NorthCarolinaLaw

https://edelsteinpayne.com/personal-injury A City's Duty to Maintain Streets and Sidewalks in North Carolina Originally Posted by Sean Cecil Jul 01, 2016 (0 Comments) Yesterday I read an  article   about a recent appellate decision in Washington State, confirming the City of Port Orchard's liability for a bike accident allegedly caused by defective maintenance of a city street. I am licensed in Washington (currently inactive) spent the formative years of my legal career, and keep up with interesting legal developments there. The article, which described the city's liability as previously unresolved, piqued my curiosity regarding such issues here in North Carolina. I am pleased to report that it appears cities in North Carolina also can be liable for injuries that result from negligent maintenance of city roads and sidewalks. (It should be noted, however, that roads and sidewalks maintained by the state Dept. of Transportation are likely protected by state sover...

https://edelsteinpayne.com/personal-injury NC State is Studying Efforts to Reduce Pedestrian Casualties Originally Posted by Sean Cecil Jun 17, 2016  (0 Comments) In an effort to reduce the number of pedestrians hit by cars, NC State is working on a study to determine how best to increase driver awareness of pedestrian and bicycle safety. According to an  article  in yesterday's News & Observer, the study is intended to focus on education and enforcement as "factors that might influence driver behaviors so that they actively yield at pedestrians at crosswalks..." According to the article, 2,400 pedestrians are hit by cars each year in North Carolina. Of the 244 such collisions in Raleigh between 2000-2015, nearly half of them were fatal. It is the law in North Carolina that pedestrians have the right of way, though they are required to look both ways before crossing a highway without crosswalks or "hash marks" indicating a crossing.  Our ...

edelsteinpayne.com Writ of Mandamus Obtained on Behalf of Statesville Firefighter Originally Posted by Sean Cecil Jan 11, 2016 (0 Comments) Last month, Edelstein Payne & Lucas partner Travis Payne and I traveled to Statesville, NC to appear in Iredell County Superior Court to petition the court for a writ of mandamus. A mandamus action in North Carolina is a petition for a court order requiring a governmental official to perform his or her non-discretionary official duties. Our client, a longtime member of the city's fire department, had applied for a promotion and underwent promotional processes. When he was not chosen for the promotion, he sought review of the decision to not promote him, as provided  in the City's Charter. He was denied a Civil Service Board review, despite several explicit requests, and was left with no choice but to petition the court for a writ of mandamus.  There are five "elements" which must be established by a party p...

NCpersonalinjurylawyer.com North Carolina Personal Injury: Dense Smoke Causes Car Wrecks in Western Wake County Originally Posted by Sean Cecil Dec 11, 2015  (0 Comments) According to news reports, a burn pile of smoldering mulch Thursday morning in Western Wake County reduced visibility on a nearby highway, resulting in several car wrecks. Apparently, a construction company was burning "slash" material from clearing property for development, after the company couldn't find anyone to take it away on short notice. The company must be relieved that there were no initial reports of injuries, because it seems there is a very real possibility that they would be liable for those injuries- they probably could still be liable for property damage that resulted from the smoke if they are found to have been negligent in the manner they conducted the burn.  Under North Carolina law, a negligent party is culpable for injuries that result from their negligence. To establ...

www.edelsteinpayne.com NC Workers' Compensation: Delay in Seeking Retroactive Payment for Attendant Care was Reasonable (Originally Posted by Sean Cecil Dec 01, 2015)  (0 Comments) Sometimes it's better not to appeal a ruling you don't agree with. In an opinion issued today by the North Carolina Court of Appeals, workers' comp insurer Liberty Mutual was again ordered to pay an injured worker's attorney fees, after the company unsuccessfully appealed an order to pay for attendant care for the second time. The worker, Connie Chandler, was injured over ten years ago when she fell and hit her head on stairs while performing janitorial duties. She was diagnosed with a concussion and a closed-head brain injury. Her condition deteriorated, eventually she required round-the-clock attendant care and was later ruled legally incompetent; her husband was appointed guardian.  Ms. Chandler's husband acted as his wife's attendant for years, without pa...

https://edelsteinpayne.com/personal-injury North Carolina Personal Injury: The Speeding Problem in Raleigh Originally Posted by Sean Cecil Nov 17, 2015  (0 Comments) Growth brings problems, including increased traffic. The Research Triangle Park area of North Carolina has been one of the fastest growing regions in the country, and has experienced a predictable increase in traffic congestion. According to a Raleigh News & Observer   article   earlier this week, increased congestion is causing some serious safety concerns as drivers avoid arterial streets on their daily commutes to get around rush hour traffic. The article cites the city's efforts to respond to the growing problem, and lists priority roads for infrastructure improvements that can increase safety for all of us: Hardimont Road, followed by Crest Road, Varsity Drive, Quail Ridge Road and Harps Mill Road. Traffic in the Triangle on a recent early Friday morning Motor vehicl...

www.edelsteinpayne.com New York Times series on Arbitration Clauses should be required reading for consumers Originally Posted by Sean Cecil Nov 03, 2015  (0 Comments) While I personally have mixed feelings about arbitration (it can be a relatively fast and cheap way to address a wrong in certain circumstances) the  Times' great series on the serial abuse of arbitration clauses  should be mandatory reading for all consumers. The reporting details how arbitration clauses have found their way into dispute resolution of everything "from botched home renovations to medical malpractice" and are being used to prevent consumers from seeking redress through use of class action lawsuits, which are invaluable for correcting widespread misbehavior with small individual damages that make it impossible for a particular consumer to address acting alone. "Some state judges have called the class-action bans a “get out of jail free” card, because it is nearly impossibl...

www.edelsteinpayne.com NC Court of Appeals: A Recent Look at the "Last Clear Chance" to Prevent Calamity Originally Posted by Sean Cecil Oct 26, 2015 (0 Comments) In personal injury law, liability is usually determined by establishing who was at fault for the injury. Personal Injury cases, also often referred to as Torts, are generally based on allegations of either intentional or negligent conduct. In most states, negligent behavior that causes injury creates liability for the injury .  Contributory Negligence North Carolina, however, adheres to the "contributory negligence" doctrine, meaning that a plaintiff whose own negligence (failure to exercise due care for his own safety) contributed to his injury should not recover any damages for the injury. This is true even in a situation where the defendant is 90% at fault! The theory behind the policy is that the injury would not have happened absent the plaintiff's contribution, so the o...