Matthew R. Arnold of Arnold & Smith, PLLC answers the question “If I am injured in a car accident or at work what should I do?”
When a personal-injury claimant’s case is turned down by a lawyer or law firm because the value of the claim is too low, the claimant has three choices. The claimant can not file a claim at all, can handle the claim on one’s own, or her or she can contract with a so-called “settlement mill” to resolve the claim.
Charlotte Personal Injury Attorney Matthew R. Arnold of Arnold & Smith, PLLC answers the question “Should I trust the insurance adjuster?”
Damages are the dirty little secret in personal injury lawsuits—at least the typical insurance adjuster wants you to feel that way. Sure, the adjuster tells you, the driver who hit you was at fault and his insurance policy covered the accident, but what did you really lose?
Charlotte Personal Injury Attorney Matthew R. Arnold of Arnold & Smith, PLLC answers the question “Can I wait a few months to pursue a personal injury claim?”
A former mayor and Murrieta, California city councilman is facing a personal injury lawsuit brought by four teenage cheerleaders who were injured in a rear end automobile crash on October 16.
The girls allege that the vehicle in which they were riding was struck by a pickup truck being driven by then-Mayor Alan Long. The cheerleaders say Long was drunk when he caused the crash. Long was arrested at the crash scene and was charged with felony drunken driving.
Long’s blood-alcohol content at the time of the crash was .08, according to the Riverside County District Attorney’s office. Officers concluded that Long was impaired after he failed field sobriety tests. Long is due to be arraigned on a charge of driving while under the influence of alcohol causing bodily injury on December 11.
The cheerleaders, who range in age from 14 to 17 and attend Murrieta Valley High School, suffered “severe personal injuries” that necessitated medical treatment and have caused them to incur medical expenses and to lose earnings, according to their lawsuit.
They were waiting to make a left turn at around 8:15 p.m. on October 16 when Long approached from the rear in a full-size pickup truck and plowed into the back of the girls’ car, according to Murrieta police Lieutenant Julie Hoxmeier.
Charlotte Personal Injury Attorney Matthew R. Arnold of Arnold & Smith, PLLC answers the question “What if the accident was my fault?”
Few working Americans can escape the drudgery of commuting to and from work. Fewer still avoid driving altogether, which means that when it comes to American roads, we’re stuck with each other—that means all 200-million licensed American drivers, give or take.
The roads aren’t always wide enough to fit us all in, and as any American driver knows, sometimes things happen on the roadways that slow us down. Sometimes other drivers do things that frustrate or enrage us. And sometimes rage and frustration lead to action.
Our brethren across the pond are not immune to this kind of action, as an incident yesterday in Scotland shows. A 20-year-old man sustained serious facial injuries after he stopped his car in front of a man in a larger car. The man in the larger car got out of his vehicle and assaulted the driver, leaving the young man “badly shaken,” according to the local detective constable.
Closer to home, a Rock Hill, South Carolina man was arrested for leaving the scene of an accident after striking a vehicle and then fleeing onto Interstate 77. The man, Nathan Pait, said the incident started when he honked at the vehicle. Pait said the man in the vehicle “acted like he had a gun,” so Pait got out of his truck and threatened the man with a machete.
Charlotte Personal Injury Attorney Matthew R. Arnold of Arnold & Smith, PLLC answers the question “What exactly is a wrongful death claim?”
No one who has been hurt in an accident wants to hear their suffering was their own fault. No family member wants to hear the death of a loved one was caused by their loved one’s own negligence.
This was exactly the sentiment many car racing fans felt this weekend as they came to terms with the sport’s latest on-track fatality. It was, to be sure, a preventable death. During a race on a dirt track in Canadaigua, New York, something caused 20-year-old racer Kevin Ward’s racecar to spinout. Early reports suggested racer Tony Stewart’s car bumped Ward’s car, causing the spinout; subsequent reports and a review of video of the incident make that conclusion unclear.
What is clear is that after his car spun out, Ward climbed out of his vehicle and walked onto the raceway, appearing to gesture at oncoming racecars, including Stewart’s. In a scene straight out of a horror show, Stewart’s car appeared to collide with Ward, either running him over or sucking him under the car. Ward was then seen lying motionless on the track. The race was immediately called, and emergency technicians could be seen tending to Ward within seconds of the collision, but it was too late. Ward died of his injuries.
The Ontario County Sheriff’s Office continues to investigate the incident. Investigators said a “visibly shaken” Stewart was questioned twice after the incident and fully cooperated with authorities. Sheriff Philip Povero told reporters on Sunday that investigators had no information showing criminal intent, although charges had not yet been ruled out.
Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “If I am injured in a car accident or at work what should I do?”
One person has been charged and another is person is dead after a terrible two-car crash in North Carolina took place earlier this month as a group of friends were heading to a neighborhood cookout. The accident left 22-year-old Jatara Moore dead and six others seriously injured.
Police say the crash happened just before 10 p.m. on Highway 601 in Salisbury, North Carolina. Authorities believe that the two cars involved in the crash were heading in opposite directions when one of the vehicles carrying five people lost control and veered off the road.
The driver of the car that eventually lost control overcorrected and ended up sliding across the road, leading the driver of the oncoming car to smash into the side of the skidding vehicle. Moore was a passenger in the skidding vehicle and her side of the car absorbed the brunt of the impact of the crash. The other car involved in the accident had two occupants at the time it T-boned the out-of-control car.
Emergency responders arrived at the accident scene quickly and found Moore dead, having suffered catastrophic injuries. The driver of her vehicle, a 19-year-old, is being charged with misdemeanor death by vehicle, according to officials with the North Carolina Highway Patrol.
Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “If I am injured in a car accident or at work what should I do?”
In a very sad case, accident investigators in California are saying that Paul Walker, star of the “Fast & Furious” movies, died in a car accident last year due to speeding. Police initially wondered whether drugs or mechanical failure could have been responsible for the actor’s death, but recently confirmed that it was simply speed, a common though deadly mistake made by drivers across the country.
According to an official announcement by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office, investigators say they determined the cause of the deadly single-car accident was that the vehicle was traveling at unsafe speeds for the road conditions. Walker died while a friend was driving between 80 and 93 miles per hour on a stretch of road that had a listed speed limit of only 45 miles per hour.
This isn’t the first time officials have noted the potentially deadly role played by speeding in the actor’s death. Last year the coroner’s report noted the kinds of injuries seen on the bodies of those involved in the accident typically occur when vehicles crash after going more than 100 miles per hour.
The case highlights just how dangerous speeding can be, even in cases where drivers appear to do everything else right. The final accident report showed that neither Walker nor his friend had drugs or alcohol in their systems. In addition, both were wearing their seat belts and their airbags deployed exactly as they should have. Nothing mechanically went wrong to cause the accident. It was simply speeding.
Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “Can I wait a few months to pursue a personal injury claim?”
A terrible accident in Charlotte left one man dead and another person severely injured. According to officials with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, the accident happened around three in the afternoon last Monday. The wreck occurred on the 5600 block of West Boulevard near the intersection with Arff Road.
Authorities say that the driver of a ’79 Pontiac Grand Prix was traveling towards town along West Boulevard when he lost control of his car. The Pontiac then crossed out of its lane and into the path of an oncoming Nissan Xterra driven by Marco Cesped. Given the position of both vehicles, Cesped’s Xterra ended up T-boning the Pontiac.
Tragically, the driver of the Pontiac was ejected from the car, causing extensive and traumatic injuries. The force of the crash was so severe that the Pontiac’s gas tank ruptured and caught on fire, eventually burning some nearby brush as well as the driver of the Pontiac.
Emergency responders say they arrived on the scene quickly and rushed the driver of the Pontiac to a local hospital by helicopter, but it was too late and the man succumbed to his injuries shortly after arriving at the hospital. Police have not yet released the victim’s name.
Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “What can you sue for in a personal injury case?”
A terrible early morning accident in Huntersville, North Carolina left one person dead and two others seriously injured. Emergency responders say that the accident happened a little after 5:45 a.m. on Eastfield Road, south of Prosperity Church Road.
According to police officers, the road had to be closed for several hours while detectives and other investigators examined the accident scene. Police say the accident was a head-on collision and that the force of the accident killed the driver of one vehicle and sent two other passengers to Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte for treatment.
Though police officers are still attempting to uncover the cause of the accident, the reality is that the early morning is a notoriously dangerous time to be on the road. Though the hours between 4 and 6 a.m. account for a relatively small number of fatal accidents, that is mainly due to the dramatically lower traffic out at those hours. When you examine the percentage of fatal accidents, the early morning becomes far more deadly by comparison.
Experts say there are several reasons for danger. First, poor visibility is to blame for some fatal early morning accidents. Very early it might still be dark out, making it harder to see the lines of the pavement or objects in the roadway. As it begins to get lighter, the early morning sun can blind drivers, making it difficult to safely focus on the road in front of them. Additionally, things like fog are also more common in the early morning and can contribute to accidents.
Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “If I am injured in a car accident or at work what should I do?”
North Carolina Highway Patrol says that a young woman in Aberdeen died after an accident that officials say was likely caused by slick and snowy roads. The fatal wreck happened in Moore County earlier this week on Sand Pit Road.
Emergency responders say that the 23-year-old woman, Breanna Tile, was a passenger in the car driven by 24-year-old Viacente Gonzalez. According to the police report, the vehicle driven by Gonzalez drifted off the snow-covered road and slammed into a pine tree. Tile died at the scene of the accident while Gonzalez was taken to a regional hospital for treatment of his injuries.
Though police investigators say that the snow likely played a role in the accident, there’s a chance that the driver will face criminal charges. In another similar accident, police say that the driver of a 1996 Ford will face misdemeanor charges after a Chatham County accident left a passenger dead. Police say that the driver is facing charges related to exceeding a safe speed.
That accident took place a little after 1 p.m. on Silk Road Wednesday afternoon. Miguel Caseres was driving the Ford down a snowy road when it crossed over the centerline and collided head-on with a 1999 Chevrolet. A passenger in the Chevy was killed in the accident, though the passenger’s name has not yet been released.
Charlotte Injury Lawyers Blog