Did you know that North Carolina is one of only 4 states that allows insurance companies to get away with not paying for most accident victims’ injuries?North Carolina law allows wrongdoers to assert a defense that lets them completely avoid responsibility for the harms they cause. This defense is known as Contributory Negligence.Under Contributory Negligence, an at-fault defendant argues that a victim should be totally and completely barred from any recovery because the victim contributed to some degree, regardless of...

There is a type of insurance available to you that you likely don’t know about. It can act as a kind of fail-safe. Why should you consider getting it? Most people would argue that insurance is your insurance. But what happens if you get injured and the other driver is uninsured?If you drive a car on a public road, then you should have liability insurance—you’re required to in North Carolina. If you get into an accident, there is a possibility...

Many people believe that once their lawsuit is filed in Court, the next step is trial. While that may be true in some states, every case that is filed in North Carolina Civil Superior Court is required to go through mandatory mediation. This is usually the final step before a case receives a trial date.In laymen’s terms, mediation is a meeting between the parties, their attorneys, and a mediator that both sides choose, where they try to get the case...

You’ve been involved in an accident where you feel someone else was at fault and you’re injured, but not seriously enough to warrant a $1,000 ambulance ride.What do you do? Do you immediately go to the hospital? Wait until the next day to see how you are feeling? Wait a week or so to see if your injuries get better on their own with time? Ultimately, those decisions are up to you, but failing to get medical treatment or failing...

For Immediate Release Attorney Rachel Mary Noorthoek Named to Million Dollar Advocates ForumThe Million Dollar Advocates Forum is pleased to announce that Attorney Rachel Mary Noorthoek of The Law Offices of Jason E. Taylor in Hickory, NC has been certified as a member. The Million Dollar Advocates Forum is recognized as one of the most prestigious groups of trial lawyers in the United States. Membership is limited to attorneys who have won million-dollar verdicts, awards, and settlements. The organization was founded in 1993...

Julie was driving home late at night after attending an out-of-county training session for work.  Her employer sent her for the training and it was a requirement that she attend. While driving home, a drunk driver crossed the centerline of a two-lane road and collided head-on with Julie’s vehicle.  Julie would be immediately taken to the local hospital where she would undergo hours of surgery and begin a long course of physical therapy on the road to recovery from her serious injuries.  The drunk driver would succumb to her injuries...

What is Gap Insurance?Gap insurance is optional insurance coverage you can purchase generally through your lienholder or car dealership when you finance the purchase or lease of your new car.We all know that the moment you drive your car off the lot, it starts to substantially lose its value. In the event that you are involved in a collision in which your car is totaled and you owe more on your car than it’s worth, gap insurance helps to cover...

We have all seen it.  You are driving along and see the car next to you with the driver looking at their phone and not paying attention to traffic.Texting and driving perhaps? They may weave from their lane of travel into yours.  You may honk your horn and snap them out of their urgent Facebook viewing or texting.  Many are not lucky enough to see in advance the carelessness going on in the car next to them or behind them. ...

February, the season of love. With Valentine’s Day just behind us, I am sure your relationship with your lawyer was exactly what you were thinking about!All kidding aside, the relationship between a lawyer and her client is a sacred one and one that is so important it is extensively governed by the North Carolina State Bar Rules of Professional Conduct as to what you must, can, and cannot do.The lawyer-client relationship is so important and revered that it has a privilege that while not absolute, is...

Usually, one of the first questions that a personal injury lawyer gets is “How much is my case worth?"The true answer is that any case is worth exactly what 12 jurors who are completely unknown to you and unknown to your lawyer would award sometime in the future after hearing some evidence of what happened to you and some evidence of how the other driver or at-fault party was negligent and, therefore, responsible for some part of your damages.Get an...