Medical care: Our Charlotte auto accident attorneys, first concern is your health and well being. If you are injured in a car accident, you need to receive appropriate medical attention. our goal is to assist you throughout the process so that you may receive compensation for your injuries and related medical care. If you have sustained a permanent injury or face a lifetime of medical needs relating to your injuries (such as a brain injury, spinal cord paralysis, chronic pain, or other type of permanent disability), we will do what is necessary to ensure that you receive the maximum compensation possible.

Lost wages: If you are unable to work due to your injuries suffered in a car accident, or miss time from work while seeking medical treatment, you are entitled to receive compensation for lost wages relating to your time out of work. Our firm will obtain the necessary medical and lost wage documentation to substantiate your lost wages and help you recover the compensation you deserve.

Property damage: We will assist you in obtaining a rental car, as well as compensation for depreciation of your vehicle due to the property damage caused by the accident.

Accident investigation: The police investigative report and witness statements can be critical in assessing liability in many auto accident cases. Sometimes, it is necessary to retain an expert to recreate the facts and circumstances of the accident. We have the experience, knowledge, and resources to thoroughly investigate your auto accident claim to make sure all responsible parties are held accountable.

Insurance claims: Under the law, once you retain counsel, the insurance company for the at-fault party cannot contact you directly and must deal with your attorney. We will handle all communications with the insurance company and provide the necessary documentation so that you may recover the compensation you deserve.

Client communications: Client communication is the cornerstone of our practice. Throughout the process, we will keep you informed of the status of your claim. We are ready, willing and able to answer your questions, address your concerns, and assist you any way we can to deal with your auto accident claim.

If you fell in a store or place of business, speak with the manager or supervisor on duty. Make sure there is a written record of the incident, and demand a copy. If anyone makes any statement which suggests that this has occurred before, or that they were aware of the condition which caused your fall, make a mental note and try to get that person’s name. As soon as you are off the premises, write down the name and exactly what the person said and whoever else may have overheard the statement.
If the condition is permanent or semi-permanent (such as an icy sidewalk), have someone take photographs as soon as possible before the condition changes. Even permanent conditions may be changed by the passage of time or by the efforts of a landowner who is afraid of legal liability

You should contact an experienced personal injury attorney immediately. You are under no legal obligation to give any statement to the responsible person’s insurance company. Insurance companies often obtain statements from accident victims very shortly after an accident while they are still in pain, under medication and before they know the true extent of their injuries. As a result, victims are often unable to give full and detailed explanations or statements concerning the accident and their injuries. Insurance adjusters are trained to obtain statements from victims that will damage their case. The insurance companies then sometimes later use these premature statements to try to hurt or devalue the victim’s case. You should never give a statement to the responsible person’s insurance company without first discussing your case with an experienced personal injury attorney.

A person who slips and falls on someone else’s property is not automatically entitled to recover damages for any personal injuries which follow. The injured person (called the “plaintiff”) must prove that the fall happened because of the negligence of the property owner or someone else who could be legally responsible.
North Carolina is one of the few states which still clings to the “pure contributory negligence rule” which bars any recovery by an injured person if that person in any way contributed, by his or her own negligence, to the accident and injury. In cases of open and obvious hazards, this makes it very difficult, if not impossible, for the injured party to recover compensation.

An alcohol assessment is a standardized evaluation to determine whether or not you have a substance abuse handicap, according to state guidelines. It also involves a clinical interview with a substance abuse counselor. At the conclusion of the assessment, depending on a number of legislatively mandated factors, the counselor will recommend some type of alcohol class or treatment, which you will be ordered to complete if you are convicted of a D.W.I.

You must take your D.W.I. citation and your alcohol concentration testing results (breath or blood test results) to your assessment. The assessment costs between $100 and $135, depending upon the counselor that you choose to use. 

If you have been charged with D.W.I., you should obtain an alcohol assessment before your court date. Obtaining the assessment and voluntarily participating in any recommended classes or treatment qualifies as a “mitigating factor” for sentencing purposes and may help reduce your punishment if you are convicted of D.W.I.
 

 If you are charged with a D.W.I., and at the time of the offense your driver’s license was revoked because of a prior “impaired driving revocation”, the vehicle you were driving at the time of your arrest may be impounded.  If you are the sole owner of the vehicle, you probably can not get the vehicle back until after your trial, if you are found “not guilty.” If you are convicted of D.W.I., then you will probably lose the vehicle permanently. Regardless of the outcome of your case, you will be responsible to pay any towing and storage fees associated with the seizure, even if you are found “not guilty” or your charges are dismissed.

If you were not the owner of the vehicle you were driving when you were arrested, the owner, including a lienholder, may be able to get the vehicle back, and the owner should contact the Clerk of Court in the county where the charges are pending to get more information about obtaining the vehicle.

If you sign a release involving a repair to your vehicle that release does not bar you from later asserting a claim for diminished value (depreciation) of your vehicle which diminishment was directly caused by the collision. You have up to 30 days after repair to make claim for diminished value. 11 NCAC 4.0421(5).

There are three main ways an experienced D.W.I. attorney can help you when you are charged with a D.W.I. and have an alcohol concentration of .08 or higher.

First, regardless of your alcohol concentration, there are still many other things the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt before you can be convicted of a D.W.I. An experienced D.W.I. attorney can determine whether the officer followed all of the laws and rules during the arrest and testing processes. The attorney can also protect your constitutional and statutory rights during the trial or other Court hearings. Generally, an officer must have reasonable and articulable suspicion to believe that you committed a crime or moving violation before he can stop you or your car. Before an officer can give you an alcohol screening test (i.e., Alco-Sensor, or hand-held breath test), the officer must have reasonable grounds to believe that that you committed an implied consent offense (i.e., D.W.I.), or that you consumed alcohol and committed a moving violation, or that you were the driver in a wreck. The alcohol-screening test must be performed in accordance with applicable statutes and regulations, or the results may be invalid. The officer must then have probable cause to arrest you. Ordinarily, the officer must inform you of your Miranda rights before he can ask you questions while you are in custody and use your answers against you in court. The chemical analysis (i.e., Intoxilyzer test or blood test) must be performed in accordance with applicable statutes and regulations, or the results may be invalid and/or inadmissible. Your case may require an expert witness to explain why the breath or blood test results are inaccurate or invalid in your case.In addition, new laws that took effect on December 1, 2006 have greatly complicated the procedures for fighting D.W.I.’s and other implied consent offenses”.

Second, even if you are convicted, an experienced D.W.I. attorney will work to reduce your punishment, including the amount of fines, the length of your community service, and the severity of the conditions of your probation.

Third, even if you are convicted, an experienced D.W.I. attorney can determine whether you are eligible for a limited driving privilege and then work with you to accomplish and obtain the various things necessary in order for you to request and obtain a limited driving privilege so that at least you can drive to work or school during the one-year revocation of your driver’s privilege.