Wilmington Personal
Injury Attorneys

Potential Compensation You Could Receive In A Wilmington Personal Injury Claim

A personal injury claim aims to make accident victims whole again after suffering losses due to a defendant’s negligence. The types of damages, or financial compensation, that could be available in a personal injury claim depend on the case, but can include the following:

Three Types of Potential Damages

1. Economic damages: financial losses the victim suffered from the accident and injury, such as medical bills, physical therapy, rehabilitation, lost wages, travel costs, property damage, out-of-pocket expenses, and funeral or burial costs.
2. Noneconomic damages: intangible or non-monetary losses the victim suffered, such as physical pain and suffering, emotional harm, mental anguish, post-traumatic stress disorder, decreased quality of life, and loss of consortium.
3. Punitive damages: compensation awarded to punish a defendant for egregious acts of wrongdoing, such as gross negligence or a wanton and willful disregard for the safety of others. These damages are less common than compensatory damages in North Carolina.

You should always discuss the value of your case with a Wilmington personal injury attorney before accepting a settlement from an insurance company. The value assigned to your case by an insurer may not adequately cover your past and future losses. Unlike an insurance company, our injury attorneys in Wilmington want you to recover maximum financial compensation.

Can I Still Recover Compensation If I Was Partially At-Fault For The Accident?

You cannot recover any compensation if you were partially at-fault for an accident in North Carolina. North Carolina is one of only a few states that use a contributory negligence system as opposed to the more lenient comparative negligence system. Contributory negligence does not allow a plaintiff to recover any financial compensation if he or she is found to have contributed to the accident or injury at all; even with just 1 percent of fault.

In North Carolina, you can only recover financial compensation if your personal injury attorney can prove that the defendant is 100 percent at fault for the incident. Otherwise, the use of the contributory negligence defense could bar you from making a financial recovery. Experienced attorneys at law can help you fight against this defense strategy to preserve your right to recover compensation.

Proving Negligence In A Wilmington, NC Personal Injury Case

Determining whether or not you have a personal injury case requires understanding the legal elements involved in this type of lawsuit. There must be a legal basis or foundation available to initiate a case. Most compensation claims are based on the doctrine of negligence, meaning a failure to use proper care.

The Four Elements Of Negligence

1. Economic damages: a responsibility the accused party (defendant) had to act with ordinary care to prevent harm to others. For example, all drivers in North Carolina have a duty to prevent car accidents by behaving cautiously and prudently behind the wheel.
2. Breach of duty: negligence or wrongdoing that violated the defendant’s duty of care, or an act or omission that a reasonably prudent person would not have committed in the same circumstances. An example is a driver texting while driving.
3. Injury or harm: real losses or damages suffered by the victim (plaintiff), such as bodily injuries, medical expenses, emotional distress or property damage.
4. Causation: a clear, provable connection between the plaintiff’s losses and the defendant’s wrongful or negligent act. The defendant’s actions must be the proximate or actual cause of the plaintiff’s harm.