car accident

Involved in a Hit and Run? Here is What to do

October 31, 2018 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Charlotte Injury Lawyer Matt Arnold answers the question: “What happens if the at-fault driver doesn’t have insurance?”

With so many cars on the road, it is not surprising that traffic accidents are a common occurrence. Studies show that the number of car crashes in North Carolina is increasing. This includes the number of hit and run accidents. A hit and run accident is just as it sounds – after a car crash, a car flees the scene of an accident. Being involved in a car accident can result in serious injuries. When a driver flees the scene of a car accident, it becomes more difficult for any injured victims to get justice.

How to Value a Personal Injury Claim

September 12, 2018 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Charlotte Injury Lawyer Matt Arnold answers the question: “Do I have to pay taxes on a settlement or jury award in a personal injury case?”

Anyone who has been injured in any way knows how difficult it can be to recover. From a minor injury to a major injury, the healing process can cause many inconveniences in daily life. For some injuries sustained, an injured party can file a personal injury suit to recover damages for medical bills, lost wages, and more. In North Carolina, a personal injury suit is filed on the basis of negligence. When another person is negligent and that negligence results in damages to you, there is the possibility to recover for those damages. Many people know that they can recover damages for injuries, but are unsure where those damages come from. How are personal injury suits valued? The following are the ways in which the monetary value of a personal injury claim can be determined.

What Type of Doctor Should I See Following an Accident?

August 29, 2018 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Charlotte Personal Injury Attorney Matt Arnold answers the question: “May I choose my own doctor in a personal injury case?”

Whether you have been in a car accident, truck accident, bike accident, or a pedestrian accident injuries often result. After an accident, there is the possibility of filing a personal injury suit to recoup damages that resulted because of the injury. A successful personal injury suit needs injuries of the plaintiff to be substantiated by a doctor. There are so many different doctors out there, who should you see?

‘Safety Driver’ Allegedly Watching Hulu During Car Crash

July 4, 2018 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Charlotte Personal Injury Attorney Matt Arnold answers the question: “What exactly is a wrongful death claim?”

While testing out their new self-driving cars, Uber became the center of some controversy. The self-driving car struck a pedestrian and killed her. There was a ‘safety driver’ in the vehicle, but the driver did not prevent this or intervene to stop the crash, according to The Verge. One of the biggest questions surrounding this scandal is why the driver did not intervene when she should have seen a person crossing the road.

Appeals Court Says Insurance Company’s Bad Faith Could Prove Costly

February 14, 2018 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Charlotte Personal Injury Attorney Matt Arnold answers the question: “The insurance company wants to send me to their own doctor for a second opinion. Do I have to go?”

Anyone who has ever been involved in a car accident likely understands how frustrating it can be dealing with an insurance company. The adjusters understand that their job is to settle any claim for as little money as possible. This is why so many injured individuals turn to personal injury attorneys for assistance, discovering that attempts to resolve their issue alone often go nowhere. A recent case in Florida demonstrates just how difficult insurance companies can be. Unlike many examples, this one has a slight silver lining, with the insurance company now facing serious potential liability due to its poor treatment of the injured victim.

Court Tosses Injury Suit Due To Insurance Fraud

December 13, 2017 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Charlotte Personal Injury Attorney Matt Arnold answers the question: “The insurance company wants to send me to their own doctor for a second opinion. Do I have to go?”

Many people may not think that the status of their insurance has anything to do with their ability to bring a personal injury case following a car accident. After all, a car crash and the liability of the parties involved has little, if anything, to do with the particulars of the underlying insurance policy. A judge in New Jersey clearly disagreed with such reasoning and in an interesting recent personal injury case, ruled that faulty insurance was enough to get a lawsuit tossed out of court. To learn more about why the insurance flaws were seen as fundamental to the personal injury case, keep reading.

Georgia Injury Case Holds Employer Liable For Contractor’s Actions

September 13, 2017 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

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

A terrible case in Georgia appears to have resulted in a massive penalty for one of the country’s largest rental car companies, Avis. The case shows that though corporations often try and evade liability by labeling contractors as “independent”, this trick is not entirely effective in eliminating legal risk, even for companies as large and wealthy as Avis.

Guardrails Under Fire From Safety Groups

April 19, 2017 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Charlotte Personal Injury Attorney Matt Arnold answers the question: “What exactly is a wrongful death claim?”

Most people take comfort when they see that a road has guardrails. The barriers are supposed to be there to save lives, keeping vehicles and the people inside of them on the roadways. Though guardrails have saved countless lives, trouble can occur in some cases when defectively designed or poorly tested guardrails are installed. Rather than serving as a kind of protection, the guardrails instead created added danger and, in some particularly gruesome cases, have claimed lives. To learn more about recent concerns involving guardrails, keep reading.

California law clarifies what happens when undocumented immigrants file personal injury lawsuits

December 6, 2016 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

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

What happens if you’re an undocumented immigrant who is injured in a personal injury accident? In California, the rule has long been that though immigration status would not preclude you from recovering damages, it could result in a much lower verdict. The reason is that a plaintiff’s immigration status was admissible evidence that could be used in calculating damages due to lost future earnings, with the plaintiff being required to calculate earnings outside of the U.S. The rule has changed in recent months thanks to passage of a new law and will hopefully bring more clarity to the personal injury system.

Do race and gender matter in personal injury cases? A recent investigation says “yes”

November 11, 2016 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

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

Though there are more and more conversations these days about the troubling impact race and gender can have on cases in the criminal justice system, the civil justice system is almost never mentioned. It might come as a shock to most people that race and gender would ever factor into something like personal injury cases, but, according to a recent Washington Post article, that’s exactly what happens. A victim’s race and gender can have a huge impact on the size of a personal injury settlement as attorneys and other experts rely on demographic averages to determine future earnings. To learn more about how race and gender can skew personal injury awards, keep reading.