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Automobile Accidents

• Underinsured Motorist Insurance: You Should Have It
  Feb 04, 2010

  Underinsured Motorist Coverage: You Should Have It.

   

  North Carolina law requires that every motor vehicle driven on the public roads have liability insurance coverage in an amount equal to at least $30,000 per person.  This insurance coverage protects persons who are injured by the negligence of the driver of the insured motor vehicle. 

   

  However, with today’s medical costs, $30,000 coverage is inadequate.   If you are injured by the negligence of another driver, chances are the vehicle driven by that negligent driver will have the minimum of $30,000 insurance coverage.  If your injuries are larger than $30,000 where will the money come from to pay for your loss?  You may obtain a judgment against the negligent driver for the full extent of your loss.  However, the insurance company will only pay $30,000 of this loss if the other car is insured by the minimum policy limits.  After the insurance company pays its coverage of $30,000, you will have to look to the negligent driver to personally pay the difference between the amount of the judgment and the amount of the minimum insurance coverage.  In most cases, such an excess verdict will not be collected because the negligent driver will most likely not have any assets over and above his or her exemptions with which to satisfy your judgment.  If this happens, you will have to bear the loss yourself and will not be reimbursed above the insurance limits of $30,000. 

   

  You can protect yourself against this loss by purchasing underinsured motorist coverage.  This coverage will be a provision of your liability insurance policy. 

   

  Underinsured motorist coverage provides that if you are injured by a negligent driver and the extent of your damages are in excess of the negligent driver’s liability insurance (therefore making that driver underinsured) your underinsured motorist coverage will make up the difference and will pay the full extent of your loss over and above the negligent party’s insurance coverage up to the limit of your underinsured coverage.

   

  For example, assume that you have underinsured motorist coverage in the amount of $100,000 and you are injured to the extent of $125,000.  Assume further that the negligent party only has a $30,000 liability insurance policy.  In that case the negligent party’s insurance company will pay its limit of $30,000.  Your underinsured motorist coverage will step in and pay the difference between your $100,000 underinsured motorist coverage and the $30,000 in liability insurance carried by the negligent party.  This $70,000 payment from your underinsured motorist coverage will be paid so that your total benefit will be $100,000, an amount equal to your underinsured motorist coverage.  Your underinsured motorist carrier will get the benefit of the liability insurance carried by the negligent driver and may therefore deduct that insurance from what it has to pay you.  In this case, it would deduct $30,000 to account for the negligent party’s liability insurance coverage and pay you the balance of $70,000.  

   

  Even though your loss is equal to $125,000, you can only collect the sum of $100,000 from the combined payment of the negligent party’s liability coverage and your underinsured motorist coverage.  Even though your loss is $125,000, you can only recover a total of $100,000.  Therefore, unless you can collect the balance from the negligent driver’s personal assets, your losses are not covered.  In this example, if you had underinsured motorist coverage in the amount of $125,000, you would be fully covered. 

   

  Underinsured motorist coverage is relatively inexpensive.  As you can see from the above example, it is important that you have the maximum amount of underinsured motorist coverage possible.

   

               

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• Deadly Orange County Accident – Low Blood Sugar To Blame?
  Jan 27, 2010

  Most car accidents in North Carolina are caused by reckless behavior – drinking and driving, speeding, or ignoring the rules of the road. However, a minority of car accident cases take place when the driver of a vehicle suffers a medical emergency that renders them unable to safely control their vehicle. This may have been the case in Orange County, North Carolina this weekend.
  
  North Carolina State troopers say that 19-year-old Ashley Ann Terry was driving down I-85 near the intersection of I-40 in Efland when she ran off of the road and into a tree. The NC car accident took place on Saturday evening at around 10 pm. Although she was wearing a seatbelt, Terry died from her car accident injuries at the scene of the crime, which took place near an interstate weigh station. North Carolina state Highway Patrol Trooper Mark Melvin said that her car struck several trees and rolled over.
  
  While NC police say that speed and alcohol were not factors in the case, they don’t know what could have caused the young woman to veer off of the road and into a tree without applying the brakes. Police did mention that Terry could have been suffering from low blood sugar, a condition that can cause dizziness, fainting, confusion, and fatigue. The fact that she did not brake when veering out of her lane suggests that she was not conscious at the time of the North Carolina car accident.
  
  Those who suffer from chronic medical problems that could cause them to lose control of their car (such as seizures) should not drive. However, some people may suffer from an unpredictable medical emergency, such as a heart attack or stroke, while behind the wheel.
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• North Carolina #8 In Car Accident Insurance Fraud & Staged Accidents
  Jan 27, 2010

  Perhaps the most important rule about getting fair compensation from your insurance company is to tell the complete truth about your car accident and injuries. While insurance companies do have a history of awarding unfair amounts or denying valid claims, there is absolutely no reason to try and cheat a company for insurance money – it is illegal and wrong. The best way to fight an unfair car accident insurance claim in North Carolina is to call an experienced insurance dispute lawyer.
  
  Unfortunately, according to a new report, North Carolina has the eighth-highest rate of car accident insurance fraud in the nation. The National Insurance Crime Bureau released car accident staging and insurance fraud rates this week and reported that North Carolina had 2,194 instances of staged auto accidents and faked car insurance claims. Nationally, the rate of staged car accidents rose 5.8 percent, with 74,676 questionable claims filed in 2009.
  
  Staged accidents and fraudulent car accident insurance claims don’t just hurt the insurance company – they take money away from those who honestly need compensation for their car accidents and car accident injuries. Fraud claims can cause higher premium rates and cost insurance company hours of time better spent on real car accident victims. In other cases, car accident staging could involve one scammer and one innocent driver – someone who is hit by another car and then accused of being at fault for the accident.
  
  If you think you have been involved in a staged car accident, call the police and your insurance company immediately. - 3 - 10

• Christmas Travelers Fill The Roads In North Carolina For Holiday Season
  Dec 26, 2009

  Less than a week after being pummeled with a rare snowstorm, North Carolina residents are preparing to hit the roads for holiday trips, vacations, and family visits. AAA Carolinas predicts that over 3 million North Carolina drivers will travel between today and January 2, with many driving over 50 miles to reach their destination. This is a slight drop in the travel estimates from last year. In fact, 4.7% fewer people are expected to travel between Christmas and New Years in 2009. Three fourths of those traveling will go by car, while the remainder will fly or take the train.
  
  The drop in North Carolina travel is connected with the recession and continued poor economy – with many worried about the housing market, jobs, and security, some are choosing to stay home. At the same time, other workers have seen pay cuts and vanishing bonuses this year. In addition, gas prices are significantly higher this year than in 2008, with the cost of a gallon of gas increasing by 87 cents.
  
  Those going by car may still be facing adverse weather conditions following a rash of heavy snowfall last weekend. The bad weather, snowy roads, and short visibility increased the number of car accidents and car accident injuries in the area.
  
  Driving during the holidays is more difficult than driving at other times of the year – there are many more people on the road and many of those drivers could be fatigued, under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or simply driving in an unfamiliar place. December roads can also be more treacherous, even with North Carolina’s traditionally mild climate.
  - 4 - 10

• Speed Is Blamed For A Three-Fatality Crash In Fayetteville
  Dec 24, 2009

  Multiple families were ripped apart this week when a speeding Mustang cause a three-car fatal accident on Hope Mills Road in Fayetteville, North Carolina. North Carolina Police say that 26-year-old Tristan Hanna’s contract nurse job in Cape Fear Valley Medical Center had run out and that the young man and his fiancée were packed up and returning to New York when the Fayetteville three-car accident occurred. Witnesses reported that the Mustang was speeding, probably going 90 miles per hour, at the time of the collision.
  
  The Mustang swerved into ongoing traffic while trying to miss hitting a car in front of him, and hit a white minivan which then slammed into a furniture truck. The minivan was carrying 26-year-old Hien Troung from Parkton, his young wife, and their infant daughter. Hanna, Troung, and the baby all died of the car accident injuries, though all three were airlifted to Chapel Hill Medical Center. Troung’s wife, Hanna’s fiancée, and the two people in the furniture truck were all injured and rushed to nearby hospitals. The two women are in critical condition.
  
  The accident occurred a few minutes after 2 pm on Thursday. Police say that speed was definitely a factor in the crash and that although bottles of alcohol were found in the Mustang, drinking did not appear to be involved. The collision occurred near George Owen Road and Camden Road.
  
  "We had three patients pinned in. All of them were code traumas," Hope Mills Fire Chief Chief Chuck Hodges told reporters. - 5 - 10

• Bengals Receiver Chris Henry Dies Falling From Pickup Truck In NC
  Dec 17, 2009

  Chris Henry, a five-season Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver who had recently turned over a new leaf in his personal life was killed after falling out of a pickup truck driven by his fiancée during a domestic dispute.
  
  Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police reported that the star football player was arguing with his soon-to-be wife Loleini Tonga when she attempted to drive away. Henry jumped into the back of the truck but was soon thrown out of the vehicle. Emergency responders rushed the NfL player to Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, but he died of his severe injuries from his fall from the moving vehicle on early Thursday morning. The dispute and NC car accident took place around noon on Wednesday. He and Tonga were to be married in March.
  
  Homicide detective in Charlotte are working on the case and trying to better understand what caused Henry to fall from the truck bed. The NC car accident took place on a residential road in Charlotte, North Carolina.
  
  Henry had faced past problems with the law and his personal life in the past, but his last season on the Bengals, though colored by injury, had been a period of growth and peace for the talented wide receiver. Many credited Tonga with helping Henry mature after years of discipline problems. The team mourned his loss on Thursday, with Chad Ochocinco donning Henry’s number at practice. Henry left behind three children.
  
  The exact cause of death is not yet known, and it is not yet know whether Tonga was present at the scene of the accident after Henry fell off of the Ford truck. - 6 - 10

• NC Family Sues For $1 Million After Car Accident Victim Mistaken For Dead
  Dec 03, 2009

  In a horrific news story out of Raleigh, North Carolina, a family is fighting for compensation against a Franklin County and paramedic after family member Larry Green was mistaken for dead by emergency responders at a car accident and left in a body bag in a freezer. The family is seeking $1 million to pay for medical car.
  
  In 2005, then-29-year-old Green was attempting to cross Highway 401 at night when he was involved in a serious pedestrian accident. He was struck by a vehicle and found in the roadway by paramedic. One paramedic could not find a pulse and he was declared dead at the scene of the accident. No one tried to resuscitate him.
  
  Later, County Medical Examiner, 72-year-old J.B. Perdue examined Green’s car accident injuries but ignored several signs that Green was still breathing and alive, including a moving chest and an eye twitch. Only after the man had been in a refrigerator for an hour did a North Carolina Highway Patrolman see another eye twitch.
  
  Though Green is alive, he requires 24-hour care, eats through a tube, and is limited to a nursing home bed. His family would like money for his care as well as for therapy to help him learn to talk and eat on his own.
  
  While the family has reached a settlement with Franklin County, they are still in a legal battle with the paramedics involved. Purdue resigned from his job in 2008. - 7 - 10

• No Texting And Driving Law Goes Into Effect Tuesday Dec 1 In NC
  Dec 03, 2009

  On November 30, it was illegal for new and teenaged drivers in North Carolina to read or send text messages while driving. But starting Tuesday, December 1, it will be illegal for anyone driving in North Carolina to use their mobile devices to text message while behind the wheel.
  
  While adult drivers will still legally be able to talk on their cell phones while driving, they will not be able to send text messages, read or send emails, or surf the internet when on the road. Those who break the new North Carolina texting law could face a $100 fine and any extra costs of going to court.
  
  North Carolina is one of a large number of states that have passed no texting laws in the past few years. After the advent of cellular phones, more and more drivers have been distracted by their mobile devices while driving – a distraction that lawmakers believe result in a significant number of car accidents and car accident injuries. Seven states have even go so far as to ban handheld cell phone and mobile device use altogether.
  
  In fact, several recent studies have revealed that distracted driving – and specifically text messaging – is a factor in a shocking number of car accidents and truck accidents. One recent study found that sending texts while driving increases the chances of an accident by four. - 8 - 10

• Pregnant Louisburg Mother And Two Children Killed In Car Wreck
  Nov 30, 2009

  The Triangle area was plagued with a high number of holiday car accidents this Thanksgiving weekend – with a number of serious injuries and fatalities marring the normal joy of the holiday. Raleigh-Durham police say that the roads are always more dangerous during the holidays, a time when more cars clog the roads and more people are found to be drinking and driving.
  
  In what was arguably the most heart-wrenching of the Thanksgiving crashes was the death of a pregnant mother and her two children near Highway 96 in Franklinton, North Carolina. On the night before Thanksgiving, 26-year-old Melissa Jo Bullock Godfrey and her two children, five-year-old Georgia and four-year-old John took to the roads shortly after nine pm in Granville County. Police are unsure of what caused the one-vehicle accident that took the lives of everyone in the vehicle. Godfrey had been visiting her in-laws and was headed home. She was on a rural road at the time of the fatal accident.
  
  The Virginia State Highway Patrol said that Godfrey had veered off of the road, overcorrected, and rolled her vehicle into a tree. The car also drove through a ditch. The two children died at the scene of the accident while Godfrey later died of her injuries at WakeMed. The North Carolina car accident is still under investigation. The family hailed from Louisburg. - 9 - 10

• Seriously Injured Woman Spends 19 Hours In North Carolina Woods After SUV Crash
  Sep 28, 2009

  The North Carolina Highway Patrol reports that a woman crashed her SUV into the North Carolina woods and spent 19 hours waiting for help before she was discovered by a group of children.
  
  The North Carolina SUV accident, which took place in Alamance County, involved 38-year-old Sandra Fuller, who dropped a friend off at 11:30 pm on Sunday before driving off the road after failing to negotiate a curve. The car flew off of Whitney road and down a wooded embankment.
  
  Fuller was badly injured in the car accident and waited hurting in the car for help for almost a day. Finally, she mustered the strength to crawl to the road where four children on bikes helped her. She was taken to UNC Hospitals where she was treated for her automobile accident injuries and dehydration. As of money, she was listed in stable condition.
  
  NC police belive that Fuller was probably speeding at the time of the accident and charges are pending as the investigation comes to a close. Fuller also told authorities that she had consumed several beers before driving home. The accident took place in the Eli Whitney area of North Carolina.
  
  Fuller's vehicle was not visible from the road and there was no one living close enough to the site of the North Carolina SUV accident to have heard it happen.
  
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