Charlotte Injury Lawyers Blog

Toyota Finally Reaches Settlement In Sudden Acceleration Case :: Personal Injury Attorneys and Lawyers in Charlotte, NC

July 18, 2013 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “What can you sue for in a personal injury case?”

Though the issue may have slipped the minds of many people, the Toyota sudden acceleration case is back in the news as a federal judge this week finally approved a $1.6 billion settlement with the automaker. The approval was formally announced Friday in a major class-action lawsuit filed against Toyota.

The suit was filed to ensure that vehicle owners who suffered financial harm due to the recall were compensated. The settlement means that anyone who sold their vehicle at a loss through trade-in and resale programs will receive money from Toyota, a number ranging anywhere between $125 and $10,000, depending on the amount of depreciation.

The settlement marks the end of one major string of lawsuits against Toyota that began in in 2010. However, the recent settlement does not represent the end of all litigation surrounding the sudden acceleration issue meaning Toyota still faces potential billions more in payouts. The recent settlement does not cover those who suffered injuries or died as a result of the defect, likely even more expensive cases.

Another part of the settlement agreement means that Toyota will have to install safety upgrades in 3.2 million vehicles. The company will also create two $250 million funds to pay owners who are not eligible for safety upgrades and those who sold their cars at a loss. The terms of the settlement agreement also means that Toyota will pay $30 million for automotive safety research regarding unintended acceleration. Finally, the company agreed to create a special customer service program that allows eligible Toyota owners to have free repairs on certain parts for the next 10 years.

North Carolina Carbon Monoxide Deaths Receive Continued Scrutiny :: Personal Injury Attorneys and Lawyers in Charlotte, NC

July 16, 2013 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “What exactly is a wrongful death claim?”

Police have revealed that they are continuing to investigate the Boone, NC hotel where three people have died of carbon monoxide poisoning. The deaths, which occurred separately across several months, all happened in the exact same hotel room at the Best Western Plus Blue Ridge Plaza. Authorities say they are also turning their attention towards two other hotels owned by the company because employees and equipment were shared between the businesses and police wonder whether other carbon monoxide issues might be present in those properties as well.

The case began when a couple from Washington State, Daryl and Shirley Jenkins, died on April 16th of what police later revealed was carbon monoxide poisoning. Despite the unusual cause of the death the hotel was never closed and continued placing guests in the exact same room, all without taking any action to correct the problem that led to the dangerously high carbon monoxide levels.

Two months later, on June 8th, an 11-year-old boy from Rock Hill, SC died and his mother was hospitalized in serious condition, both from carbon monoxide poisoning. The woman, Jeannie Williams, is still recovering from her injuries and according to her brother-in-law continues to walk with a walker while trying to regain complete use of her arms and legs.

The hotel has since been closed to all guests while the investigation continues. So far early reports indicate that a faulty pool heater may be to blame for the high levels of carbon monoxide in the room. Authorities have turned their attention to the Sleep Inn and the Country Inns & Suites, both in Boone and both owned by the same family and hotel management company. Police say they expect their investigation to continue throughout the month of July, at which point they say they will turn over all the evidence they gathered to the district attorney to consider filing criminal charges.

Two North Carolina Women Die In Head-On Accident :: Personal Injury Attorneys and Lawyers in Charlotte, NC

July 11, 2013 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “What if the accident was my fault?”

Police in North Carolina say two women were killed in a head-on accident in Perquimans County early this weekend. According to news reports, the accident took place early in the morning on Friday.

The names of the two women have not yet been released as authorities say they are still trying to notify their families. According to reports, a man crossed the center lane of Harvey Point Road near the intersection of Burgess Road and slammed into the oncoming car carrying the two women.

The man, whose name has also not yet been released, was taken to the Vidant Medical Center in Greenville for treatment of serious injuries. Police say they are still investigating what may have caused the fatal accident and are considering filing criminal charges against the male driver for failing to maintain control of his vehicle.

Head-on accidents are just what they sound like when the front of a car, truck or motorcycle slams into the front of another motor vehicle. Such accidents are generally serious and have a higher rate of causing fatalities than other crashes, with the exception of rollover accidents. In 2005, only two percent of all car accidents were head-on collisions but they accounted for 10 percent of fatal accidents.

Ocean Isle Beach Deck Collapse Injures 20 Vacationers :: Personal Injury Attorneys and Lawyers in Charlotte, NC

July 9, 2013 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “May I choose my own doctor in a person injury case?”

Terrible news hit papers this week as reports surfaced of a deck collapse at an oceanfront condo located in Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina. The collapse occurred while some 25 people were gathered on the second-story deck watching the sun go down over the water.

Authorities say the deck collapse resulted in serious injuries to 20 people, one so severe the person had to be taken by helicopter to a hospital in Wilmington. Police say the injuries include broken arms, legs and ankles as well as serious cuts to the face and body. According to early reports, the condo is privately owned but used as a rental property and was rented to a couple that had friends over for the holiday weekend.

Officials say they are investigating exactly what happened and what may have led to the deck collapse, but early reports indicate that it may simply have been too much weight. When the second-story deck collapsed it gave way and fell 12 feet onto the concrete patio below. In many deck collapse cases, weight, structural insecurity, bug infestations and poor maintenance contribute to the collapse.

Local authorities, including the mayor, Debbie Smith, have said that the recent deck collapse should serve as a reason to spur a change in laws regarding deck safety. Smith says she has been fighting for years to make more stringent building standards for oceanfront decks, saying that the decks in seaside communities like Ocean Isle are frequently used by large groups and need to be stronger to reflect that increased use. Smith says that while local governments have tried to increase building codes, they have frequently found themselves stymied by North Carolina state law, which has much looser definitions for what constitutes a safe deck.

Safety Advocates Hope New Trucking Regulations Improve Safety :: Personal Injury Attorneys and Lawyers in Charlotte, NC

June 20, 2013 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “Is a tractor-trailer accident the same as an automobile accident?”

Some long-awaited safety restrictions created by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) were implemented earlier this week to the acclaim of safety advocates who hope they reduce the number of deadly trucking accidents each year. The new guidelines were implemented as of July 1, 2013 and lower the amount of time truck drivers are allowed to be behind the wheel every day.

The hope is that the hours-of-service changes lead to less exhausted commercial vehicle drivers, which in turns leads to safer highways for the rest of us. The regulations were initially proposed in 2011 after outcry about the dangers of tired driving among truckers. Study after study has shown how dangerous fatigue can be for commercial vehicle operators, with one survey by the NTSB showing that as many as 30 percent of all tractor-trailer crashes could be related to driver fatigue.

The issue in the trucking industry has always been that drivers have a direct financial incentive to work as long as possible. Their bonuses are tied to delivery times and the best way to get a load dropped off on schedule is to push yourself to drive around the clock. While this can increase efficiency it dramatically increases the chance that a driver will be involved in an accident. Given that truckers have such clear financial motivation to drive for as long as possible, it’s essential that the government create strict limits on work hours to protect innocent motorists from harm.

North Carolina Rail Safety Summit Convened After Huge Spike In Deaths :: Personal Injury Attorneys and Lawyers in Charlotte, NC

June 18, 2013 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “Can I wait a few months to pursue a personal injury claim?”

The number of deadly train accidents across North Carolina has increased dramatically so far in 2013 and state safety officials are eager to come up with a solution to end the escalating problem. To help with that, a rail safety summit took place late last month with railroad officials, government workers, police officers and public safety advocates.

The numbers so far this year clearly demonstrate the problem: so far 15 people in North Carolina have died in train-related accidents. In all of 2012 there were only 18 train-related fatalities. Authorities say most of the deaths were due to pedestrians who were on railroad tracks, meaning they trespassed onto land that the railroad operators control. Nine out of the 15 deaths have involved such trespassers, something law enforcement officials are struggling to deal with.

Police say if someone is caught trespassing on a railroad’s right-of-way that person can be charged with a misdemeanor, but this has not appeared to prevent people from continuing to trespass. Experts say the reason for the trespassing varies, some people are just bored and out for a walk, others are trying to tempt fate while others were taking what they thought was an uneventful jog.

Those deaths that do not involve pedestrians are typically caused because drivers either disregard or never noticed warnings at railroad crossings. In some cases, rushed drivers attempt to cross already lowered crossing gates thinking they can beat the oncoming train. The state Transportation Secretary, Tony Tata, says that drivers need to understand that it’s far better to wait a few minutes than to never arrive at all.

Charlotte, NC Driver Charged After Rush Hour Accident :: Personal Injury Attorneys and Lawyers in Charlotte, NC

June 13, 2013 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “What can you sue for in a personal injury case?”

A Charlotte woman was injured after a car accident that took place earlier this week during the afternoon rush hour on I-485. The accident, which took place just after 6:30 p.m., happened along the I-485 outer loop between Providence Road and Rea Road.

North Carolina Highway Patrol has said that a 26-year-old driver, Kathleen Thomas was driving along I-485 when she pressed her brakes and lost control of her vehicle. Her car then spun out, crossed the median, clipped one vehicle and was ultimately hit by an oncoming SUV.

Charlotte emergency responders say it took the Fire Department a substantial amount of time to extract the woman from her smashed vehicle. Thomas was taken to the hospital for treatment of injuries including a fractured pelvis and leg injuries. The driver of the SUV, who has not yet been identified, was also injured in the accident.

Police say that since the accident they have charged Thomas with reckless driving and DWI. An investigation after the wreck turned up six different medications in Thomas’ car which led to the impaired driving charges.

Though many drivers may not realize it, the problem of impaired driving is not limited to alcohol. Driving under the influence of prescription drugs raises many of the same concerns given that powerful medication can act on the brain to impair a person’s motor skills, reaction time and judgment. Drugged driving is a public health concern because it puts not only the driver at risk, but also passengers and others who share the road.

Head-On Accident In Charlotte Leaves One Dead And Two Others Injured :: Personal Injury Attorneys and Lawyers in Charlotte, NC

June 11, 2013 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “What exactly is a wrongful death claim?”

Just last week one person died and two others were killed in a tragic accident on the north side of Charlotte. According to a spokesperson with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, a 19-year-old woman was driving a 1996 Ford Mustang when she collided with an oncoming 1994 Chrysler Lebaron. The accident took place on the 8300 block of Beatties Ford Road around 9 a.m.

Investigators say that they are still trying to reconstruct the accident, but it appears as if the driver of the Mustang drove her car over the centerline and into oncoming traffic, hitting the Chrysler directly head-on. Police say they still do not know what may have led the driver to drift out of her lane, but are looking into various possibilities including distracted driving. Authorities say they are able to rule out alcohol, but continue to pursue other leads.

When emergency medical responders arrived at the accident scene they pronounced the passenger in the Chrysler dead. The driver of the Chrysler was taken by ambulance to Carolina’s Medical Center for treatment of life-threatening injuries. The teenage driver of the Mustang was taken to Carolina’s Medical Center by helicopter given the severity of her injuries.

Police say that once the driver of the Mustang is released from the hospital they will arrest and charge her with misdemeanor death by vehicle.

North Carolina Legislature Moves Towards Speed Limit Increase :: Personal Injury Attorneys and Lawyers in Charlotte, NC

June 6, 2013 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “What if the medical condition improves before the hearing?”

The North Carolina legislature is moving ahead with a plan that would allow some state highways to increase speed limits to 75 miles per hour.

The House Transportation Committee voted earlier this week to allow the bill from the Senate to move forward. The legislation would permit the Department of Transportation to set speed limits higher than the current 70 mile per hour limit on some sections of interstate and highway. The legislation says that only those sections that engineers deem capable of handling the higher speed will be changed.

Though specific segments of road were not named in the bill, the committee members in the House discussed certain rural stretches of I-40 in eastern North Carolina. If the bill is passed, North Carolina would become the second state on the East Coast to have a speed limit of 75 miles per hour on certain highways in the state.

The bill has already passed the full Senate and now that it has moved through the House Transportation Committee the next stop will be the full House floor. Though the legislation did pass the committee, some legislators have expressed concern about whether the measure might lead to increase highway accidents and thus increased traffic fatalities.

The current maximum speed limit on North Carolina highways is 70 miles per hour. Some safety advocates worry that increasing the speed limit to 75 miles per hour could create a serious safety hazard since most drivers tend to travel faster than the speed limit posted on highways. They argue that if the state increases the speed limit, it will mean that drivers will be driving even faster than they already do, increasing the risk of being in a potentially deadly car accident.

Two North Carolina Construction Workers Injured In Cary, NC :: Personal Injury Attorneys and Lawyers in Charlotte, NC

June 4, 2013 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “Can my employer fire me because I filed a workers’ compensation claim?”

A construction accident in Cary, North Carolina left two workers seriously injured and regulators launching an investigation into the safety of the construction site. The accident took place on the 6100 block of Tryon Road in Cary, NC.

Police say that at the time of the accident a truck was being used to pour concrete onto a proposed greenway track. Witnesses say that a little before 7:30 in the morning the concrete pumping truck toppled over. Investigators say it is not clear what might have caused the accident, but they believe it might have something to do with the support arms of the truck. Authorities say that the support arms of the concrete pumping truck appeared to have sunk into the soft ground in front of it, which caused the truck to come unbalanced.

The machinery is owned by Concrete & Material Placement, a company located in Charlotte. Authorities say that two construction workers were injured due to the truck toppling over. One worker was knocked off a wall by the fall support arm while another man had his torso stuck between two sections of metal. Both workers were transported to WakeMed for treatment of their injuries.

Working on a construction site is one of the most dangerous jobs in the U.S. Every year the construction industry in North Carolina sees a large number of workplace deaths. Thankfully this case did not end so tragically, though the two men did suffer serious injuries that will take time to recover from.