Articles Posted in Tips

Factors that Affect Personal Injury Settlements

The amount of settlement that you receive after an accident predominantly depends on factors surrounding your case. Based on these factors, your personal injury lawyer can manage your expectations and negotiate skillfully and efficiently, with the goal of helping you get rightfully compensated.

How to Prepare for a Personal Injury Consultation?

If you’ve been severely injured in a motor vehicle accident in North Carolina due to the other party’s negligence, then you should do two things:

When Dad Says: “Try a Cheese Sandwich”

My dad practiced law and he told me when I started, “You need to try a lot of cases so you get good at trial work” and have a “bite with your bark”. He said, “you go try everything, try a cheese sandwich”.  So, early in my career I suffered several losses at the courthouse and wondered why.  Was I not any good at trying cases? I tried a bunch of auto injury cases back in the 1990’s. I remember twice having back to back jury trials, that is; a jury goes out to deliberate a case and while they were in the jury room I picked another jury and started a second jury trial right then, same day, same court room, different client different defense attorney. When the jury from the first case had a verdict, we stopped the second case, excused that jury for break and got the verdict from the first jury. Well, when I had lost several trials I had to go back and look and analyze what happened. That was when I figured it out. My problem had been case selection. I was trying some cases that were like my dad’s “cheese sandwich”. Let me share one of them with you and perhaps it will make you smile. My client had borrowed his sister’s car and he did not have a driver’s license, never had one, never been a licensed driver. He left skid marks from his lane into the oncoming lane of travel. That is right, there was evidence he left his lane of travel and entered the lane of the oncoming car. The photos I had from the scene, which showed the skid marks, also showed a house in the background with a lady in a rocker on the front porch. She was listed on the police report as a witness. She had been in that same rocker on that same porch the day the accident happened, and she said my client drove into the oncoming lane of travel hitting the other car, consistent with the skid marks. I know, I know, your reading it right… a witness and physical evidence demonstrating my client was the one who caused the collision.  Obviously an extremely hard case to win, my client was at fault, what was I thinking……. I know, “try a cheese sandwich”

Can Social Media Affect My Case?

Facebook. Twitter. Instagram. TikTok. SnapChat. Almost everyone now is on social media to varying degrees. People post about everything, from selfies to what they ate for dinner, pictures of friends and family, birthday celebrations, documenting special occasions, and politics to name a few. Social media has become part of our everyday life and most people are on some form of social media at least once a day, even if it is just to browse and not post. It has become a way to share and document your life in a way that has never before been seen.

When Hiring An Attorney

Class Actions – What Good Are They?

One of the questions I get asked frequently when the discussion of class action lawsuits come up is “What good are they?” Class action lawsuits are a necessary—even essential—part of litigation to hold the powerful accountable.

Pitfalls to be Aware of with Customizable Auto Insurance

Lately, I can’t watch television without seeing an advertisement for auto insurance that talks about customizable auto insurance.  The sales pitch is that you only pay for the insurance you need.  In fact, for some insurance companies, that seems to be the focus of their entire marketing campaign.  However, there’s one big problem with this – how does the average person know what they really need?

Dash Cams – Could save you big time!

Dash cam is short for dashboard camera.  It is a video camera that you install in your car that records while you are driving.  Last year I wrote an article in support of the dash cam.  Here we are a year later and I would contend it is even more important now than it was a year ago.  Per the Connectncdot.gov website, Charlotte, North Carolina had the highest percentage of vehicle accidents in all of North Carolina for 2018 and 2019 for cities with over 10,000 people and has been in the top five since at least 2016.  Not something to brag about.  Hickory, North Carolina is on an upward trajectory in terms of improvement, but still has been in the top 20 for the past four years.   According to NCDOT.GOV, the fatality rate for traffic accidents in North Carolina in 2020 is higher than 2019, despite being fewer overall accidents.  These statistics highlight the importance of dash cams, especially in North Carolina where we still have a law called contributory negligence.

Who are the Three People That You Need to Talk to After a Car Accident?

Motor vehicle accidents are unfortunately quite common in North Carolina. Did you know that there were nearly 275,067 collisions on the roadways of North Carolina in 2017? This figure was up by approximately 9000 from the figure recorded in 2016, and about 40,000 more than the figures recorded from 2012 to 2016.

How to Get Your Motorcycle Ready For the Riding Season?

Who doesn’t love the thrill and adrenaline rush that comes with riding a motorcycle on the wide roads of North Carolina? When the riding season comes near, the excitement indeed goes to a whole other level. But wait! Before you get on the road, we advise you to invest some time and money in making sure that your motorcycle is ready for the riding season. This is because your safety comes first. The last thing you want is to be in an accident because of low motorcycle maintenance and not fully compensated.