wrongful death

New “fracking” law anything but by and for the People

May 27, 2014 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

Matthew R. Arnold of Arnold & Smith, PLLC answers the question ” I have been injured on another person’s property. What should I do now?”

If Carole King still feels the earth moving under her feet, it may not be Carolina’s own James Taylor. Soon it could be Carolina herself.

With Gov. McCrory’s signature on new legislation, the Tar Heel State took some giant steps towards beginning hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) – a process of natural gas extraction that uses horizontal drilling and the injection of sand, water and chemicals into shale formations deep underground. Fissures made in the formations by the injections allow natural gas to rise to the surface, where it is captured.

The state legislature has been working on the issue since at least 2010. North Carolina’s 1945 Oil and Gas Conservation Act prohibited horizontal drilling, so legislators had to change the law in order to sanction hydraulic fracturing.

While the state legislature has been moving to the right in recent years, the “fracking” legislation – rife with apparent political and corporate cronyism – leaves little over which Conservatives can crow.

An unelected commission is tasked with “energy modernization,” which means local communities that do not want hydraulic fracturing will be forced to accept it. If a community wants to know how a company plans to conduct its operation, it can’t.

If you get sick and your doctor wants to know what chemicals you might have been exposed to, he or she can find out, but only after signing a written waiver promising not to tell anyone. Ditto on the fire chief; he or she has to sign a written waiver while the inferno is raging because a “fracking” company’s intellectual property is more important than putting out a fire. If “fracking” information leaks – no pun intended – the leaker is a criminal.

The bottom line on “fracking” is the legislature has said “We’re doing this, you’re not going to stop us, and we’re not even going to tell you how we’re doing it. Ever.”

Overcorrection Leads To Deadly North Carolina Car Crash

May 22, 2014 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

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.

Deadly Tractor-Trailer Accident Leaves Young Woman Dead

May 20, 2014 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

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

A North Carolina woman is dead after being hit by a tractor-trailer on I-95 this holiday weekend. Authorities with the Virginia State Patrol say the deadly crash took place in Prince George County, just outside Richmond.

According to police officers, the crash took place late last week at 4:40 in the afternoon near mile marker 42 on I-95. A tractor-trailer was heading south in the far right lane of the interstate when it drifted off the road and crashed directly into the back of a 2007 Hyundai Elantra. The Hyundai had pulled over on the shoulder of the road due to mechanical troubles.

Officers say that the driver of the car, 24-year-old Rachel Gradia, was sitting in the passenger side of the vehicle when the impact occurred. Emergency responders say that Gradia was thrown from the car due to the force of the collision. The accident also caused the tractor-trailer to jackknife off the side of the interstate.

North Carolina Bicyclists Face High Hurdles After Being Involved In An Accident

May 15, 2014 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

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

A recent article by the Carolina Public Press concerned some of the difficulties injured bicyclists have when bringing a personal injury claim against those drivers who were responsible for the collision. The article explains that a combination of factors, including North Carolina’s contributory negligence doctrine and a deeply ingrained bias against bicyclists, contribute to making it difficult for cyclists to successfully sue after being involved in a car accident.

The first thing that makes it hard for bicyclists to bring personal injury cases after a car accident is the negligence system that exists in North Carolina. A handful of states, including North Carolina, use a contributory negligence standard that says that if an injured party is at all responsible for the accident that led to their injuries, then that person will not be able to recover damages in a personal injury lawsuit.

The vast majority of states in the U.S. follow a different doctrine known as comparative negligence, which apportions damages based on the percentage of responsibility of each of the parties. For example, if a bicyclist is found to be even 1 percent at fault for an accident, in comparative negligence states, they will only be able to collect 99 percent of the total damages awarded in the case. In North Carolina, that same cyclist would be barred from collecting any damages.

Charlotte Ranks Among Deadliest Cities For Pedestrians :: Charlotte Injury Lawyer

May 13, 2014 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

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

It’s bad news for those who love going for walks. A recent study by the groups Smart Growth America and National Complete Streets Coalition found that Charlotte ranks among the 10 deadliest cities for pedestrians in the country. Charlotte has company at the bottom of the list, with the majority of the most dangerous places being located in the southern U.S.

The report ranked 51 of the largest cities in the country based on statistics including pedestrian fatalities and injuries. The report found that those cities in the South were far more likely than other regions to rank high in terms of pedestrian danger due to the general lack of walkable areas and the rapid growth the region has experienced in recent years.

The growth among southern cities such as Charlotte, Orlando, Houston and Miami has often led to the creation of ever-larger roadways designed to funnel huge amounts of vehicle traffic out of cities. These road projects are all too often built without attention to pedestrians in the area, something that often leads to injury and even death.

North Carolina Hit-And-Run Accidents On The Rise

May 8, 2014 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

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

In an alarming bit of news out of AAA, officials say the number of hit-and-run accidents across North Carolina is on the rise. The Automobile Association says that numbers show that those living in Charlotte specifically and in North Carolina more generally are all at increased risk of being involved in a dangerous hit-and-run collision.

The data indicates that in Charlotte, the number of hit-and-run accidents is up by 5.4 percent so far this year. This increase is on top of the already high rate of one hit-and-run accident in Charlotte each and every day, which was observed in 2013. Last year, Charlotte saw an even bigger increase, with numbers indicating a nearly 13 percent rise in such accidents over 2012. These kinds of accidents result in injuries and even deaths and such a steep rise spells trouble for everyone in the area.
Statewide the numbers are even wore, with five hit-and-run accidents occurring across the state every day. The statewide rate of hit-and-run collisions has risen by 5.7 percent so far this year.

North Carolina Man Faces Murder Charges After Drunk Driving Crash

May 6, 2014 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

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

A drunk driver in Shelby, North Carolina is now facing serious criminal charges after causing a wreck that left two people dead and a young boy critically injured. The accident occurred late last month when Dorman and Frances Pompey were driving their 12-year-old grandson in their Ford Taurus in downtown Shelby.

Sadly, the Pompeys were in the wrong place at the wrong time and came into contact with Demetrist Roberts on a crowded street. Authorities say that that things first began to go wrong when a police officer spotted Roberts speeding around 1 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.

The officer pursued Roberts’ Buick LeSabre and tried to stop the vehicle. Rather than comply, Roberts took off and turned down a side street. The officer initially pursued the car with his siren and lights on, but then stopped the pursuit due to streets that were crowded with visitors to a downtown art show and farmers market.

North Carolina Man Has Hand Cut Off After Small Plane Lands On Top Of Him

May 1, 2014 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

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

In a terrible freak accident in Taylorsville, NC, a man who was simply mowing the lawn ended up losing a hand, though not because of anything involving the lawn mower. Instead, the source of his terrible injury was a small plane that landed on top of him.

Edward Sisson, an 84-year-old from Crossville, TN, was piloting the small plane. Sisson was preparing to land the single-engine plan at Taylorsville Airport Saturday afternoon when he put the plane down on a grass runway directly on top of 74-year-old John Rufty.

Police say that while Sisson was an experienced pilot, the Taylorsville Airport lacks an air traffic controller so there was no one around to communicate with either the pilot or the lawn mower. Sisson was reportedly heading east prior to landing, the same direction as the unlucky lawn mower. Rufty was unable to hear the approaching plane given the noise of the lawnmower and never saw it because it came in behind him. Sisson apparently never saw Rufty either, at least not until moments before impact.

Emergency responders have revealed that the propeller of the plane cut Rufty, leading to a horrible injury that ultimately severed his left hand. The force of the accident was so great that it caused both the plane and the lawn mower to flip over. Sisson was able to walk away from the accident scene without injuries. Tragically, Rufty had to be taken by air ambulance to Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem where he was listed in critical condition.

Facebook Upload Proves Deadly In North Carolina Distracted Driving Crash

April 29, 2014 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

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

Authorities from High Point, North Carolina have released word that a woman from the area who died in a recent car accident may have been posting pictures to her Facebook account prior to the deadly crash. Officers say that the tragic case underlines just how important it is for drivers in North Carolina to focus their attention on the road and not on the many electronic devices that can so easily distract us.

Officers in High Point say that 32-year-old Courtney Ann Sanford died after her car crossed the median on I-85 and crashed into an oncoming truck that was carrying a recycling container. The accident took place just after 8:30 in the morning on Thursday.

Police say that after the accident they looked through the woman’s phone and noticed that her last Facebook update occurred at 8:33 a.m., one minute before the accident was reported to emergency responders in High Point. According to investigators, Sanford had posted pictures of herself while driving and, in addition to uploading the photo, added a caption that required typing out a text message. The caption to the photo published just before the deadly accident said “The happy song makes me HAPPY.”

Investigators say the accident is the latest glaring example of how deadly distracted driving can be. Not only are distracted drivers dangers to others, but they can jeopardize their own safety and wellbeing. In this case, Sanford’s crash caused injuries to the driver of the oncoming truck as well as catastrophic harm to herself.

Second Pedestrian Killed In Charlotte Area In Less Than A Week

April 24, 2014 | AS Personal Injury Lawyers

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

In another tragic incident, police say that a 62-year-old North Carolina woman has died after being hit by a passing SUV. The crash happened earlier this week along Old Charlotte Road and marks the second pedestrian death in the Charlotte area in less than a week.

Authorities say that Carmelita Cook was walking down Old Charlotte Road near the intersection with Park Drive when she was struck by a GMC Acadia. The accident was reported to police officers a little after 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday evening.

Reports indicate that Cook was attempting to cross the road when she was hit by the SUV. Though paramedics arrived quickly, it was too late to save Cook who was pronounced dead at the scene.

So far, there are no indications from witnesses that the driver of the SUV was speeding or otherwise engaged in dangerous conduct that contributed to the crash. Police officers in Concord, NC say that they are continuing to investigate the accident and will not rest until the reason for the tragedy has been identified.