Timeline Of A Personal Injury Case In Hickory, NC

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Timeline Of A Personal Injury Case In Hickory, NC

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Suppose you are injured in a car accident or motorcycle accident in Hickory, North Carolina.

In that case, you may have decided that you need to hire a lawyer to help you receive compensation for your losses. Most people who hire a personal injury lawyer have never been involved in a legal case before and have no idea what the process entails. The entire experience can be daunting, as you are not only trying to recover from your injuries, but you are trying to understand what lies on the road ahead regarding your case. We are here to help break down exactly what to expect if you find yourself in a situation where you have hired a personal injury lawyer due to a car accident or motorcycle accident.

Timeline

  1. Accident Causes Injury
  2. Medical Treatment
  3. Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer
  4. Lawyer Investigates Claim and Gathers Medical Records
  5. Demand Settlement from Insurance Company
  6. Lawsuit is Filed
  7. Discovery
  8. Mediation
  9. Trial
  1. Accident Causes Injury

You were driving your car down 2nd St SW heading to Olde Hickory Station for lunch when someone rear-ends you. You immediately feel pain in your neck and back after the crash. You exchange information with the at-fault driver, call the Hickory Police Department, and a police report is made. Your car is not driveable, and your neck and back are in severe pain, so you are taken by ambulance by Catawba County EMS and transported to Frye Regional Medical Center. 

2. Medical Treatment

You are treated at Frye Regional Medical Center and discharged with a prescription for pain killers and muscle relaxers and told to follow up if the pain does not subside in a few days. You follow up with a chiropractor and, after three months, are released as the pain has resolved. Be sure to take photographs of any bruising you experienced, as these will be valuable for your case. In addition, do not wait to follow up with a medical provider after you are released from the Emergency Room. Insurance companies often try to deny your claim if you wait too long between discharge from the ER and follow-up treatment. 

3. Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer

It is never too soon to consult with a personal injury lawyer after being involved in a car accident or motorcycle accident. You may think you need to wait until you have completed medical treatment before you consult a lawyer, or you may even want to negotiate with the insurance company on your own. But, those who hire a lawyer in a personal injury case receive a 3.5 times larger settlement than those who don’t, according to a study by the Insurance Research Council.

When you meet with a Hickory personal injury lawyer, the lawyer can assess your case and determine whether they can represent you. If the lawyer accepts your case, you will sign a contingency fee contract, which means you do not pay any fees upfront. The lawyer works on your case and earns their fee once the case settles. Make sure you speak to your lawyer about how they calculate fees and the time frame of your specific case.

4. Lawyer Investigates Claim and Gathers Medical Records

Once you have retained your lawyer, they will begin investigating your case.

Your lawyer will interview you about what happened, about your background, any prior accidents or injuries you have suffered from, and any prior medical conditions you may have. They will also want to know where you are receiving your medical treatment for the injuries you suffered from in your case.

Your lawyer will also want photos of the vehicles involved in the crash and pictures of any injuries you sustained. Images help to tell the whole picture about your crash. Your lawyer will request a copy of the police report as well. 

Once you have completed your medical treatment, your lawyer will request all medical records and bills. If you have lost wages due to the crash, your lawyer will ask you and your employer to complete a lost wage affidavit to support your lost wages.

5. Demand Settlement from Insurance Company

Once you have completed your medical treatment and your lawyer has obtained the necessary documentation to support your claim, your lawyer will send what’s called a Demand package to the at-fault driver’s insurance company. The Demand package will contain the police report, all of your medical records and bills, photographs, and proof of lost wages. 

Once the insurance adjuster reviews the Demand package, negotiations can begin. At that point, your lawyer will advise you on any offers that the insurance adjuster makes and will discuss the pros and cons of accepting the offer. Your lawyer will also discuss the cost/benefit analysis of whether it is better to accept the settlement on the table versus filing a lawsuit. Typically, your lawyer’s fee will increase if a lawsuit must be filed, and you will incur additional case expenses. Each case is different, and your lawyer should explain the pros and cons before you decide to settle.

6. Lawsuit Is Filed

If your case cannot be settled because the insurance company is not offering full value to settle the case, the next step would be to file a lawsuit. In North Carolina, you must file a personal injury lawsuit within three years of the injury or accident. 

A lawsuit is initiated when your lawyer drafts and files a Complaint in the county where the incident occurred, or where at least one of the defendants resides, or where you reside. The next step is getting a Summons issued to have the Complaint and any corresponding written discovery, such as Interrogatories, Requests for Production, and Request to Admit, served on the defendant. Once the defendant is served, they must file an Answer to the Complaint within 30 days.

A common question asked by clients once a lawsuit has been filed is, how long will this take? In North Carolina, the court system tells us that ideally, from commencing a lawsuit until ultimate resolution, it can take up to one year.

7. Discovery

Discovery is the part of litigation where each side investigates the other party’s legal claims and defenses. The North Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure allow each party to serve written discovery upon each other. Written discovery consists of:

  1. Interrogatories (a list of no more than 50 questions to be answered by the party about themselves and the case)
  2. Requests for Production (questions requesting the party produce documents related to the claim and defenses)
  3. Requests for Admission (questions requesting the truth of any statements or documents). Your lawyer will assist you in answering the written discovery.

Once written discovery is complete, the parties will move onto oral discovery, i.e., taking depositions. Your lawyer will prepare you for your deposition before it taking place. A deposition is the only chance the defense attorney has to ask you questions about your case before trial. A court reporter is present, and you give an oath to tell the truth. After your deposition has is complete, your attorney will depose the defendant and any witnesses to the accident. After party depositions and lay witness depositions have been taken, your doctors will likely be deposed regarding their care and treatment of you related to the accident. In addition, depending on the case, each side may retain various expert witnesses, who will also be deposed. These expert witnesses can vary from accident reconstructionists to medical experts.

8. Mediation

Once all discovery is complete for your case, the parties will set a mediation date. Mediation is mandatory in North Carolina. Mediation is a process in which the parties agree to a mediator (typically an attorney or retired judge) in an effort to settle the case. 

Mediations typically occur at the plaintiff’s lawyer’s office in various conference rooms. However, due to COVID, mediations have been successfully held virtually as well. In any format, the goal of mediation is to get the case settled. At mediation, the parties start together in the same room. Each side presents an opening statement about the case, and then the parties break up into separate rooms for negotiations. The mediator goes back and forth between rooms, conveys offers and demands, and attempts to settle the case.

9. Trial

If the parties cannot agree to a settlement at mediation, the final phase of the case is trial. At trial, all evidence gathered through discovery will be presented to a jury to decide what constitutes the full and fair value of the case. 

Trial is a risk because twelve jurors ultimately need to agree on a verdict, and you cannot predict what people will decide. Your attorney may conduct focus groups, essentially presenting your case to a group of people in the county where your case will be tried, to better ascertain what a jury may think about liability or damages.

Your lawyer should sit down with you before deciding to go to trial and thoroughly explain the process and cost-benefit analysis before you make that decision.

If you have questions about the timeline of your personal injury case or car accident case in Hickory, NC, please do not hesitate to contact The Law Offices of Jason E. Taylor, P.C. Our experienced attorneys are here to assist you.

120 3rd St NE
Hickory, NC 28601

Phone: (828) 327-9004
Toll Free: (800) 351-3008

 

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120 3rd St NE
Hickory, NC 28601

Phone: (828) 327-9004
Toll Free: (800) 351-3008

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Charlotte, NC 28204

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Hickory Injury Lawyers & Attorneys at Law

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Updated March 28, 2025

The Law Offices of Jason E. Taylor is providing notice of an event that may affect certain individuals’ information. Although we have no indication of identity theft or fraud in relation to this event, we are providing information about the event, our response, and additional measures individuals can take to help protect their information, should they feel it appropriate to do so.

What Happened? On October 28, 2024, The Law Offices of Jason E. Taylor identified suspicious activity related to our email system. We quickly took steps to investigate and determined that an unknown actor may have accessed certain emails within our email system between August 7 and November 7, 2024. We then conducted a comprehensive review of the potentially affected emails and attachments to determine what information was contained therein and to whom the information related, which was completed on February 25, 2025. Unfortunately, we were unable to verify the addresses of certain affected individuals, so we are providing this notice to ensure potentially affected individuals receive information about the event.

What Information Was Involved? The information affected may include individuals’ Social Security number, driver’s license and state ID information, financial account number, and health information.

What We Are Doing. We are notifying individuals about this matter and providing guidance about free resources that are available to assist with monitoring relevant accounts, credit reports, and how to place a fraud alert or security freeze on one’s credit file. Further, as with our typical security practices, we will continue to evaluate our policies, procedures, staff training, and technical security measures to reduce the likelihood of an event like this reoccurring.

What Individuals Can Do. We encourage you to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft and fraud by reviewing your account statements and monitoring your free credit reports for suspicious activity and to detect errors. We also recommend you review the below “Steps Individuals Can Take To Help Protect Personal Information”.

For More Information. If individuals have questions about this matter, we have a dedicated assistance line with agents ready to answer their questions. Please contact our toll-free dedicated assistance line at 1-800-939-4170, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. through 9 p.m., excluding holidays. You may also write to us at The Law Offices of Jason E. Taylor, Attn: Compliance, P.O. Box 2688, Hickory, NC 28603.

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STEPS INDIVIDUALS CAN TAKE TO HELP PROTECT PERSONAL INFORMATION

Monitor Your Accounts

Under U.S. law, a consumer is entitled to one free credit report annually from each of the three major credit reporting bureaus, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. To order a free credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call, toll-free, 1-877-322-8228. Consumers may also directly contact the three major credit reporting bureaus listed below to request a free copy of their credit report.

Consumers have the right to place an initial or extended “fraud alert” on a credit file at no cost. An initial fraud alert is a 1-year alert that is placed on a consumer’s credit file. Upon seeing a fraud alert display on a consumer’s credit file, a business is required to take steps to verify the consumer’s identity before extending new credit. If consumers are the victim of identity theft, they are entitled to an extended fraud alert, which is a fraud alert lasting seven years. Should consumers wish to place a fraud alert, please contact any of the three major credit reporting bureaus listed below.

As an alternative to a fraud alert, consumers have the right to place a “credit freeze” on a credit report, which will prohibit a credit bureau from releasing information in the credit report without the consumer’s express authorization. The credit freeze is designed to prevent credit, loans, and services from being approved in a consumer’s name without consent. However, consumers should be aware that using a credit freeze to take control over who gets access to the personal and financial information in their credit report may delay, interfere with, or prohibit the timely approval of any subsequent request or application they make regarding a new loan, credit, mortgage, or any other account involving the extension of credit. Pursuant to federal law, consumers cannot be charged to place or lift a credit freeze on their credit report. To request a credit freeze, individuals may need to provide some or all of the following information:

1. Full name (including middle initial as well as Jr., Sr., II, III, etc.);
2. Social Security number;
3. Date of birth;
4. Addresses for the prior two to five years;
5. Proof of current address, such as a current utility bill or telephone bill;
6. A legible photocopy of a government-issued identification card (state driver’s license or ID card, etc.); and
7. A copy of either the police report, investigative report, or complaint to a law enforcement agency concerning identity theft if they are a victim of identity theft.

Should consumers wish to place a credit freeze or fraud alert, please contact the three major credit reporting bureaus listed below:

Equifax Experian TransUnion
https://www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services/ https://www.experian.com/help/

https://www.transunion.com/credit-help
1-888-298-0045 1-888-397-3742 1-800-916-8800
Equifax Fraud Alert, P.O. Box 105069 Atlanta, GA 30348-5069 Experian Fraud Alert, P.O. Box 9554, Allen, TX 75013 TransUnion Fraud Alert, P.O. Box 2000, Chester, PA 19016
Equifax Credit Freeze, P.O. Box 105788 Atlanta, GA 30348-5788 Experian Credit Freeze, P.O. Box 9554, Allen, TX 75013 TransUnion Credit Freeze, P.O. Box 160, Woodlyn, PA 19094

Additional Information

Consumers may further educate themselves regarding identity theft, fraud alerts, credit freezes, and the steps they can take to protect their personal information by contacting the consumer reporting bureaus, the Federal Trade Commission, or their state attorney general. The Federal Trade Commission may be reached at: 600 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20580; www.identitytheft.gov; 1-877-ID-THEFT (1-877-438-4338); and TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The Federal Trade Commission also encourages those who discover that their information has been misused to file a complaint with them. Consumers can obtain further information on how to file such a complaint by way of the contact information listed above. Consumers have the right to file a police report if they ever experience identity theft or fraud. Please note that in order to file a report with law enforcement for identity theft, consumers will likely need to provide some proof that they have been a victim. Instances of known or suspected identity theft should also be reported to law enforcement and the relevant state attorney general. This notice has not been delayed by law enforcement.

For District of Columbia residents, the District of Columbia Attorney General may be contacted at: 400 6th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001; 1-202-442-9828; and oag.dc.gov.

For Maryland residents, the Maryland Attorney General may be contacted at: 200 St. Paul Place, 16th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202; 1-410-576-6300 or 1-888-743-0023; and https://www.marylandattorneygeneral.gov/.

For New Mexico residents, consumers have rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, such as the right to be told if information in their credit file has been used against them, the right to know what is in their credit file, the right to ask for their credit score, and the right to dispute incomplete or inaccurate information. Further, pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the consumer reporting bureaus must correct or delete inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable information; consumer reporting agencies may not report outdated negative information; access to consumers’ files is limited; consumers must give consent for credit reports to be provided to employers; consumers may limit “prescreened” offers of credit and insurance based on information in their credit report; and consumers may seek damages from violators. Consumers may have additional rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act not summarized here. Identity theft victims and active-duty military personnel have specific additional rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act. We encourage consumers to review their rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act by visiting www.consumerfinance.gov/f/201504_cfpb_summary_your-rights-under-fcra.pdf, or by writing Consumer Response Center, Room 130-A, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20580.

For New York residents, the New York Attorney General may be contacted at: Office of the Attorney General, The Capitol, Albany, NY 12224-0341; 1-800-771-7755; or https://ag.ny.gov.

For North Carolina residents, the North Carolina Attorney General may be contacted at: 9001 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-9001; 1-877-566-7226 or 1-919-716-6000; and www.ncdoj.gov.

For Rhode Island residents, the Rhode Island Attorney General may be reached at: 150 South Main Street, Providence, RI 02903; 1-401-274-4400; and www.riag.ri.gov. Under Rhode Island law, individuals have the right to obtain any police report filed in regard to this event.
STEPS INDIVIDUALS CAN TAKE TO HELP PROTECT A MINOR DEPENDENT’S PERSONAL INFORMATION

Typically, credit reporting agencies do not have a credit report in a minor’s name. To find out if a minor has a credit report or to request a manual search for a minor’s Social Security number each credit bureau has its own process. To learn more about these processes or request these services, consumers may contact the credit bureaus by phone, writing, or online:
Equifax Experian TransUnion
https://www.equifax.com/personal/help/article-list/-/h/a/request-child-credit-report/
https://www.experian.com/help/minor-request.html
https://www.transunion.com/fraud-victim-resources/child-identity-theft

1-800-685-1111 1-888-397-3742 1-800-916-8800
P.O. Box 105788
Atlanta, GA 30348-5788 P.O. Box 9554
Allen, TX 75013 P.O. Box 2000
Chester, PA 19016

To request information about the existence of a credit file in a minor’s name, search for a minor’s Social Security number, place a security freeze or fraud alert on a minor’s credit report (if one exists), or request a copy of a minor’s credit report consumers may be required to provide the following information:
● A copy of their driver’s license or another government issued identification card, such as a state identification card, etc.;
● Proof of address, such as a copy of a bank statement, utility bill, insurance statement, etc.;
● A copy of the minor’s birth certificate;
● A copy of the minor’s Social Security card;
● The minor’s full name, including middle initial and generation, such as JR, SR, II, III, etc.;
● The minor’s date of birth; and
● The minor’s previous addresses for the past two years.

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