Charlotte Personal Injury Lawyers

When you have suffered a serious injury at the hands of a careless individual, corporation, or public entity, you have the legal right to pursue compensation for all damages.

At Lanier Law Group, our Charlotte personal injury attorneys provide personalized legal advice, guidance, and representation for individuals who are seeking compensation for damages caused by another person or entity. Our founding attorney, Lisa Lanier, has earned a Distinguished Peer Review Rating from Martindale-Hubbell® and has achieved outstanding results for North Carolina plaintiffs since 1997.

Contact Our Charlotte Office

Contact our firm today to schedule a free consultation and find out how we can help you seek fair compensation for your damages: (855) 757-4204.

Common Types of Personal Injury Cases

Personal injury refers to a legal term that encompasses a wide range of situations in which an individual sustains physical or psychological harm due to the negligence, recklessness, or intentional misconduct of another party. In these cases, the injured person (the plaintiff) may seek compensation for their losses, including medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and more, through a personal injury lawsuit.

Here are common types of personal injury cases:

• Car Accidents: These occur when drivers fail to exercise reasonable care on the road, leading to collisions that result in injuries or property damage.
• Motorcycle Accidents: Similar to car accidents, but involving motorcycles, these cases often result in severe injuries due to the lack of protection for riders.
• Truck Accidents: Accidents involving large commercial trucks can lead to catastrophic injuries due to their size and weight. These cases may involve truck driver negligence or problems with the truck's maintenance.
• Catastrophic Injuries: These include severe injuries such as traumatic brain injuries (TBI), spinal cord injuries, amputations, or severe burns that have a profound and long-lasting impact on a person's life.
• Medical Malpractice: Occurs when healthcare professionals or facilities provide substandard care that leads to patient harm, including misdiagnosis, surgical errors, or medication mistakes.
• Birth Injuries: These involve injuries to newborns or mothers during the childbirth process due to medical negligence, including issues like cerebral palsy or brachial plexus injuries.
• Nursing Home Abuse: Involves the mistreatment, neglect, or abuse of elderly residents in nursing homes or assisted living facilities.
• Premises Liability: Property owners or managers can be held liable for accidents that occur on their premises due to dangerous conditions, such as slip and fall accidents, dog bites, or inadequate security.
• Product Liability: When a defective product causes injuries or harm to consumers, the manufacturer, distributor, or seller may be held liable.
• Sexual Abuse: Individuals who have been sexually abused may seek compensation from their abusers, as well as institutions or organizations that failed to protect them from harm.
• Work Accidents: Injuries that occur in the workplace due to unsafe conditions, inadequate training, or employer negligence. Workers' compensation claims may be filed in these cases.
• Wrongful Death: When a person's death is caused by another party's negligence or wrongful conduct, the surviving family members may pursue a wrongful death claim to seek compensation for their losses.

Personal Injury Laws in North Carolina

North Carolina is indeed a "fault" state when it comes to accidents and personal injury claims. This means that if you are injured in an accident in North Carolina, you have the option to file a personal injury lawsuit against the party responsible for causing the accident, seeking compensation for your injuries and damages. In a fault-based system, the at-fault party's insurance typically covers the victim's losses.

To win a personal injury lawsuit in North Carolina, you generally need to establish the following elements:

1. Duty of Care: You must show that the defendant owed you a duty of care. For example, in a car accident case, all drivers owe a duty to operate their vehicles safely and follow traffic laws.
2. Breach of Duty: You must demonstrate that the defendant breached their duty of care. This means showing that the defendant's actions or negligence fell below the standard of care expected under the circumstances. For example, if a driver ran a red light and caused an accident, they would likely be considered in breach of their duty of care.
3. Causation: You must prove that the defendant's breach of duty directly caused your injuries or damages. In other words, there must be a clear link between the defendant's actions and your injuries.
4. Damages: You must have suffered actual damages as a result of the accident. Damages can include medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, property damage, and other losses.

It's important to note that North Carolina has a strict contributory negligence law in place. This means that if you are found to be even slightly at fault for the accident, you may be completely barred from recovering any compensation in a personal injury lawsuit. In most states, comparative negligence laws allow for some degree of recovery even if the plaintiff shares some of the blame, but North Carolina's contributory negligence law is an exception.

For example, if you were involved in a car accident and it is determined that you were 10% at fault for the collision, you would typically be unable to recover any damages from the other driver, even if they were 90% at fault. This can make personal injury cases challenging in North Carolina, as any evidence of the plaintiff's contributory negligence can be a significant hurdle to overcome.

Because of the strict contributory negligence law in North Carolina, it's essential to consult with an experienced personal injury attorney if you're involved in an accident and considering legal action. Our legal team in Charlotte can help assess the strengths and weaknesses of your case and navigate the complexities of the state's personal injury laws.

What is the Personal Injury Claims Process in Charlotte?

Every personal injury claim is unique, so the process to start and complete it will be unique, too. However, there are a few steps that must be taken in most personal injury cases.

In Charlotte, most personal injury cases will involve these steps or processes:

1. Contacting a personal injury law firm after an accident to get an understanding of your rights as an injured claimant.
2. Investigating the accident to understand how it happened and to collect evidence that proves the claimant’s argument.
3. Calculating the damages owed to the claimant based on the harm and losses they have suffered due to the accident.
4. Sending a demand letter to the liable party or parties to give them a chance to provide the damages without a legal contest.
5. Filing a claim for compensation in civil court to begin the legal process officially if the demand letter is not accepted.
6. Preparing for litigation in various ways, such as using discovery processes to access evidence the opposition will use.
7. Negotiating for a settlement before a trial officially begins; settlement negotiations can happen at any point in the process, though, including after a trial starts.
8. Litigating in court if settlement negotiations aren’t successful.

What Compensation Can You Recover in a Charlotte Personal Injury Claim?

The purpose of any personal injury claim is to secure compensation for the claimant. The compensation should help pay for damages that were suffered due to the accident and its aftermath. Lanier Law Group is ready to help you with a personal injury claim or lawsuit that is designed to recover the damages you need to move on with your life. In North Carolina, recoverable damages are typically sorted into two types: economic damages and non-economic damages.

Economic and non-economic damages cited in personal injury claims usually involve:

• Past and future medical treatment costs
• Past lost wages and future unearned income
• Pain, suffering, and hardships
• Permanent disability complications
• Lessened enjoyment of life
• Shortened life expectancy for catastrophic injuries

The Charlotte personal injury lawyers at Lanier Law Group, P.A. have recovered millions of dollars in settlements and verdicts for clients just like you. We can discuss your case in a free consultation and help determine what damages may be available to you.

Don’t Settle for Less

You may be feeling pressured by a defense attorney or insurance adjuster to accept a settlement for your claim. Don’t give up your rights without a full understanding of your situation and the potential value of your legal claim!

We can develop an effective strategy to maximize your compensation in cases relating to all types of physical harm, including:

• Broken bones and fractures
• Muscle and soft tissue damage
• Back and spinal cord injuries
• Loss of limb
• Severe burns
• Brain injuries
• Wrongful death

Asserting your legal rights with the assistance of a qualified injury attorney can help you get back to doing the things you enjoy. If you’ve been injured, our firm can press the defendant(s) for a resolution that truly addresses your particular needs.

What Can an Attorney Do for Me?

If you've been injured in an accident or due to someone else’s negligence, chances are you're already feeling the financial pressure from the costs associated with your injury. Our Charlotte personal injury attorneys can show you a path forward toward a fair financial recovery. We can manage every step of your case from start to finish, so you can focus on yourself and your family.

However, we are here to do far more than just manage the legal aspects of your case. Lanier Law Group is proud to be known as the local law firm that genuinely cares about its clients. Let us deal with the liable party and any insurance company that represents them. They might try to push you around, but they won’t get far at all when we are standing up for you.

Benefits of Hiring a Local Charlotte Attorney

You have your choices when hiring a Charlotte personal injury lawyer. Why should you make sure that you work with one from Lanier Law Group? There are many reasons to choose us when considering our experience, backgrounds, case results, and more. Yet we also think we are the right choice because we are Charlotte locals like you.

As local attorneys, we know how Charlotte courts and judges view injury cases, evaluate evidence, and decide on rulings. We can use this familiarity to your case’s advantage. We are also familiar with how local defense firms often strategize against claimants, so your case can be ready for their tactics before they even make a move.

Contact an Attorney at Our Charlotte Office

With multiple office locations across the state, Lanier Law Group represents injured victims throughout North Carolina. If you have been hurt due to someone else’s carelessness or intentional conduct in the Charlotte area, schedule an appointment at our office, located on Mallard Creek Road, between the Prosperity Church Road and University City neighborhoods.

How Do I Know If I Have a Case?

If you suffered an injury that wasn't your fault, you may have a case for a personal injury claim. The essential elements of a personal injury claim involve a duty of care being owed to you by the defendant (person who caused your injury), the violation of that duty, and the damages you sustained as a direct result of the defendant's actions (or inaction). However, every personal injury case is unique and we encourage you to schedule a free case evaluation with our office so that we can fully explain your rights.

How Much is My Case Worth?

The "value" of a personal injury case is usually directly related to the severity of the injury and extent of damages sustained by the victim. Someone who sustained a traumatic brain injury will typically suffer more financial and emotional losses than someone who suffered a broken arm. However, there are numerous elements that need to be evaluated before an approximate value can be attributed to your case, so it's crucial that you speak to an attorney before accepting an offers from the negligent party or their insurance company.

Will My Personal Injury Case Go to Court?

Your personal injury case could go to court for trial, but it almost might not. Every case is unique, so it can be difficult to predict which cases will go to court or not. Historically, most legitimate personal injury claims are settled out of court, though. During an initial consultation, we can give you an honest idea if your claim has a good chance of settling, but our commitment to practice ethics means that we can’t make any promises one way or the other.

What Information Should I Bring for My Initial Consultation?

Any relevant information that you can bring to an initial consultation is worth it. From medical records related to your injury to pictures that you took with your smartphone, it is helpful for our personal injury lawyers to see it all. Using this information, we can determine early if your case should be pursued and what to do next if it should.

Who Will I Be Working With?

Lanier Law Group is proud to give each client access to an entire team of legal professionals. Although paralegals and legal secretaries will help manage your case, you don’t have to worry about it being handled just by them. An attorney assigned specifically to your case will work on it, too, and keep you updated, so you never feel like you’re left in the dark.

Contact us today at (855) 757-4204 for a free consultation and learn how we can help you hold the at-fault party accountable for their negligence and obtain your entitled compensation.