If you are not at fault you have two options. You can contact the insurance company of the person who is at fault for the accident. This insurance company will only pay for damage to your car if they determine that their insured caused the accident.

In the alternative, if you purchased collision coverage, you can contact your own automobile insurance company. Your insurance company will pay for the damage to your car, less any deductibles, no matter who is at fault in the accident.

Kellum Law Firm will handle your property damage claim at no charge if the law firm is employed to handle your personal injury case.

Insurance companies require prompt notification of how, when and were an accident or loss happened. When you are injured and in pain, you do not feel like dealing with an insurance adjuster so we at the Kellum Law Firm take that responsibility off of you. As part of our service to you, we will contact the insurance companies to let them know about your injury and we will keep them updated on your progress as you recover. At the proper time, we will seek to negotiate a settlement for you with the insurance company.

Immediately! You should report all accidents to your insurance company, broker or agent as soon as possible so that they are not in a position to deny any legitimate claim that you might have. In addition, your auto insurance may provide you with many benefits and services of which you are unaware. Contacting your insurance company ensures that you will be entitled to the benefits you have paid for.

The investigating officer's report will document how the wreck occurred, and may indicate who the officer considers at fault in the accident. However, the insurance adjuster is not bound to follow the officer’s opinion. Therefore, it is particularly important that you seek the advice of an experienced attorney who will conduct a thorough investigation in order to support and document who is at fault.

 Investigation may include obtaining the accident report, statements from all parties and witnesses to the accident, and photographing the vehicles and the accident scene. In certain circumstances it is necessary to retain an accident reconstruction expert or other engineering expert to support our claim.

Not in the traditional sense of the word. Defendants in civil actions for personal injury do not receive jail terms or criminal fines as punishment. Those are criminal sentences, and personal injury cases are civil actions. However, in some cases, juries and courts can award what are called “punitive damages,” which are designed to punish defendants who have behaved recklessly or intentionally against the public's interest. The goal in ordering the payment of punitive damages is to discourage such defendants and others from engaging in the same kind of harmful behavior in the future.

A personal injury lawsuit can average 2 to 3 years, but keep in mind that each case is unique, therefore one cannot predict the amount of time needed to bring you your settlement. Just keep moving forward in your lawsuit and make sure that your lawyers and their staff are getting the job done.

It depends on whether the person died as a result of injuries from the accident or from unrelated causes. If a person injured in an accident subsequently dies because of those injuries, that person's heirs may recover money through a lawsuit known as a wrongful death action. Also, even if a person with a personal injury claim dies from unrelated causes, the personal injury claim survives in most cases and may be brought by the executor or personal representative of the deceased person's estate.

You should provide a lawyer with any documents that might be relevant to your case. Police reports, for example, contain eyewitness information and details about the conditions surrounding auto accidents, fires, and assaults. Copies of medical reports and bills from doctors and hospitals will help demonstrate the extent and nature of your injuries. Information about the insurer of the person who caused your injury is extremely helpful, as are any photographs you have of the accident scene, your property damage, and your injury. The more information you are able to give your lawyer, the easier it will be for him or her to determine if your claim will be successful. If you haven't collected any documents at the time of your first meeting, however, don't worry; your lawyer will be able to obtain them in his investigation of your claim.

Every state has certain time limits, called "statutes of limitations," which govern the amount of time you have to file a personal injury lawsuit. In some states, you may have as little as one year to file a lawsuit arising out of an automobile accident. If you miss the deadline for filing your case, you may lose your legal right to damages for your injury. Consequently, it is important to talk with a lawyer as soon as you suffer or discover an injury.

The critical issue in many personal injury cases is just how a "reasonable person" was expected to act in the particular situation that caused the injury. A person is negligent when he or she fails to act like an "ordinary reasonable person" would have acted. The determination of whether a given person has met the "ordinary reasonable person" standard is often a matter that is resolved by a jury after presentation of evidence and argument at trial.

First, you must have suffered an injury to your person or property. Second, you should consider whether your injury was someone else's fault. It is not always necessary to have a physical injury to bring a personal injury lawsuit. Some personal injury claims could be based on a variety of nonphysical losses and harms. In the case of an assault, for example, you do not need to show that a person's action caused you actual physical harm, but only that you expected some harm to come to you. You also may have a case if someone has attacked your reputation, invaded your privacy, or inflicted emotional distress upon you.

Are you concerned that you may not have a case? Have lost everything that is irreplaceable? If not, and there was no damage, then you probably do not have a cause.

If you have been victim to a car accident and the driver of the other car was at fault or lacked appropriate insurance coverage you should surely call a lawyer. It is common to only have a limited amount of file a lawsuit against this driver. Some insurance companies request arbitration agreements between the two parties to be reached within 60 days after the day of the accident.

If you want to get what you are entitled to from an insurance company you must have knowledge of all of the information and a good understanding of insurance and liability law. The most crucial thing that you can do if you are impaired is to log every piece of your information and every part of your medical care.

Personal injury lawyers understand very well how all the elements of business should be conducted. Prosecutors know that injuries fall under specific categories and how each can be repaired. There are several ways for you to be compensated.

Personal injury lawyers generally require compensatory damages. The reason for this request is to bring the score back to where they were before the accident. Prosecutors call that making the customer whole.

Personal injury lawyers will likely ask for compensatory damages. The reason for this claim is to get the client back to where they were prior to the accident or injury. Lawyers refer to this as making the client "whole."

Special damages are also sought. These cover all costs beyond the winning party. For example, the cost of something that was paid by an injured victim falls under the category of special damages.

Special damages are also requested. These cover any outgoing expenses by the winning party. For example, the cost of something that was paid for by an injured victim would fall under the special damages category.

When a defendant has been found to be willfully harmful or negligent, punitive charges are often asked for. These are damages that go above and beyond the actual financial harm done by the defendant. A lawyer that specializes in personal injury will know all about punitive damages.

There is too much at stake to jeopardize not hiring an attorney. Visit a few near your location and feel free to ask questions. See if anyone that you know can give you a referral.

Are you concerned that you may not have a case? Have lost everything that is irreplaceable? If you have been victim to a car accident and the driver of the other car was at fault or lacked appropriate insurance coverage you should surely call a lawyer. It is common to only have a limited amount of time to file a lawsuit against this driver. If you want to get what you are entitled to from an insurance company, you must have knowledge of all of the information and a good understanding of insurance and liability law. The most crucial thing that you can do if you are injured is to log everything and keep track of your medical care. Personal injury attorneys know that injuries fall under specific categories and how each injury can be repaired. Personal injury lawyers generally require compensatory damages. This request is made to get payment for actual injury or economic loss or “making the customer whole”. Special damages are also sought which cover out-of-pocket costs. Special damages can include medical bills, repairs and replacement of property, loss of wages and other damages which are not speculative or subjective. When a defendant has been found to be willfully harmful or negligent, punitive charges are often asked for. Punitive damages are damages that go above and beyond the actual financial harm done by the defendant. A personal injury lawyer will know all about punitive damages. There is too much at stake to jeopardize not hiring an attorney. The Kellum Law Firm is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to help you with your case.

Yes. Some persons or companies may be held “strictly liable” for certain activities that harm others, even if they have not acted negligently or with wrongful intent. Under this theory, a person injured by a defective or unexpectedly dangerous product, for instance, may recover compensation from the maker or seller of the product without showing that the manufacturer or seller was actually negligent. Also, persons or companies engaged in using explosives, storing dangerous substances, or keeping dangerous animals can be strictly liable for harm caused to others as a result of such activities.

The answer to this question is complicated. In order to have any right to collect for your injuries, the other driver involved in the accident must have been at fault. If you did not cause the accident and have been hurt, you may be entitled to collect money damages for all reasonable and necessary medical bills, your lost wages (if your doctor has put you out of work), and a sum to fairly compensate you for your actual physical pain and mental suffering as well as disfigurement, permanent injury, or projected future medical costs.

What you may be entitled to receive depends on the nature and extent of your injury. Only a thorough review of your case can determine that.

You will need to file an uninsured motorist claim with your own automobile insurance company. This coverage may protect you in regard to both your property damage claim and your personal injury claim. However, this coverage is not mandatory in North Carolina(liability coverage is), so unless you bought it, you will not have it. Check with your agent and if you do not have it, add it to your policy.

No, these claims are separate and distinct. In fact, the property damage claim is usually settled long before the personal injury claim.

It is important that you do not settle your personal injury claim until you have completed your treatment and have been released from care by your physician. Once you settle your personal injury claim and sign a release you cannot later go back to the insurance company or the person who caused the wreck to seek additional sums of money. This is true even if your doctor tells you that you need additional treatment or even surgery.

Not until you have talked with a lawyer with experience in injury cases. Any recorded statement you give to the insurance company, can be used against you at a later hearing or trial of your case. Questions can be confusing or misleading. Therefore, we urge you to consult an attorney prior to giving such a statement. Our attorneys will be present to explain your rights, and to protect your interests during the statement.