Were you injured in a car accident in Charlotte, NC? Contact the award-winning legal team at Elrod Pope Accident & Injury Attorneys right away. Call for a free legal consultation at (980) 340 8620. Our experienced Charlotte car accident attorneys can help you fight for the maximum monetary award you deserve.
For decades, victims have turned to Elrod Pope Law Firm, P.A. for help navigating the stressful aftermath of life-changing collisions. As compassionate, award-winning North Carolina trial lawyers with 150+ years of combined experience, we’ve helped clients like you win over $100 million in settlements and jury awards.
Why Choose Elrod Pope Accident & Injury Attorneys After a Car Accident in Charlotte, NC
Elrod Pope Accident & Injury Attorneys is a nationally acclaimed personal injury law firm with a proven ability to help accident victims win extraordinary case results. Our attorneys have more than 150+ years of combined experience. We are proud members of the North Carolina community, so you will not be just a case. You are part of the family, and as such, we will fight to get justice for you and your loved ones.
You’ll want well-respected legal advocates in your corner when times are difficult. That’s why you’ll want to choose Elrod Pope Accident & Injury Attorneys.
Our Charlotte personal injury lawyer and legal team take a client-first approach to litigation. Our proven track record has earned us top honors from groups such as:
- The National Trial Lawyers
- Super Lawyers
- The National Association of Distinguished Counsel
- The Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum
Call our Charlotte, North Carolina, law office today to discuss the details of your accident case.
Why Should I Hire a Car Accident Lawyer?
Here’s why it is crucial to hire a lawyer after a car crash:
- The insurance company loses any advantage it might have had and is forced to take your claim seriously
- You benefit from the law firm’s resources
- Launch a prompt and thorough investigation into your accident
- Evaluate accident reports, medical records, forensics reports, video footage, photographs of the scene of the accident, and other important pieces of evidence we’re able to obtain during the discovery period
- Depose eyewitnesses, other motorists, passengers, and other parties involved who might have information about the crash
- Determine the best way to deal with claims of contributory negligence that could stand between you and a successful financial recovery
- Bring in expert witnesses to collaborate with us throughout the car accident claims process
- Determine what your personal injury case is worth
- Force the defense to engage in honest, productive settlement negotiations or take chances against our award-winning litigators at trial
In fact, claimants who hire lawyers are statistically more likely to win and obtain better results than those who don’t.
Don’t hesitate to contact our office to learn why you should hire us after an accident. There is no charge for an initial case evaluation.
What is My Charlotte Car Accident Case Worth?
No two accidents are the same. The factors that make your situation unique are what will influence how much you might be able to recover from an insurance company or another liable party.
Important considerations will include:
- What physical injuries have you sustained
- Whether your injuries are permanent
- What medical treatment is required
- Whether you need nursing care
- Whether you can continue working during your recovery
- How your income or earning capacity has changed
- The at-fault party’s policy limits
- Whether you share responsibility for the collision
- What have you done to mitigate your damages
- Your age
When you’re offered a settlement, you’ll want to be able to make an informed decision. We can help you understand your potential damages and negotiate an outcome that genuinely represents what your lawsuit is worth.
How Long Do I Have to File a Car Accident Case?
In North Carolina, you typically have three years from the date of your collision to file a lawsuit for damages.
The statute of limitations is shorter if you’ve lost a family member in a fatal crash. In these situations, you’ll have two years to pursue damages in a wrongful death case.
You must file your personal injury lawsuit before the filing deadline passes. Once the deadline passes, you may lose the right to demand compensation for your collision-related injuries, costs, and suffering.
What Kinds of Damages Can Be Awarded to Charlotte Crash Victims?
Crash victims in Charlotte, North Carolina, can pursue two primary kinds of damages through an insurance claim or lawsuit: economic and non-economic. Each type of award is intended to help you deal with different aspects of your collision.
Economic Damages
Economic damages are intended to help you cope with the current and future financial losses associated with your injury.
This can include financial compensation for:
- Lost income
- Temporary and/or permanent disability
- Diminished earning capacity
- Rehabilitation and therapy
- Hospitalization, medication, surgery, and other current medical bills
- Future medical expenses
- Out-of-pocket expenses
- Property damage
- Funeral expenses (for fatal crashes)
You should be made financially whole after receiving an award of economic damages.
Non-Economic Damages
For many, being in a car wreck is an extremely traumatic event. Non-economic damages are designed to help crash victims cope with these harder-to-value stresses.
Non-economic damages can include:
- Pain and suffering
- Disfigurement and physical scarring
- Chronic physical pain
- Loss of consortium
- Reduced quality of life
- Emotional distress
- Embarrassment
- PTSD
Since non-economic damages are much more subjective, they’re often the source of contention in a personal injury claim. We will work closely with medical professionals, rehabilitation specialists, and other experts as we build your case.
We’ll rely on their insight to help us show how your accident has affected your life. During negotiations, we’ll use their testimony to help us not only win your case but also help you secure the best possible results.
How Much Does it Cost to Hire a Car Accident Lawyer?
We work on a contingency fee basis. There is no cost to hire our auto accident lawyers unless we win compensation for you. If we don’t win, you don’t pay. End of story.
If we win your case, our auto accident attorney’s fees will be deducted directly from your financial award. In North Carolina, attorney fees must be reasonable. You can expect a personal injury attorney to recover between 33 percent and 40 percent of your financial award, less any case-related expenses they paid throughout the legal process.
Don’t hesitate to contact us to learn more about our services and fees, as well as why you’ll want our award-winning team fighting for you after an accident.
Can I Recover Compensation If I Was Partly at Fault For My Car Accident?
No. North Carolina is one of a handful of states that have adopted a pure approach to contributory negligence. Sharing any degree of responsibility is a complete bar to a financial recovery.
Shared liability means you’ll have to shoulder all of your crash-related damages on your own.
Not surprisingly, it’s common for insurance adjusters and at-fault parties to point the finger and attempt to shift liability. If you don’t challenge these victim-blaming tactics, you could potentially watch your right to get compensation disappear.
We can anticipate these claims and work to neutralize efforts to prevent you from getting the compensation you need to cover your bills for medical attention, make up for lost wages, and offset the emotional distress you’re experiencing.
Will My Car Accident Case Go to Trial?
It’s certainly possible. However, you should know that most cases are settled privately before they get to the trial stage. In fact, only about 5% of personal injury claims get to a jury.
Whether your case settles or goes to trial is up to you and can depend on a multitude of factors:
- Whether the insurance company handled your claim honestly and with the intent to help you make things right
- The value that each party puts on the case
- How far apart those valuations are
- The strength of the evidence to support your claim
- Whether liability is being contested
- Whether you share blame for the accident
The insurance company won’t want to go to trial. If you show the insurer that you’re not afraid to take your case to a jury, you can accelerate meaningful settlement talks by hiring a North Carolina trial attorney to represent you.
When you hire a respected litigator, the insurance company will take notice. The adjuster will know that they’ll have to make a significant offer or risk facing an award-winning trial attorney in court.
What Should I Do After a Car Accident?
The choices you make immediately after an accident matter. In fact, they can seriously affect your health and ability to obtain compensation.
So, after a collision, it’s important to:
- Call 911 to report the crash to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.
- Stay at the scene or find a safe location nearby while you wait for the first responders to arrive.
- Exchange insurance information with other parties and/or provide those details to the police.
- Take pictures of the scene, damaged property, tire tracks, and other things that might help your attorney understand what happened.
- Refuse to accept blame or apologize for what’s happened.
- Seek medical care at the closest emergency room to ensure that your injuries are properly diagnosed, documented, and treated.
- Resist the urge to take the insurance company’s first offer, especially if you haven’t consulted an experienced car accident attorney yet.
- Contact a lawyer to discuss your situation and get help navigating the claims process.
We know that a car accident is an incredibly stressful and inconvenient event, and we want to be here to help you whenever you need it most. That’s why our staff is available to take your call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Don’t hesitate to reach out to us for help right now.
Types of Car Accidents We Handle
Our firm has extensive experience representing individuals who have been injured or experienced the wrongful death of a loved one in personal injury cases involving:
Rollovers
Rollovers usually occur when a driver makes a sharp turn without slowing down or because a vehicle’s tire trips on a hazard on the road surface. In these collisions, the vehicle tips on its side, flips onto its roof, or rolls over completely.
Head-on collisions
Head-on collisions, which are also known as frontal crashes, can occur if a vehicle is driven on the wrong side of the road or when a driver has to swerve into oncoming traffic to avoid a hazard in front of them. Every year, about 14 percent of all fatal car accidents are characterized as head-on collisions.
Rear-end collisions
Rear-end collisions are the most common type of auto accident. Most often, these crashes occur because motorists are distracted at the wheel or fail to leave enough space between vehicles while driving.
Broadside collisions
Broadside collisions, also known as T-Bone accidents, are a type of side-impact crash. In these accidents, the front end of one car drives into the side of another vehicle. These accidents can be particularly severe because the side of a car is generally not designed to offer much protection in a crash.
Hit and run accidents
Hit and run accidents occur when a driver leaves the scene of a wreck, resulting in property damage, injury, or death without speaking with the police or providing insurance documents. Since North Carolina is a fault-based car insurance state, it can make it difficult for car accident victims to recover fair compensation successfully when the at-fault party flees.
Who Could Be Liable For My Car Accident?
In North Carolina, anyone who contributes to a car accident – even slightly – can be liable for resulting damages. Most often, liability attaches because someone’s negligence plays a part in causing a car crash.
Depending on the specific facts of your case, potentially liable parties might include:
- The driver of a passenger car
- A vehicle passenger
- A bicyclist
- A pedestrian
- A motorcyclist
- An Uber or Lyft rideshare driver
- A property owner
- A negligent party’s employer
- A vehicle manufacturer
- A government agency
- A transportation service
We will carefully investigate your crash, identify the cause, and then determine who might be at fault. When liability is clear, we’ll actively work to hold the at-fault party (or their insurance company) fully responsible for your costs and suffering.
Common Types of Car Accident Injuries
We can help you seek maximum compensation for all of your crash-related injuries, including:
- Soft tissue injuries
- Nerve damage
- Chest injuries
- Amputation injuries
- Degloving injuries
- Crushing injuries
- Concussion injuries
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Eye injuries
- Leg injuries
- Broken bones and fractures
- Spinal cord injuries
- Back injuries
- Neck injuries
- Whiplash injuries
- Burn injuries
- Catastrophic injuries
- Wrongful death of a parent, child, or spouse
You’ll have a limited time to pursue compensation for your injuries, so do not hesitate to contact our office for help right away. We are standing by to take your call.
What Are the Most Common Causes of Car Accidents?
While accidents can happen for many different reasons, several underlying factors are present in most cases.
Leading causes include:
- Speeding
- Distracted driving
- Drunk driving or DUI
- Driver fatigue
- Rolling stops
- Running red lights
- Tailgating
- Aggressive driving
- Unsafe lane changes
- Illegal turns
- Failure to yield the right of way
- Road defects
- Vehicle defects
Count on us to carefully evaluate the circumstances of your crash, gather evidence, and get to the bottom of what happened. Once the cause is clear, we’ll begin to construct a compelling legal claim that establishes fault and helps you secure the financial award you deserve.
Charlotte Car Accident Statistics
According to the North Carolina Department of Transportation, 32,932 car accidents were reported in Charlotte in 2023, making it the most dangerous city for auto accidents in the state.
Based on these statistics, there are an average of 90 crashes in the city of Charlotte every single day.
For many, Charlotte’s auto accidents are serious. In 2023, at least 16,066 people were injured, and 105 were killed.
Call Our Charlotte Car Accident Lawyers For a Free Initial Consultation Today
If you’ve been injured in a car accident caused by a negligent driver in Charlotte, North Carolina, you should explore your legal rights and options. Elrod Pope Law Firm, P.A. is here to be your powerful advocate and help you fight for the financial award you deserve.
We’re award-winning North Carolina litigators who’ve helped clients win over $100 million in damages. Now, you can benefit from our team’s 150 years of combined legal experience, too.
Contact our law office today to set a time for a complimentary case evaluation with a Charlotte car accident lawyer. We are standing by to help 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
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