North Carolina Car Accident Lawyers for Serious Injuries

Our attorneys and support team

If you were taken from the scene of a crash by ambulance, broke bones, or needed surgery, your case is different from a fender-bender. So is the insurance company's strategy. Adjusters will call early, ask for a recorded statement, and offer to cover your medical bills if you sign a release. That offer is designed to close your claim before anyone knows what your injuries will cost. Your lawyer should be methodical, careful, and treat your claim seriously.

Harris Legal represents people seriously injured in car crashes anywhere in North Carolina. We work up every case as though it will be tried. That takes longer than a quick settlement, and it's the reason insurers take our cases seriously.

We focus on serious injuries. If your injuries are minor, we'll help connect you with the right lawyer.

Tell us what happened

We'll tell you honestly whether your case is worth pursuing

How fault is proven after a North Carolina crash

Every case starts with two questions. Can we clearly show the other driver did something unreasonable? And can anyone say you did something wrong?

The crash report

The police crash report carries a lot of weight, because memories fade and stories differ. We read the officer's narrative closely. We also review the coded boxes on North Carolina crash reports: weather, estimated speeds, suspected drugs or alcohol, and who was cited. The report is usually the single most important piece of evidence early in a case. Crash reports aren't perfect. Some errors are simple mistakes, and those can be corrected with evidence. It's much harder when the officer formed an opinion that you were at fault. We'll tell you honestly how much that affects your case.

Evidence we gather early

We don't wait for the insurance company to build the record. In almost every crash case, we:

Request the 911 calls right away
Get computer-aided dispatch logs to identify every first responder at the scene
Send public records requests for reports other agencies wrote, such as fire department reports that rarely surface on their own
Call and write to nearby businesses for surveillance video before it's recorded over

North Carolina's contributory negligence rule

North Carolina is one of very few states where being even slightly at fault can bar you from recovering anything. In crash cases, that usually looks like:

Running a red light or stop sign
Speeding, when a slower driver could have avoided the hazard
Using a phone instead of watching the road

If the other side can credibly argue you share the blame, your injuries need to be serious enough to justify the risk of trial. We'll assess that with you at the start.

Multi-vehicle crashes

If you were clearly not at fault but it's unclear which other driver caused the crash, we make claims against each driver who may be responsible. Under North Carolina's joint and several liability rule, they, or their insurers, have to sort out who pays. You don't have to solve that puzzle to be compensated.

Hit-and-run crashes

These depend on two things: whether you reported the crash to law enforcement right away, and how much uninsured motorist coverage you carry. You absolutely must report your crash immediately to law enforcement in order to have a truly viable claim. And if you do not have enough uninsured motorist coverage yourself, your options may be limited.

He took the time to talk me through where we were and a timeline ahead.
David from Winston-Salem

I couldn’t be more satisfied with the representation I received from Harris Legal.
A client we represented in Durham

Whose insurance pays after a North Carolina car crash?

There are two kinds of coverage that matter in a serious injury case.

The at-fault driver's liability insurance

This covers the driver who caused the crash. North Carolina's minimum liability coverage is $50,000 per person. As a practical matter, the policy limit is usually the most that driver's insurer will ever pay. You could pursue the driver's personal assets, but unless the driver is wealthy, it's almost never worth it. Collecting a judgment from an individual is a long, expensive fight, and many drivers have nothing to collect.

Your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage (UM/UIM)

When the at-fault driver has no insurance, or not enough, your own UM/UIM coverage can pay the difference. Underinsured coverage is paid on top of the other driver's liability coverage. For many seriously injured clients, it's the difference between a real recovery and a partial one.

Two things most people don't know:

Coverage can stack across separate policies. If your household has cars insured under separate policies, each with UIM coverage, you may be able to collect from each one. Two cars insured under the same policy generally don't double the limit.
Relatives you live with may cover you. You can be an insured person under the UM/UIM coverage of relatives in your household. That often includes parents, grandparents, or adult children with their own policies. We always ask about everyone you live with.

If the at-fault driver's limits are clearly too low for your injuries, the good news is the insurer usually pays its limit quickly. Beyond that, your recovery usually depends on your own UIM coverage. If you don't have it, options are limited. Check your policy today, even if you've never been in a crash.

What the insurance company will do

The other driver's adjuster will likely call within days. Expect three things:

Questions about what happened, on a recording. Those recordings are used against you later.
An early settlement offer. A common version: the insurer agrees to pay your crash-related medical bills for a set period, often around six months and up to a cap, plus a small amount for pain and suffering. All you have to do is sign a release.
Limits buried in that release. The bills must be "related" to the crash, there's a dollar cap, and signing ends your claim permanently.

Don't sign it. If your injuries are serious, you won't know their full cost for months.

Recorded statements

Don't give a recorded statement to the other driver's insurance company. Ever.

Your own insurer is different. Your policy requires you to cooperate with your own company, so you may have to give them a statement. Talk to a lawyer first.

What to do after a serious crash

Get emergency care. If you're seriously hurt, go by ambulance to the emergency department. Insurers treat delayed care as proof you weren't badly injured.
Keep treating. Follow your doctors' plan. Gaps in treatment hurt both your recovery and your claim.
Don't talk to the other driver's insurer beyond basic contact information.
Don't sign anything from an insurance company until a lawyer reviews it.
Check your own policy for uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, and gather the policies of relatives you live with.

Does Harris Legal handle property damage claims?

We don't handle property damage or rental car claims. The insurer is supposed to pay what the car is worth, no more. If we took a portion of that as our fee, you couldn't replace your car. We'll give you informal guidance, and if the insurer won't handle your property claim in good faith, we may step in.

What makes a crash case serious

If your injuries are limited to soft tissue, or you didn't get emergency care, we're likely not the right firm. We'll tell you that on the first call and point you to someone who can help.

We represent people whose crash injuries are serious. That typically means emergency department treatment plus one or more of:

Broken bones
Emergency or follow-up surgery
Prolonged hospitalization
Spinal injuries
Disfiguring injuries
Severe traumatic brain injuries
Fatal crashes, through a wrongful death claim

Drunk drivers and punitive damages

When a drunk driver causes a crash, we pursue punitive damages. Punitive damages are meant to punish dangerous conduct, and they can significantly increase the value of a case. Extreme distraction, like watching video while driving, can support punitive damages too.

Medical bills, health insurance, and liens

Any company that paid for your crash-related medical care may have a right to be repaid from your settlement. That includes health insurers, Medicare, and Medicaid. Some of these liens are fixed by law. Medicare and Medicaid reduce their claims based on how much you recover. Most others can be negotiated.

We negotiate liens in-house or bring in a firm that focuses on lien resolution. Either way, you'll know exactly what's owed before you decide whether to settle.

How we work a crash case

We prepare every case as though it will be tried, even though most settle. That means gathering evidence early, retaining experts when the injuries justify it, and building the case from day one rather than waiting to see what the insurer offers.

That approach takes time. Our fastest crash cases resolve in about four months. Larger cases often take around eighteen months. Clear liability cases and cases with low policy limits settle quickly. The more money at stake, the harder the insurance company fights.

What it costs

Our fee is one-third of the recovery. It's the same whether your case resolves after our first letter or after a jury verdict, so our fee never influences your decision to take the next step.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have a case? If you needed emergency care and the other driver was at fault, we can probably help. We can often tell quickly when a case won't work, and we'll say so.

Should I talk to the insurance company? Not the other driver's insurer. With your own insurer, talk to a lawyer before giving a statement.

What is my case worth? That depends on your injuries, the evidence of fault, and the available insurance, including your own UIM coverage. We'll give you a comprehensive answer once we've investigated.

How will I pay my bills while I'm out of work? This is often the biggest worry for seriously injured clients. We'll talk through your coverage, liens, and timeline on the first call so you know what to expect.

How long do I have to file? Generally three years from the crash for an injury claim, and two years from the date of death for a wrongful death claim. Don't wait. Evidence can disappear in days.

What if a truck, motorcycle, pedestrian, or cyclist was involved? Those crashes raise their own issues. See our pages on truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, and pedestrian and bicycle accidents.