Evidence disappears, act fast. If you are injured in an accident the most important thing to do is seek proper medical care and follow your doctor’s orders. However, it is also important to make sure evidence is not lost. Witnesses’ memories fade, documents can be lost and physical evidence can be misplaced or worse, destroyed. Whether you are a plaintiff or defendant, you should talk to an attorney as soon as you can after a serious accident to learn what steps to take to make sure evidence is preserved. This is particularly important in tractor-trailer and automobile accidents. Truck drivers only have to keep their driving logs so long. If the vehicles involved in an accident are destroyed before they are examined by an expert, valuable information may be lost. Many of today’s vehicles have a “black box” that can show the speed and other important information about a car that was in a wreck.
Just like your mother told you, always tell the truth. No matter how bad it hurts, it is better to tell the truth. People (and jurors are people) can forgive almost anything, except a lie. Barry Bonds was indicted, not for taking steroids, but for lying to the grand jury about taking steroids. If you are asked a question in a lawsuit, always tell the truth, and don’t make anything up.
Follow your doctor’s orders. John Wayne may not have needed to go to physical therapy when he was injured, but you do. If your doctor prescribes a treatment or therapy, you should do what he says. If you don’t you might not recover as quickly as you could, and the defense will claim you “failed to mitigate your damages.”
Don’t expect your lawyer to be mean. It is natural for a victim of an accident to feel resentment toward the person or corporation that caused their injury. On the other side of the coin it is natural for a defendant to resent the person who sued him. Therefore, some people want their lawyer to be very aggressive and hostile toward the other side. However, an effective attorney treats everyone, including the lawyers and parties on the other side, with courtesy and respect. A good lawyer is tenacious and effective without being rude and obnoxious, it is simply being professional.
It takes time. Unfortunately it can take months, maybe years, for a case to resolve. This is for many reasons: If you are injured you cannot settle your case until you are finished your recovery; for some serious injuries that can take over a year. It may be necessary to engage experts to review the facts and evidence. If a lawsuit is necessary the “discovery” phase of the case can take many months while the parties take depositions and learn about each other’s case. And, sometimes there are appeals. While we work hard for our clients, justice is not swift.
Most cases settle, some don’t. The great majority of cases settle before trial for a fair amount. But some don’t, and you have to “go to the mat.” Going through a jury trial is risky and expensive, but sometimes necessary.
Don’t expect a “McDonald’s verdict.” Almost everyone has heard of the huge verdict in California against McDonald’s for the elderly woman scalded by a hot cup of coffee. Don’t expect that here. Jurors in North Carolina are very conservative and will only award damages that are proven and which are clearly caused by the negligence of a defendant. That does not mean a North Carolina jury will not award a large sum, but the damages have to be real.
It is hard to put dollar value on life. One of the most difficult things we do as attorneys is represent the families of people killed by the negligence of others. The tragic loss of a loved one is unbearable, and then to have to go through the insulting process of placing a value on the life is almost too much. It is important to remember that the value of a wrongful death case is not the same thing as the value of the person who was killed. And, really, there is no justice; true justice would have the loved one’s life given back. The recovery in a wrongful death case in North Carolina is controlled by a statute, N.C.G.S. § 28A. The value of the case is measured by the loss to the deceased’s next of kin and generally consists of the lost net income, and the value of their services, companionship, advice and affection. Even with the rules of the statute it is hard to put a value on a wrongful death case. While an expert can value lost income and services, it is purely up to a jury to decide what someone’s companionship, advice and affection is worth.
Contributory Negligence can ruin a good case. North Carolina is one of just a few states in the country with Contributory Negligence, the rule that bars a plaintiff from recovering anything if he or she was at fault in an accident. Most states say that if both the plaintiff and defendant are at fault the plaintiff can recover, but only the portion of his injuries caused by the other party. However, in North Carolina if a tractor-trailer driver was mainly at fault, but you were even a little to blame in an accident, you cannot recover anything for your injuries. Plaintiffs hate this rule; defendants and insurance companies love it.
Just because she looks OK doesn’t mean she is. A person can look fine, but in reality may have suffered a traumatic brain injury that has devastated their life. Memory problems, emotional issues, cognitive difficulties and speech problems caused by a brain injury can rob someone of their personality, capabilities and potential. Their family can tell, but sometimes it takes skilled experts to demonstrate the full extent of these losses.
No one wants to file a lawsuit. Almost everyone believes there are too many lawsuits. So, on top of the pain of their injuries, many accident victims feel guilty about finding themselves in a position where they have to file a claim to recover what was taken from them: their good health, time from work, medical bills, a sense of well-being and happiness. There are certainly some gold diggers who see an accident as an opportunity to sue and get some money. But the great majority of people in accidents would gladly trade all the money they might receive in a settlement for a ride in a time machine that could take them back and give them a chance to avoid the injury.
Even if you were injured by medical malpractice, the doctor is probably a good person. The great majority of doctors are extremely dedicated, hard-working people. They are healers and have devoted their lives to helping others. However, just like a good driver who can make a careless mistake, doctors are human, too. They know this and that is why they have insurance-so they can be responsible for their mistakes.
You don’t get paid for what almost happened. “I could have been killed,” is a complaint some people have, especially if they received bad treatment at a hospital. However litigation is not like horseshoes, you don’t receive compensation for being nearly hurt.
Stuff Happens. Remember the old bumper sticker. Just because you are hurt doesn’t mean someone has to pay. Unless an injury is caused by someone’s fault you can not receive compensation.
Buy insurance for the drunks on the road. If you or a family member is hurt by a drunk driver, chances are he won’t have enough insurance to pay for the injuries-if he has any insurance at all. However, in North Carolina you can buy up to $1,000,000 of coverage for underinsured and uninsured drivers who might injure you or a member of your family. Given the protection you receive, the cost is reasonable.
Things could be worse. We see the results of death and catastrophic injuries every day, and every day we are humbled by the spirit and determination of our clients to push ahead with their lives in the face of very tough obstacles. Most of our clients see their glass as half full, and that inspires us to do our best.