car accidents

When is an injury not enough to justify a personal injury lawsuit?

November 15, 2017 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

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

Typically, when we discuss a personal injury case we hear a lot of gruesome details about the harm that was done to the plaintiffs. Horrible injuries, including broken bones, head trauma, burns, amputations and many other terrible things are often involved. Though severe personal injury cases grab headlines given their shock value, there are many other personal injury cases and claims that never rise to such a level. Ordinary car accidents occur every day and it is not unusual for the injuries to be relatively minor. If you are fortunate enough to be involved in one of these relatively minor personal injury incidents, how do you know when you have been injured enough to file a claim? To learn more about the subject, keep reading.

Experts Argue Smartphones Secret Source of Increased Auto Fatality Rate

October 18, 2017 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Personal injury Lawyer Matt Arnold answers the question: “If I am injured in a car accident or at work what should I do?”

We recently discussed the issue of the rising death toll in auto accidents across the country. Figures released by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration revealed that more than 37,000 people died in auto accidents in 2016. The stunning figure represents not only an increase over the previous year, but a substantial increase when compared to only two years prior. In fact, traffic fatalities in the U.S. have leaped by an astounding 14.4% in the past two years alone.

Does legal marijuana lead to increase in car crashes?

June 27, 2017 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Charlotte Criminal Lawyer Brad Smith answers the question: “What happens if I am convicted of a DUI or DWI in Charlotte North Carolina?”

There’s been a big push in recent years by states across the country to legalize the use of marijuana. Though some started by limiting use to medicinal purposes, many have expanded beyond medicine into personal use. The argument in favor is that crimes involving marijuana unnecessarily harm individuals and clog up the court and jail system, all over something that isn’t even that destructive, at least relative to alcohol and other legal substances.

Court Says You Must Be A Person To Suffer A Personal Injury

September 15, 2016 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Charlotte Injury Lawyer Matt Arnold answers the question: “What happens if I still owe money on the vehicle but the insurance company classifies it as a “total loss”?

When you think of personal injury cases, some of the first things that spring to mind likely include car accidents, slip-and-falls or dog bite cases. Each is a straightforward example of a personal injury in that an individual suffered harm due to the actions (or inaction) of someone (or something) else. But what happens when the victim isn’t a person, but a company? Can a personal injury claim still move forward? Keep reading to find out.

Suing Snapchat for Car Crashes

July 12, 2016 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Personal injury Lawyer Matt Arnold answers the question: “If I am injured in a car accident or at work what should I do?”

Everyone knows how dangerous distracted driving can be. Whether it’s fiddling with the radio, dealing with unruly kids in the backseat or, far more commonly, interacting with your smartphone, that split-second lapse in attention can, and frequently does, prove to be fatal. If you or a loved one are involved in such an accident, it might occur to you to sue the driver responsible, after all, he or she is the one who chose to text and drive. But what about the company that makes the app the person was using at the time? According to legal experts, holding the developers of the apps that distracted drivers are using legally liable is an emerging trend in the world of personal injury law. To find out more about these kinds of cases and how they would work, keep reading.

Liability When Cars Drive Themselves

July 5, 2016 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Charlotte Personal Injury Attorney Matt Arnold answers the question: “Can I wait a few months to pursue a personal injury claim?”

Back in May, a terrible accident occurred on a stretch of highway in Williston, Florida. That crash, involving a Tesla with its autopilot system engaged, left the driver, a man named Joshua Brown, dead. Since the crash, investigators with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration say that they want to learn more about what led to the accident. Experts believe that crash could have impacts far beyond the family of the accident victim, with potential financial impact on the automaker and an impact on national safety regulations for other autonomous vehicles that are currently in development.

School Is Out, Car Accidents Involving Teenage Drivers Increase

June 23, 2016 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Charlotte Personal Injury Attorney Matt Arnold answers the question: “Should I take photographs of the property damage sustained to my car, of the accident scene, or of my visible injuries following an accident?”

School’s out for the summer.

No More “Accidents”, Safety Experts Insist On “Crashes”

May 19, 2016 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Charlotte Injury Lawyer Matt Arnold answers the question: “Why should I hire an attorney to represent me in a personal injury claim instead of handling the claim on my own?”

Arguing over semantics seldom seems like a worthwhile pursuit. After all, fighting over small distinctions usually misses the larger point. Not so, according to many safety experts who say that it’s high time Americans stop using the word “accident” to describe what they believe is really a car “crash”. The campaign to eliminate “accident” from the lexicon has gathered steam in recent years, with federal safety regulators, advocacy groups and even journalists joining the fight.

N.C. among minority of states continuing to install deadly guardrails on state highways

February 17, 2015 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Charlotte Personal Injury Attorney Matthew R. Arnold of Arnold & Smith, PLLC answers the question “What if a loved one dies from the injuries sustained in a serious accident while the case is pending?”

State officials have rebuffed calls to stop installing guardrails that activists say have caused dozens of deaths and injuries in accidents across the United States. California became the 41^st state to ban the guardrails this week after a Texas jury levied a mammoth fraud verdict against the company that makes the guardrails.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation is aware of safety concerns raised about the ET-Plus end terminals, but the agency said it is leaving the decision of whether to pull the terminals from state highways to federal officials.

NCDOT spokesman Steve Abbott said his department has not seen any evidence of the end terminals’ danger, despite its awareness of “a couple of incidents.”

On Wednesday, federal regulators approved new safety testing of the end terminals. The NCDOT said it will await the results of new safety testing before making a decision on removing the terminals.

Even if the agency does decide to remove ET-Plus end terminals that have already been installed, it has not kept a database of the locations of the terminals. The state has installed different types of guardrails in different locations throughout the state, and the NCDOT has not kept track of which guardrails are where.