What is Contributory Negligence and how does it affect my auto accident claim in North Carolina.

Contributory Negligence is when a plaintiff or claimant have, through their own negligence, contributed to the harm they suffered. When someone runs a red light and causes an accident, it should not be hard to determine who was at-fault, right? Not necessarily. North Carolina is a Contributory Negligence State. This means that if the insurance company can prove that you contributed to the accident in any way by not exercising reasonable car under the circumstance, your claim against the at-fault party’s insurance may be denied. So, in the scenario above where another car runs a red light, if it can be proven that you were speeding or were looking at your cell phone while going through the intersection, the at-fault insurance can claim that you contributed. Even in this example, where it is clearly the other driver’s fault, the at-fault driver’s insurance company will try to deny your claim. This is why it is so important to not give any statement to the insurance company before speaking to an experienced attorney who can advise you.

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