Jocelyn Mackie is a former civil litigator with content published on Findlaw, LifeHacker, and Marketwatch. She became a legal content writer to demystify the law and support informed decision-making by consumers. Jocelyn graduated from Lewis and Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon, and enjoys dutifully serving her cats and horses.
Jocelyn Mackie, J.D.
Jocelyn Mackie is a former civil litigator with content published on Findlaw, LifeHacker, and Marketwatch. She became a legal content writer to demystify the law and support informed decision-making by consumers. Jocelyn graduated from Lewis and Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon, and enjoys dutifully serving her cats and horses.
Adam has resided at the intersection of legal and journalism for two decades. An award-winning journalist and legal strategist, he’s covered high-profile trials in Florida.
After law school, Adam and spent two years clerking for a U.S. District Court judge. He researched and wrote legal precedent in published opinions on behalf of the Court.
He has been an editor, columnist and journalist at the Miami Herald, The Dallas Morning News, The Oregonian, Golf Digest, FindLaw.com and other media outlets.
He lived in Colombia and Argentina teaching legal English to attorneys and law students. He is also a Spanish-language subject matter expert.
An avid waterman, he surfs and scuba dives frequently.
Reviewed
Adam Ramirez, J.D.
Adam has resided at the intersection of legal and journalism for two decades. An award-winning journalist and legal strategist, he’s covered high-profile trials in Florida.
After law school, Adam and spent two years clerking for a U.S. District Court judge. He researched and wrote legal precedent in published opinions on behalf of the Court.
He has been an editor, columnist and journalist at the Miami Herald, The Dallas Morning News, The Oregonian, Golf Digest, FindLaw.com and other media outlets.
He lived in Colombia and Argentina teaching legal English to attorneys and law students. He is also a Spanish-language subject matter expert.
An avid waterman, he surfs and scuba dives frequently.
Editorial Note: We earn a commission from partner links on Forbes Advisor. Commissions do not affect our editors' opinions or evaluations.
Charlotte is the most populous city in North Carolina and is known for its museums, sports teams and the NASCAR Hall of Fame. It’s a great place to explore, but there is always the risk of an accident, whether a car crash, bicycle accident or slip and fall.
Fortunately, there are dedicated personal injury lawyers in Charlotte to advocate on your behalf, making you more likely to receive compensation. Whether you sustain injuries from medical negligence or a defective product, these attorneys are ready to help you.
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Best Personal Injury Attorneys in Charlotte, NC
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North Carolina Personal Injury Laws
North Carolina has harsh restrictions on personal injury cases, making it challenging to receive a fair recovery. Fortunately, talented personal injury lawyers can help you through these obstacles. Here are the laws that may affect your claim.
Statute of Limitations in Personal Injury
A statute of limitations is a time limit on filing a lawsuit. Do not confuse this with filing an insurance claim. Most insurance companies want you to file a claim within days of the accident, so never delay that step.
Claims involving bodily injury must be filed within three years of the accident. For example, if you slipped down an escalator and broke your leg on June 1, 2022, you have until June 1, 2025, to file a lawsuit.
However, if you seek a personal injury lawyer to file a wrongful death claim after losing a loved one to someone else’s negligence, you have two years from the date of death.
The statute of limitations is more complex with medical malpractice claims.
- You usually have three years from the date of the treatment or procedure that amounted to malpractice.
- But if the injury is not discovered for two or more years, you have one year to file suit from the date you discovered the condition.
- However, you cannot file a lawsuit more than four years after the treatment or procedure.
- The exception to that rule is if the malpractice claims involve foreign objects left in your body. You can file the lawsuit within one year of discovering the object but no later than 10 years after the date of the treatment or procedure.
If your defendant is a state government entity, you have the same statute of limitations but extra steps with other deadlines. Before you proceed with a lawsuit, you must file a notice of claim with the Industrial Commission within three years of a personal claim or two years after a wrongful death.
Determining Fault in North Carolina
North Carolina follows the doctrine of pure contributory negligence. If the plaintiff is slightly at fault, meaning as little as 1%, it bars recovery. So, you can’t receive damages from a defendant even if they are 99% at fault.
The defendant has the burden of proof when showing that the plaintiff was at least one percent at fault. This burden is low, so if you were speeding, walking on a damaged sidewalk while looking at your phone or generally distracted and unable to look out for your safety, a defendant could effectively kill your claim. Unfortunately, it doesn’t take much to show you had some fault in your injuries.
However, you are not entirely out of options, even if you’re not the perfect plaintiff. Exceptions to contributory negligence include:
- Children, usually below the age of seven
- Cognitive impairment
- Defendant had a last clear chance to avoid an accident, e.g., swerve from the jaywalking pedestrian
- Willful and wanton conduct, which arises into willful negligence and extreme conduct
Dog Bite Liability
Many states may protect a dog owner if the dog has no previous record of aggression. North Carolina applies strict liability to dog bites, even if the dog never bit anyone before. So, dog owners are liable for any damages arising from a dog bite, regardless of the dog’s past behavior.
Limits on Personal Injury Recovery
North Carolina limits personal injury recovery for medical malpractice and punitive damages. There are no limits on economic damages, which include medical bills, lost wages and other documentable expenses arising from an injury.
The limit in medical malpractice applies to non-economic damages, also called pain and suffering. These damages cap at $500,000, no matter the extent of your injury.
Punitive damages cannot exceed three times the economic damage amount or $250,000, whichever is greater. This limit is unlikely to apply to your case. Punitive damages are rare in personal injury cases unless there is some obscenely indifferent conduct involved.
How to Find a Charlotte, NC Personal Injury Attorney
Finding a personal injury lawyer in Charlotte, NC, doesn’t need to be an overwhelming ordeal. A few tips will help you get started on finding the best match for your case:
- Request referrals. Friends, family, Google reviews or lists like this one are a good starting point for finding names of attorneys who can help you. Once you get the names, you can search online to learn more about them.
- Seek experience. You want someone with experience settling and litigating personal injury cases like yours. Seek personal injury attorneys who represent plaintiffs. You can distinguish them from defense attorneys as their case results and websites discuss helping injured victims. Look at results to see if they handle cases like yours.
- Trust your gut. Hire an attorney you trust and feel comfortable sharing information with. Personal injury cases depend on good communication between attorneys and clients, so choose an attorney who facilitates that rather than discourages it. If someone seems judgmental or dismisses your claims, move on to someone else.
Methodology
Forbes Advisor considered many factors to develop the Best Personal Injury Lawyers in Charlotte, NC, in 2024. Our mathematical module considers and weighs the information collected to calculate a specific rating and reviews these results to find the best attorneys in a given practice area.
Within the model, we review factors that legal professionals and consumers value in an attorney’s qualifications. After assigning weighted scores to hundreds of data points, we narrowed the field down to our top choices based on:
- Legal experience
- Special licenses and certifications
- Ethics and bar disciplinary measures
- Legal thought leadership
- Education and employment background
- Scholarly lectures and writings
- Awards and honors
Forbes Advisor collects public data from various sources, including state bar associations, court records and other published sources on the internet. This information should not be considered comprehensive, however. It might not include additional relevant information on an attorney’s legal skills and experience.
Each lawyer listed here has their own merits. Remember that our list relates to these lawyers’ legal backgrounds but does not evaluate their personalities or knowledge of the law. One attorney may be more suitable than another for your specific legal situation.
One thing that can’t be quantified, though, is the rapport you establish with your attorney. Personality goes a long way when teaming up with an attorney, especially when facing a potentially difficult legal situation. These rankings should serve as a reference and potential starting point in your search for the right lawyer for you and your legal concerns.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What percentage of settlement or verdict proceeds do personal injury attorneys take?
If your case settles and doesn’t go to trial, your attorney will usually take 33% of the proceeds. Some attorneys may increase that share to 40% if your case must go to trial.
When should I file a personal injury claim in North Carolina?
You have three years from the date of the injury to file a claim. If your claim involves the wrongful death of a loved one, that deadline decreases to two years.
What are the chances of my personal injury claim winning?
According to studies, only 4 to 5% of claims are decided by a trial. So, your chances of a favorable settlement are relatively high. But be aware that every case is different, so there are no guaranteed results.
