Personal injury can come from a number of places. Over the years, negligent driving has accounted for many short-term and long-term injuries. It has also resulted in the death of many victims. Personal injuries can take a massive toll on your physical well-being, as well as your mental, emotional, and financial state.
Similarly, if a person’s negligent driving kills your loved one, it can weigh heavily on you. However, there are legal steps you can take to get compensated. These steps can help restore accident victims or their loved ones to their pre-injury state. They can lighten the financial burden of losing a loved one.
An excellent way to kick off is hiring one of our top-notch Charlotte personal injury attorneys. But first, let’s look at ways negligent driving results in car accidents in Charlotte.
Different Ways Negligent Driving Causes Personal Injury
Negligence deals with not exercising proper or appropriate care when doing something. Therefore, negligent driving refers to driving without applying reasonable care. This lack of proper care can result in a car accident and cause personal injuries.
Some instances of negligent driving include:
Speeding
Driving too fast can pose a lot of dangers. You may quickly lose control of the steering wheel and find it difficult to regain control in time. This could lead to a ghastly or fatal accident.
Aside from this, it might be challenging to hit your vehicle’s brakes if you need to. This could prevent you from avoiding a car accident or a motorcycle accident. A consequence of this could be a severe personal injury.
Drunk Driving
Binge drinking can slow your reflexes behind the wheels. It can also affect your vision, concentration, and comprehension and therefore affect your ability to drive correctly. This is why drunk driving results in accidents and leaves people injured. It’s also why cops are quick to check if you’re drunk when you violate traffic rules.
Drowsy Driving
Similar to being drunk, being tired can affect your concentration, comprehension, and vision. It can also make you too slow on the wheel. Driving when fatigued is common among commercial truck drivers and night shift workers. The National Safety Council (NSC) reports that drowsy driving accounts for about 100,000 crashes, 71,000 injuries, and 1,550 fatalities each year.
Distracted Driving
Losing focus on the road can cause a crash and result in personal injuries. Some instances of being distracted while driving include;
- Taking your hands off the steering wheel
- Taking your eyes off the road
- Answering a phone call which can keep you mentally distracted from the road
Driving Too Closely
This is also called tailgating a vehicle and is likely to lead to an accident. It refers to when you drive too closely behind a car. A consequence of this is that if the leading vehicle slows down, you won’t have enough time to hit your brakes. This could result in a crash and harm you and the other driver.
Disobeying Road Rules
This can be ignoring traffic lights or stop signs when leaving a parking lot or making a U-turn. It can also be improper lane changing which could cause you to collide with another vehicle.
Possible Injuries Resulting From Car Accidents
Some personal injuries that you can sustain as a result of a car accident are:
- Spinal cord injuries
- Brain injuries
- Internal Injuries
- Burns
- Fractures
- Shoulder injuries
- Neck Injuries
- Wrist and hand injury
- Foot and ankle injuries
Proving Negligence in Charlotte, North Carolina
There are five elements your claim of negligence should contain. They include:
- The defendant had a duty of care to either act or not act in a specific way.
- The defendant breached that duty of care.
- Breach of that duty resulted in the plaintiff’s injury.
- The defendant should have foreseen the likelihood that someone would be harmed by their negligent driving.
- The injury resulted in actual damages.
However, North Carolina is one of the five U.S states that follow the pure contributory negligence rule. This means that if any of your actions also caused the accident, you won’t be allowed to receive any damages.
Charlotte Personal Injury Attorneys Can Help You!
You may have a lot of questions about your legal options for personal injury. Our Charlotte personal injury lawyers can answer them. We can also help you file lawsuits, prepare legal documents, gather evidence, represent you at court hearings, and undertake other proceedings on your behalf.
Aside from these, we have physicians who can help you with your injuries. This way, you get both medical and legal services with ease. Contact us today at Ted A. Greve and Associates for a free initial consultation. We’re always here for you.
