Frequently Asked Questions
North Carolina truck accident lawyers provide answers
The Raleigh, NC attorneys at Twiggs, Beskind, Strickland & Rabenau answer some of the most common questions about trucking accidents, personal injury, and wrongful death in North Carolina. Keep in mind that these answers are for general information purposes only and are not intended as a substitute for legal advice. We hope you find the answers to these questions helpful.
- What should I do first when I get into an accident with a truck?
- Who will pay my medical bills?
- Should I talk with the trucking company insurance adjuster?
- Do I need a lawyer?
- What are the advantages of having a lawyer?
- What is the time limit for filing a case in North Carolina?
- How much insurance must a commercial truck have in North Carolina?
- How much insurance must a large passenger vehicle have in North Carolina?
More questions?
Contact Twiggs, Beskind, Strickland & Rabenau online. We offer free initial consultations to discuss your legal options with you in detail.
What should I do first when I get into an accident with a truck?
Seek medical treatment. Your health is your first priority and ours. If you have been in a wreck the first thing to worry about is your health—not your case. When you get hit by a big truck, you get hit hard. If you are in doubt about whether you are hurt, see a doctor or go to an emergency room right away. Do not ignore your pain. Pain may be the only symptom of a severe injury.
Call the police. Insurance companies do not take seriously claims where there is no police report. If you have been hit by a truck and have been injured, call 911 to report the wreck immediately or get someone to do it for you. Unless you require immediate medical attention, stay at the scene until the police arrive.
Document and preserve evidence. At the scene, make sure you get information from the truck driver who hit you and any witnesses. For each, you need—
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Write down the driver license information—state and number—for the driver who hit you and the license plate numbers on the truck and trailer.
Once your immediate medical needs are taken care of, get someone to take photographs of the scene of the accident, even if a mobile phone camera is the only one available. If you have been hurt, make sure that someone takes photos of you and your injuries regularly at home or in the hospital. Important evidence can be lost or destroyed in the days and weeks following an accident. The sooner your lawyer is involved, the more quickly evidence can be protected.
Who will pay my medical bills?
If others are legally responsible for hurting you and you get a settlement or jury verdict against them, part of what you can recover are the costs of your past and future medical bills. Of course, this takes a while. Before then, if you have health insurance or are covered under a government program such as Medicare of Medicaid, your bills are paid the same as if you are sick. If you later collect from the person who hurt you, you may have to pay back some of what your health insurance or government program paid. But that is only if you collect from the person who hurt you.
If you do not have insurance, hospitals treat your urgent injuries and bill you later. In many cases, Twiggs, Beskind, Strickland & Rabenau has successfully persuaded hospitals and doctors to help clients beyond emergency care by agreeing to pay doctor and hospital bills from compensation recovered.
Should I talk with the trucking company insurance adjustor?
NO. Do not speak with an insurance claims adjuster without an attorney present unless you have decided that you do not need a lawyer. Remember that insurance adjustors almost always want to tape record their interviews with you, whether in person or on the telephone. Your lawyer prepares you to give your statement so that what you say is less likely to be misconstrued and used against you during settlement negotiations or in a trial.
Do I need a lawyer?
Not necessarily. The law lets you handle your own case. If you have been in a minor accident or have experience in handling claims with an insurance company, you can represent yourself. For cases with major injuries, however, most people prefer to have an attorney represent them.
What are the advantages of having a lawyer?
An insurance company may believe you are not going to sue if you do not have a lawyer. As a result, you may receive an extremely low offer. An attorney with in-depth knowledge of insurance claims practices can help you develop a strategy for obtaining maximum compensation. You may be eligible to obtain compensation from various policies, including your car insurance policy, your personal health insurance, and your spouse's workplace insurance. Based on the insurance claims strategy chosen, your case could have a completely different outcome.
Getting a lawyer involved in your case early helps ensure that—
- Witnesses are identified and interviewed
- The scene of the crash is documented
- Expert witnesses are obtained
- Evidence is preserved so it can be examined for mechanical failures
- All possible causes of a crash are investigated.
If you have been seriously hurt, you have a lot to handle—your injuries, your recovery, work, family, and your future. A lawyer helps you deal with medical bills, insurance companies, documenting lost wages, and countless other things that come up when you have a serious injury. Most of all, you want someone on your side—someone who can help you through a difficult period by giving you good advice, by working hard for you, and by being fiercely loyal.
What is the time limit for filing a case in North Carolina?
Unless you are under 18 when you are hurt, ordinarily you must file your lawsuit by the third anniversary of when you were hurt. When someone dies, a lawsuit against the person or company responsible for the death ordinarily must be filed before the second anniversary of the death.
How much insurance must a commercial truck have in North Carolina?
Large commercial trucks, those with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of more than 10,000 pounds, must have at least $750,000 in liability insurance for every accident. The law requires at least $1,000,000 in liability insurance if a large truck is carrying certain kinds of oil and hazardous wastes.
The required minimum is $5,000,000 in liability insurance for every accident if a large truck carries certain hazardous substances, explosives, poison gas, liquefied compressed gas or compressed gas, or radioactive materials.
Smaller trucks under 10,000 pounds GVWR also must have liability insurance of at least $5,000,000 if the truck is carrying certain explosives, poison gas, or radioactive materials. Otherwise, small trucks are only required to have coverage of $30,000 per person and $60,000 per accident.
How much insurance must a large passenger vehicle have in North Carolina?
If the vehicle carries more than eight passengers (including the driver), it must have at least $1,500,000 in liability insurance for every accident. If the capacity is more than 15, at least $5,000,000 in liability insurance is required.
