Do you need a Personal Injury Lawyer in Chapel Hill? If so, The Bishop Law Firm can help. We represent personal injury clients in Chapel Hill, NC (Orange County) and surrounding areas. Read on for the injury cases we handle and how we can help you. Call us today for a free case evaluation, (919) 615-3095 or start your free case review now.
What can you recover from a NC Personal Injury claim?
Under NC Personal Injury Law, if you have been injured through no fault of your own you can recover your accident-related medical expenses, lost wages, and pain & suffering from the at-fault party. If you are at fault for your accident (even 1%) you are not allowed to recover on a personal injury claim due to contributory negligence (But see The Last Clear Chance Doctrine). Most NC Personal Injury claims have a three year statute of limitations.
Fault can be difficult to ascertain in certain cases. In car accidents, the driver who received a ticket (citation) is at-fault, but not all at-fault drivers receive tickets. You can try to find a copy of your accident report through Chapel Hill Police Department or UNC Police.
In addition, in dog attack, hospital negligence, slip and fall or wrongful death cases, the question of fault can only be answered by a thorough examination of the circumstances.
Medical expenses include bills for medical treatment, medical devices, physical therapy and mileage, etc. An insurance company can and will dispute medical treatment if they think it is not necessary for or related to your accident injuries. This especially holds true if you have pre-existing conditions.
Missed time from work needs to be verified by your employer. Keeping your employer informed about your accident and any serious injuries sustained will help you establish a claim for lost wage compensation.
Pain & suffering can be difficult to quantify. It naturally follows that the more expensive your medical treatment, the more pain & suffering compensation you should receive but that is not always true. Pain and suffering attempts to compensate the victim for the mental anguish that they experienced due to the at-fault party’s negligence. The insurance company will want to pay as little pain & suffering as possible (which means nothing).
If you were hurt while working you may have a NC Workers’ Compensation case in addition to a Personal Injury Case. In addition, if your personal injury is expected to keep you out of work for a year or more, you should consider filing a claim for Social Security Disability. The Bishop Law Firm handles Personal Injury, Workers’ Compensation and Social Security Disability cases in Chapel Hill.
Types of Chapel Hill Personal Injury Cases We Handle
Car Accident – Why hire an accident attorney after a car crash? Dealing with the insurance company is not simple, straightforward, or quick. It is common knowledge that insurance companies want to pay as little as possible, or preferably nothing at all, and will employ various tactics to delay, frustrate, and minimize your claim. At The Bishop Law Firm, we help our injured clients to understand their rights to compensation under North Carolina law.
Slip and Fall – Slips, trips and falls can occur in any environment, on any surface, and under a multitude of circumstances. Most commonly, slips occur when floors or other walking surfaces become slick due to wet or oily substances. Trips and falls occur most frequently where a floor or walking surface is uneven. For example, an injured person can fall into holes, stumble over depressions in the ground, or trip down uneven stairs.
Pedestrian Accident – How can a pedestrian accident lawyer help? Gathering necessary documentation, figuring out how much pain & suffering is adequate, obtaining your medical records/future medical needs from your physician, establishing and paying for liens, as well as negotiating with the at-fault driver’s insurance company are all tasks that Pedestrian Accident Lawyer can help you with.
Motorcycle Accident – How can a motorcycle accident lawyer help? Our Motorcycle Accident Lawyer can help you recover the cost of your medical expenses, lost wages, pain & suffering as well as the cost of any future necessary medical treatment while allowing you and your family to focus on your recovery.
Truck Accident – How can a Truck Accident Lawyer help? Commercial trucking companies often carry multi-million dollar policies to cover accidents, but they will not tell someone without a lawyer what their policy limits are. In fact, by law, insurance companies do not have to reveal their policy limits unless a lawsuit has been filed. In reality, often insurance companies are willing to reveal their insured’s policy limits to an attorney to avoid the attorney’s filing suit just to find out the limits.
Dog Bite/Attack – How can a dog bite injury lawyer help? A personal injury attorney can help you recover the cost of your medical expenses, pain and suffering damages and any damage to your property (including to your dog) from the attack. In addition, you may need help determining if the homeowner’s insurance policy covers the breed of dog that attacked you.
Hospital Negligence – How can a NC hospital negligence injury lawyer help? There is a difference between hospital negligence and just a bad outcome that is no one’s fault. Unfortunately, our bodies do not always respond appropriately to even the most excellent medical treatment and simply because a loved one passes does not mean that they received negligent hospital care. But, no one should be injured because hospitals are allowed to disregard patient care in favor of profit.
Wrongful Death– How can a wrongful death lawyer help? A Wrongful Death Lawyer will be able to help you navigate the stressful and often exhausting process of successfully investigating and bringing a wrongful death case to court, and can provide a jury with guidance on the true cost to society caused by the loss of your loved one.
Work Injury Cases – In NC, if you are injured at work, you would file a workers’ compensation claim with the North Carolina Industrial Commission. But if you were injured by a 3rd party while performing your job duties, you may also have a personal injury case as well.
Social Security Disability - Being unable to work due to illness can be a devastating realization. Having a SSD attorney on your side can assist by knowing what information SSA uses to determine disability.
*Call us at (919) 615-3095 if your type of personal injury is not listed to see if we can help.*
Next Steps
- Give us a call at (919) 615-3095 for your free case evaluation!
- We need to know some things from you to get started:
- Date of the accident and if you have a copy of the accident report
- How and where the accident happened
- Hospital visits and any subsequent medical treatment
- Name of the at-fault party and their insurance company
- Your employer’s name, job title, etc.
- If you have health insurance, Medicare or Medicaid
- You need to take photos of your injuries, vehicle, passenger’s injuries and the accident scene (if possible).
- Continue to receive medical treatment for your injuries, if necessary, and follow medical advice!
- If you are missing work, write down the days you are missing and how much your pay was on those days
- AVOID SOCIAL MEDIA
Do you need a Chapel Hill Personal Injury Lawyer?
A Personal Injury Lawyer can help gather your medical information, missed time from work and calculate your pain & suffering to include in a demand to the insurance adjuster. This demand should include all of your expenses, including past, present and future losses from your personal injury. If all your expenses are not included in your demand, you could find yourself with medical bills later and no way to pay for them.
Some adjusters try delay-tactics until the statute of limitations run out, while others rush to pay claims to avoid paying for more medical care that a victim may need. Seeking legal advice about when to settle is just as important as how much to settle for. The question of whether to accept an insurance adjuster’s offer or pursue personal injury civil litigation should be discussed with an experienced attorney to determine which will produce a higher settlement in your injury claim.
Most importantly, legal representation can allow you to focus on your serious injuries instead of negotiating with the insurance company.
The Bishop Law Firm represents personal injury clients in Chapel Hill and surrounding areas of NC. We do not get paid unless you win. Call us today for a free case review, (919) 615-3095.
The owner of The Bishop Law Firm, Kimberly Bishop, attended law school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. GO HEELS!
Also read North Carolina Personal Injury Lawyer
