When you are hurt and have nowhere to turn, you should know that you can find a legal ally and advocate at Auger & Auger Accident and Injury Lawyers. For over 26 years, we have represented the interests of injured clients and their families. In every case, we fight for our client’s rights to the maximum amount of compensation available under the law.
Whether you have been in a car accident, truck accident, medical malpractice incident, a slip and fall, a dog bite incident, or any other type of injury, we want to hear about your case.
No matter the reason for your personal injury, you will likely be in a situation where you have mounting bills, and many missed days of work. Hiring a personal injury lawyer to represent you can open up avenues for finding compensation for your injury and all of your related damages.
Our personal injury attorneys always vigorously pursue all available legal avenues against all potentially liable parties to maximize your chances of getting the total compensation you deserve.
Most importantly, we represent all of our clients on a contingency basis. That means you never have to pay anything unless we win your case and successfully get you a settlement or court award for your damages.
Speak to a personal injury lawyer who cares about your situation and wants to help for free when you schedule a no-obligation consultation appointment. Schedule your free case review by calling (800) 559-5741 or using our convenient form to contact us online.
Representing Multiple Types of Personal Injury Cases in the Carolinas and U.S.
No one expects to get hurt. Yet, every year, millions of accidents leave victims across the Carolinas and the U.S. severely injured. Some may miss work for days or months due to their condition. Others may be permanently paralyzed or debilitated, forcing them to seek alternative means of income. A select unlucky few never recover and pass on as a result of their injuries.
We want to help you and your family in your time of need, no matter how your injury happened. Auger & Auger Accident and Injury Lawyers represent clients in a variety of personal injury cases, including but not limited to:
- Car accidents
- Truck accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Bicycle accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
- Daycare injuries
- Dog bites
- Premises liability, including security negligence
- Slip and fall injuries
- Boating accidents
- Aviation accidents
- Wrongful death
- Medical malpractice
- Dangerous drugs
- Defective medical devices
- Defective products
- Construction accidents
- Workers’ compensation
- Other personal injuries
Types of Damages Available After a Personal Injury Case
Personal injury victims and their families often encounter tremendous costs due to their accident or incident. Fortunately, they can use the insurance system to pursue a liability claim against all relevant parties.
If an agreement cannot be reached through the claims system, a personal injury lawsuit will be filed against all at-fault parties. Our personal injury lawyers are prepared to take a case to a jury trial if necessary. We have fought for many clients’ cases through the court system and have obtained favorable verdicts.
Common damages we seek for clients include compensation for:
- Medical bills, past and future
- Lost wages
- Out-of-pocket expenses
- Property damage
- Future rehabilitation or therapy
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of use of a limb, organ, or bodily system
- Permanent disfigurement or disability
- Loss of earning capacity
- Mental anguish
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Funeral and burial expenses
- Punitive damages
Strategies Auger & Auger Uses to Win Cases
Every personal injury case is unique, but many legal strategies have similarities across multiple personal injury types.
For cases involving an accident that led to an injury, we will likely pursue a claim based on a legal theory of negligence. For a person or a company to be found negligent, they must have committed an act — or failed to commit an act — that breached the expected duty of care. It will also be important to show that this negligent act led directly to your injuries and that these injuries caused you damages.
A duty of care refers to a responsibility to avoid behaviors or decisions that a “reasonable person” would know are dangerous and, thereby, likely to cause harm to someone else.
When a failure to uphold a duty of care directly results in an injury and causes real damages that a victim could recover through the legal system, they have grounds to file a lawsuit based on negligence.
Defective product cases do not need to show negligence but rather that the product was used as intended and caused harm. This type of case is referred to as a strict liability case.
Regardless of the case type, Auger & Auger will appoint clients with a personal injury lawyer familiar with the relevant laws and the typical procedure followed by successful past cases. We also do everything we can to gather evidence of the defendant’s negligence or the harmfulness of their products and how these dangerous conditions led directly to our client’s injuries.
If possible, we attempt to show that the risks were foreseeable to the defendant, yet they continued anyways, making the risk of an injury like yours all but certain.
These general approaches coupled with case-specific strategies give each case a high chance of bringing in the maximum compensation available under the law.
You Can’t Always Trust Insurers After Your Accident
After you have been involved in a car accident, slip and fall, daycare center accident, or any case, you may be contacted by insurance employees or lawyers representing the defendant. While some cases have favorable outcomes for injury victims who cooperate with insurers and take their assessment of their damages at face value, countless more cases result in victims accepting a settlement that is far lower than the sum of their damages. As a result, their settlement quickly runs out, and they are left to pay for the costs of an injury that someone else caused.
In some cases, insurers and lawyers may dispute the costs of treating the injury or claim their client is even liable for the victims’ damages. Insurance adjusters love to make the victim of an accident out to be at fault in any way they can. In North Carolina, they can get out of paying a claim entirely if they can prove that the injury was even one percent the victim’s fault. South Carolina comparative negligence laws are less strict, allowing victims to receive compensation if they are less than 50 percent at fault. However, their damages will be reduced by the percent they are deemed to be at fault, so it’s advantageous for the insurance company to shift blame onto the victim in both states.
Often they do this by calling the injured party to “ask a few questions” about the accident. They may mention this will help get that insurance claim processed faster. This sounds good to the accident victim. The questions start simple, and the interviewer is friendly and kind. But then there are more questions than expected. The interviewer may point out that something was the victim’s fault, but because the insurance company is so very generous, they’ll split the costs of treatment with the victim. Or, the insurance adjuster may say nothing at all, and later the injured person gets a letter denying their claim because the accident was “their fault.” If they call to find out why they may learn that something they said was misinterpreted to mean they caused the injury!
Has something like this already happened to you? If it has, don’t make any snap decisions. We encourage you to speak with a qualified personal injury lawyer to get another perspective on your case and find out if the insurance company’s offer is a reasonable one. If not, your attorney can fight the insurance company on your behalf for the compensation you deserve. We’ve met many people who thought their case was hopeless because that’s what the insurance agent led them to believe. It’s better to find out for yourself by speaking with a lawyer.
The central issue is this: insurers want to pay out as little as possible for an accident, and lawyers want their clients to avoid any liability if at all possible. What often ends up happening is that injured victims feel pressured into accepting low settlements or no settlement at all because they incorrectly believe that their case isn’t a strong one.
At Auger & Auger Accident and Injury Lawyers, we vigorously fight these tactics and stand up for the legal rights of our hurt clients. Lead attorney Arlene P. Auger formerly represented large insurance companies, so our lawyers understand the tactics insurers use when deciding whether to pay for a claim and how much to value it. Using evidence and proven legal strategies, we give clients the highest chances of successfully obtaining compensation for all of their damages, not just some.
What To Remember About Communicating With the Insurance Company:
- Don’t talk to the insurance adjuster until you’ve spoken with a lawyer first.
- If you’ve already talked to them, it’s not too late to seek legal advice, but do so as soon as possible.
- If someone calls from the insurance company, you don’t have to answer or stay on the phone. You have no legal obligation to talk to them.
- Never accept an offer made by an insurer without getting legal advice first, even if it sounds like a good deal. It’s easy to overlook expenses or future costs, and you don’t want to settle for less than you need to recover from your injuries.
- Insurance adjusters are well-versed in the laws in your state, whether it’s North or South Carolina. They know every legal loophole and won’t hesitate to exploit one to get out of paying their fair share. Unless you’re an expert on insurance law, handling the insurance company on your own is not recommended.
- A personal injury lawyer has the knowledge and skills to go up against the insurance company and negotiate an equitable settlement on your behalf.
How Personal Injury Claims Work
Your lawyer will review your situation’s process and answer your questions. In general, most personal injury cases open with a claim against the at-fault party’s insurance company. If you have not already made one, your lawyer can file one for you after learning the details of your case.
Injuries don’t always result from being hit by a stranger in another car. In some cases, your injuries may involve people you know: friends, neighbors, perhaps your employer, or a local business you frequent. Sometimes people feel awkward about suing a person they know, but in reality, you will most likely be making a claim with an insurance company. They exist to pay claims when people are injured (even if their representatives work very hard to avoid paying some claims). We will be negotiating with the insurance company for you, not hassling your neighbor or the nice couple who runs your favorite coffee shop. There is no reason for you to bear the financial responsibility for an accident that wasn’t your fault, especially when the at-fault party likely pays for liability insurance for precisely this situation.
Another misconception is that all personal injury cases involve lengthy court cases. In reality, we settle most claims out of court. In the event that the insurance company simply won’t budge, we usually sue the insurer, not the insured. Even after we’ve filed paperwork with the court for a lawsuit, we can still negotiate with the insurance carrier if they’re willing to reconsider. Only a small percentage of cases go to court.
There are a few situations where the at-fault party’s insurance may not cover all your damages. Insurance policies have limits. Depending on the situation, this could be anywhere from a few thousand dollars to a million dollars. Car insurance policies, for example, have a minimum requirement of $30,000 in bodily injury liability per person in the state of North Carolina. However, some commercial truckers carry $750,000 – $1,000,000 in bodily injury liability. Homeowner’s and business liability policies vary in what they cover and how much will be paid.
If your damages surpass the coverage of the other party’s policy, you may find that you’re left with some of your bills unpaid, even if the insurance company doesn’t fight you on the validity of your claim. However, there may still be other options, and we will work hard to identify them. In motor vehicle accidents, your own uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage may provide additional funding.
If your injuries were very severe, catastrophic, or permanent, your claim could be worth a substantial amount of compensation that even multiple insurance policies won’t completely cover. These situations are not common, but when they do happen, sometimes it may be in your best interest to directly sue the responsible party. We only recommend this option in situations where the other party has adequate assets to pay a judgment, so you don’t have to worry about suing someone who can’t afford it.
If the other party doesn’t have the finances to pay the remainder of your damages, we may consider other third parties who might be liable. In some cases, other businesses or individuals may have contributed to your injury. For example, another driver may have caused a car accident, but a defective car part or design could have worsened your injuries. Or you might have been hurt at work, meaning you’re probably eligible for a worker’s compensation claim, but the cause of your injury could be a defective product or the reckless actions of a third party who does not work for your employer. In these situations, we may consider claims against these other parties.
Speak With a Personal Injury Lawyer Who Cares During a Free Consultation
Auger & Auger Accident and Injury Lawyers want to help you. Because we operate on a contingency basis and your first consultation appointment is always free, there is no risk of learning more about your legal options after your injury.
You can appoint a personal injury attorney to represent you and who will dig deep through the facts of your case to find out the best strategies for your unique situation. We always keep clients informed of their rights and options, advising them as to their best choices but never forcing them to make a decision they don’t feel comfortable with.
By negotiating with insurers, filing paperwork on behalf of victims, and digging up any evidence we can find to back your case, we give you and your family a strong chance of resuming as close to normal life as possible after your injury.
Don’t be burdened by debt, and don’t accept that you have to pay for the consequences of an accident that was someone else’s fault. Call one of our personal injury attorneys now, and talk to someone who cares.
Schedule your free, no-obligation consultation when you call (855) 969-5671 or contact us online.
