Charlotte Injury Lawyers Blog

Experts Say Golf Carts More Dangerous Than They Appear

March 8, 2017 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Charlotte Personal Injury Attorney Matt Arnold answers the question: “What can you sue for in a personal injury case?”

Golf carts are not something most people think about as being dangerous. They generally move pretty slow, aren’t known for their sporty handling and are generally associated with retirement communities and leisurely activities. Despite their seemingly safe reputation, golf carts are proving to be increasingly dangerous, resulting in thousands of injuries each year. Unlike other dangerous forms of transportation, like passenger vehicles or motorcycles, little if any action is taken to make the golf carts safer. Their speed (or lack thereof) means that regulators and other safety officials largely ignore them, often to the detriment of consumers.

Who pays when driverless cars collide?

March 1, 2017 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Charlotte Personal Injury Attorney Matt Arnold answers the question: ” Is a tractor-trailer accident the same as an automobile accident?”

As the idea of autonomous vehicles inches closer to reality, many questions remain to be answered. There are questions about safety and reliability and central to both is the issue of legal liability. Today, when an accident takes place it’s the driver (and his or her insurance company) that is personally on the hook for any damages. Once the driver cedes control to a machine, who becomes liable then? The vehicle’s owner? The vehicle’s manufacturer? The software designer?

Smartphones responsible for rising insurance rates

February 22, 2017 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Charlotte Injury Lawyer Matt Arnold answers the question: “How much time do I have to file a claim for my personal injuries after an accident?”

For those who own automobiles, you’ve likely been met with bad news when you opened your recent renewal letters. Insurance companies say that rates across the country have been on the rise, reversing years of declines. What’s the reason for the increase? Most experts say that there is a clear link between increases in insurance rates and the prevalence of smartphones. The personal electronics are now so commonplace and can be so distracting that the number of auto accidents, injuries and deaths are rising, leading to a corresponding rise in the rate that ordinary people must pay to insure their vehicles.

Major Chemical Companies Announce Settlement for Thousands of Personal Injury Lawsuits

February 14, 2017 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Charlotte Injury Lawyer Matt Arnold answers the question: “How much time do I have to file a claim for my personal injuries after an accident?”

Most people know how to take simple steps to protect their family from harm. Families install smoke detectors and lock their doors. They put child locks on cabinets containing chemicals and other harmful products. The wear their seatbelts. Though all are important, it’s scary to think about how many harms hide just beneath the surface, harms that almost no one can guard against. Two major chemical companies recently announced that they had agreed to settle thousands of cases related to just such a hidden problem.

Slip-and-fall from donkey statue leads to personal injury lawsuit

February 7, 2017 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Charlotte Personal Injury Attorney Matt Arnold answers the question: “Can I post about my injury on Social Media?”

When personal injury cases make it on the front page it’s usually for one of two reasons. Either the case is a true tragedy where victims suffered unimaginable harm, or the case seems ridiculous, serving as an example of a tort system seemingly run amok. When the headlines fall into this latter category it can skew people’s idea of what a personal injury case is. All they see are the silly headlines, lacking entirely in legal analysis or context. Rather than allowing the media to portray every personal injury as if it were assured of success no matter how odd, it’s important to understand that the majority of these cases fail because the law imposes serious burdens that plaintiffs must confront before they’re able to collect damages. Though the news might lead you to believe it’s easy to cash in every time you bump or bruise yourself, the reality is far more difficult.

Minors and Personal Injury Settlements

January 31, 2017 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Charlotte Personal Injury Attorney Matt Arnold answers the question: “Can I post about my injury on Social Media?”

We talk about personal injury cases all the time and something that often goes unstated is that the vast majority of these cases involve adults. Though it might seem that age wouldn’t matter when it comes to resolving personal injury claims, it can actually make quite a big impact. The reason is that minors receive extra protection that adults don’t get, this protection then requires additional legal hurdles to clear before cases can truly be wrapped up. To learn more about minors and personal injury settlements, keep reading.

Sensory Testimony May Be New Trend In Personal Injury Cases

January 24, 2017 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Charlotte Personal Injury Attorney Matt Arnold answers the question: “What can you sue for in a personal injury case?”

There’s a lot of work that goes into preparing a personal injury case for trial. In addition to gathering evidence, talking to witnesses, analyzing medical records and constructing a theory for your case, the lawyer in charge will also need to think through the best way to relay the harm suffered to the judge or jury tasked with awarding damages. All the evidence in the world is of little use if the person deciding your case isn’t able to fully appreciate the extent of the harm suffered. This gap between the pain of the plaintiff and the judge or jury’s ability to understand has long proved problematic in personal injury cases and can make it difficult to secure awards that appropriately value the injuries that occurred.

Landlord Liability for Personal Injury of Tenants

January 17, 2017 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Personal injury Lawyer Matt Arnold answers the question: ” I have been injured on another person’s property. What should I do now?”

Owning rental property can be a great financial move, assuming things go smoothly. If real estate values increase, the tenants pay their rent on time and no one gets hurt, it can be a great way to build assets. The problem, unfortunately, is that things don’t always go so smoothly. Real estate bubbles burst, tenants have to be evicted and people sometimes trip and fall. Though we have little control over the first two issues, there are things that can be done to better understand and prepare for a personal injury lawsuit related to rental property. To learn more about how such tenant injury lawsuits work, keep reading.

In the snow, who is on the hook if someone slips and falls?

January 10, 2017 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Personal injury Lawyer Matt Arnold answers the question: ” I have been injured on another person’s property. What should I do now?”

Given the recent winter weather across not only North Carolina, but 49 of 50 states (Florida is the only one without any snow on the ground, even Hawaii has something), the potential for slipping and falling has increased rather dramatically. Studies have shown that more accidents happen in the winter and property owners are often especially worried about the possibility of someone hurting themselves, fearing liability for the injuries that result from an unsuspecting accident. How does this work when it comes to snow and ice? Are the property owners always on the hook?

Deadly Crash Leads to Manslaughter Charges and Personal Injury Lawsuit Against Apple

January 5, 2017 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Charlotte Personal Injury Attorney Matt Arnold answers the question: “Can I post about my injury on Social Media?”

Everyone knows that drivers today face far more distractions than those decades or even several years ago. Though the cars themselves have grown more distracting, with DVD players, apps, maps and even in-car Wi-Fi, smartphones represent the most common and most alluring distraction to most drivers. The calls, texts, emails, internet, social media and multitude of apps can prove to be too tempting for many people to resist. This has led to an increase in fatal accidents, reversing a long downward trend. On a societal level it’s a problem in need of a solution, but on a personal or familial level it can be devastating.