.

Because of North Carolina’s strict contributory negligence laws, it is crucial for an individual to work with a skilled attorney who can determine the liability of the other driver(s) involved and fight back against any claims of partial responsibility.

Assert Your Rights after a Motor Vehicle Collision

The period following a serious motor vehicle accident is extremely traumatic for a victim and their family. In addition to physical injuries, they often face financial challenges as a result of medical expenses and income loss arising from the crash. If a careless driver was responsible for a serious car accident, the victim or the victim’s family should enlist a lawyer to immediately protect and enforce all financial and legal rights. Aggressive pursuit of your personal injury claims will help to provide compensation for the losses you endure on physical, emotional, and financial levels.

A driver may be held legally responsible for an accident if they were negligent, or careless, in their conduct or behavior. In serious injury cases, it is important to carefully investigate the collision and crash scene to identify all parties who share blame for the accident. If two or more drivers made mistakes which led to your accident, they can be held jointly liable. If a driver was on-the-job when they caused an accident, their employer’s commercial liability insurance coverage can be brought in and forced to contribute toward the payment of victims’ claims. Proving fault also requires you to eliminate allegations of victim fault. In North Carolina, if the victim is slightly (even just 1%) at fault, they have no legal right to compensation! Hiring an attorney to investigate the crash and nail down evidence to prove fault costs nothing up front and may make all the difference for you and your family.

Accident victims may seek payment for economic losses and also for past and future pain and suffering. Economic losses include medical bills, including future medical costs where we can prove that your injuries may be lasting or permanent. Similarly, we can collect for future lost income and for early retirement with evidence from doctors and vocational rehabilitation specialists who together testify that injuries will prevent you from working until retirement. Even if you are back to work now, we may be able to collect for lost future earnings if evidence indicates you will not be able to work until natural retirement age.

To prove the full impact of a victim’s injuries and maximize personal injury compensation, the most vital step is to carefully develop and interpret medical evidence. Our vehicle injury law firm only handles traumatic injury cases and our team has extensive experience working with neurosurgeons, orthopedic surgeons, internal medicine specialists, vascular surgeons, physiatrists, pain management specialists and physicians in all areas of medical practice. Our focus on medical evidence will compel the opposition to pay fair value for all losses, such as ongoing medical treatments, home modifications or other expenses necessary to help a victim cope with permanent injuries.

In the most devastating and tragic cases, a family may lose a loved one to a moment of carelessness by someone else. When this happens, they can bring a wrongful death claim to seek damages for their loss. This compensation is often the only way to provide replacement income and services to help surviving family members avoid financial setbacks and to safely move forward. Our law firm has handled many wrongful death claims and we stand ready to advise surviving family members of all legal rights and options whenever this need arises.

Simple To Retain Our Vehicle Accident Law Firm

Carl Nagle and his vehicle accident lawyers work on a pure-contingency basis. This means that we are paid a legal fee only if and when we collect money for you. If we do not succeed collecting money for you, we receive no fee. You also pay nothing to get our firm started. Begin with a free consultation by telephone – simply call our office and speak with Mr. Nagle now to learn your best plan of action. If you need our representation, it costs nothing up front to retain our firm and we can begin working for you today. If a visit to our office is currently inconvenient, we have investigators who can come to your home or workplace to get your case started. Even if you choose to proceed without an attorney, a friendly telephone consultation will help you understand how to access and use all available insurance coverage, and how to secure maximum payment for all of your vehicle accident claims.

Explore Your Options with a Car Accident Lawyer in the Raleigh Area and Beyond

At Nagle & Associates, we understand that serious car accidents have lifelong consequences. If you or a loved one is confronted with this difficult situation, contact Raleigh car accident attorney Carl Nagle to discuss your options. He seeks to leave clients financially stable, so he charges lower legal fees than most Raleigh personal injury attorneys: one-quarter rather than one-third of the ultimate award obtained through a simple, private settlement. We offer a free consultation, so call us at (800) 411-1583 or contact us online to set up an appointment with a motor vehicle collision attorney. We serve victims and families in Raleigh, Asheville, Winston-Salem, Wilmington, Greensboro, Hickory, Charlotte and throughout North Carolina.