Contributory Negligence

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, your claim 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, 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.