Personal Injury FAQ's

1.    What is personal injury?
2.    What is Contributory Negligence?
3.    What does it mean when a law firm works on a Contingency Fee basis?
4.    What is Uninsured Motorist (UM) and Underinsured Motorist Coverage (UIM)?
5.    What is Medical Payment Coverage (Med Pay or MedPay) and how might it affect my personal injury case?
6.    What is the legal definition of Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) or Driving Under the Influence (DUI)?

1. What is personal injury?
In simple terms, personal injury is when a person is hurt due to someone else's actions. It is up to the injured party to prove that the other party acted irresponsibly in causing the accident — such as running a red light or not fencing in a dangerous dog — and that the injury was a direct result of these actions.

2. What is Contributory Negligence?
North Carolina is a contributory negligence state. This means if the insurance company can prove you in any way contributed to the accident by not exercising reasonable care under the circumstances, you may be completely barred from obtaining compensation for your injuries.

3. What does it mean when a law firm works on a Contingency Fee basis?
When someone says that a "law office works on a contingency fee basis" it is another way of saying that the attorney's fee is based on a percentage of the gross recovery.  This arrangement allows many individuals to obtain legal representation even if they do not have funds to retain a lawyer at the outset of a case. While a case may have fees and costs associated with it, there is no hourly or flat fee charged by the firm.  Simply put, if you do not recover compensation from your claim, there is no attorney's fee.  

4. What is Uninsured Motorist (UM) and Underinsured Motorist Coverage (UIM) and how might it affect my personal injury case?
Everyone in North Carolina must carry Uninsured Motorist (UM) Coverage and Underinsured Motorist (UIM) Coverage.

Your Uninsured Motorist (UM) Coverage will provide protection when you or another person covered by your car insurance policy is injured by an uninsured driver who is at-fault. This includes unidentified hit-and-run ("phantom”) drivers, as long as there was physical contact between the vehicles. It also provides property damage coverage. 

Your Underinsured Motorist (UIM) Coverage will provide protection when you or another person covered by your car insurance policy is injured by an underinsured driver who is at-fault.

5. What is Medical Payment Coverage (Med Pay or MedPay) and how might it affect my personal injury case?
Many car insurance policies contain Med Pay coverage, which can be used to pay medical bills in the event of injury, regardless of who is at fault. MedPay coverage provides reasonable and necessary medical and funeral expenses due to a car accident. The policy will pay up to the limits listed in the policy for each individual injured.

The at-fault party may be liable for the cost of your medical bills, lost wages, and pain & suffering. In North Carolina, you may be able to recover from your MedPay coverage as well.  There can be complicated interactions with MedPay and other insurance coverages that require consulting with an experienced personal injury attorney.  

6.    What is the legal definition of Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) or Driving Under the Influence (DUI)?
A person is considered to be "Driving While Intoxicated,”  "DWI," "drunk driving," "Driving Under the Influence" or "DUI" is he/she has a Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) of 0.08 or higher and is operating a motor vehicle. People are also considered driving while intoxicated if they are under the influence of an impairing substance (such as drugs).

About the Law Offices of James Scott Farrin

When selecting a legal team, experience matters.

The Law Offices of James Scott Farrin has helped more than 20,000 injured North Carolinians. The firm offers a Personal Injury Department in which more than half of the attorneys have at least 10 years of experience and several have 15 years or more.

The Personal Injury Department also has several members who formerly worked as defense attorneys for insurance companies, so they have seen the law from both sides.

If you work with us, you can expect:

•    24/7 toll-free phone access at 1-866-900-7078;
•    Free and expedient initial case evaluation
•    We will come to your home, job site or hospital — morning, noon or night;
•    Periodic customer service calls to make certain we are delivering outstanding client service;
•    Internal goals of frequent case manager or attorney-client contact;
•    If we cannot assist you, we will strive to place you in contact with someone who may be able to help;
•    Many convenient office locations around the state. Click here to view all of our locations.

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