First let’s define what personal injury law is. “Personal injury law is an injury to your person (yourself) from the neglect of others,” says Thomas Bumgardner, attorney. “You may find yourself involved in a motorcycle accident, an accident involving a drunk driver, a birth injury, sexual assault or a work related injury.”
North Carolina Personal Injury Law
There are time limits that the State of North Carolina imposes on personal injuries. In North Carolina, the statute of limitations for personal injury cases gives an injured person three years from the date of the injury to go to civil court and file a lawsuit.
It is very important to understand and follow this law. Why? “Because if you fail to get your lawsuit filed before the three-year window closes, the North Carolina courts will likely refuse to hear your case at any time in the future, and your right to compensation will be lost,” says Bumgardner.
Shared Fault. Sometimes the person or entity that you are suing for personal injury will claim that you were partly at fault for the incident that caused your personal injury. “This is called shared fault and it can affect the total amount of compensation you receive from other at-fault parties,” says Bumgardner.
In North Carolina shared fault cases, the law reads that the amount of compensation you’re entitled to receive will be reduced by an amount that is equal to your percentage of fault. But if you’re found to bear more than 50 percent of the legal blame, you can’t collect anything at all from other at-fault parties.
Dog Bite Law in North Carolina. Let’s say that your dog bites a neighbor and your neighbor ends up suing you over their personal injury. Under North Carolina law, the owner is strictly liable for their dog biting anybody, including first time offenses.
In North Carolina, in medical malpractice cases only, non-economic damages (like compensation that is awarded for pain and suffering) in most cases are capped at $500,000. This cap does not apply to other injury cases that don’t stem from medical malpractice.
“And in all types of injury cases in North Carolina, punitive damages cannot exceed the greater of three times the amount of actual (compensatory) damages or $250,000,” added Bumgardner.
Regardless of your situation, if you’ve been injured or wronged, the Law Office of Thomas D. Bumgardner, PLLC, in Ballantyne is here to represent you.
Schedule a free consultation today by calling us at (704) 870-4779 or fill out our contact form here.