A motorcyclist lost his leg in a two-vehicle accident in Southmont, North Carolina on Nov. 20, according to the North Carolina State Highway Patrol.
The police stated that a Nissan 370Z went left of center on Holloway Church Road in Southmont, and hit a man on a motorcycle. The motorcyclist was taken by Lifeflight to a local hospital.
The highway patrol added that the driver of the motorcycle lost his leg in the crash, and had to have more of it amputated around the femur due to the seriousness of the injuries. The crash victim also had surgery on his aorta.
The Nissan driver has been charged with DUI, driving left of center, reckless driving and driving without a license.
Our View
Our North Carolina personal injury lawyers were sad to read that this motorcyclist has been maimed for life due to the possibly negligent actions of the Nissan driver. It is an unfortunate fact that when a car hits a motorcyclist, the injuries are usually severe and possibly fatal.
If the Nissan driver is convicted of all charges, he will probably spend several years in state prison, but this fact does not compensate the motorcyclist for the loss of his leg. When a person loses a limb due to the negligence of another driver, he or she may be able to file a personal injury lawsuit to recover damages.
How much money can you receive after a car accident and loss of a limb? It depends on a variety of factors:
- What your job was before the car accident and whether the loss of the limb will affect your ability to earn a living. If you lose a leg, it is very likely that this will make it more difficult to earn a living.
- Your age. How many years you have left in your work life will affect compensation.
- The lifestyle changes after the accident. Losing a leg is a major, life changing loss that affects one’s ability to enjoy life. If you lose the ability to do things that you enjoyed, this is a major factor in the level of compensation in the personal injury lawsuit.
- The person or company being sued – how much insurance is carried by the person or company
- The state in which the injury occurred – North Carolina has a cap on punitive damages that may not exceed three times the amount of your compensatory damages, or $250,000, whichever is greater.
As experienced North Carolina amputation injury attorneys, we want to point out that it is important for an experienced attorney to review these types of cases to determine what a fair settlement would be.
Rick Shapiro has practiced personal injury law for over 30 years in Virginia, North Carolina, and throughout the Southeastern United States. He is a Board-Certified Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy (ABA Accredited) and has litigated injury cases throughout the eastern United States, including wrongful death, trucking, faulty products, railroad, and medical negligence claims. During his three-decade career, Shapiro has won client appeals before the VA Supreme Court, VA Court of Appeals, NC Supreme Court, SC Supreme Court, WV Supreme Court, TN Supreme Court, and three times before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, underscoring Shapiro’s trial achievements. In addition, he and his law firm have won settlements/verdicts in excess of $100 million. His success in and out of the courtroom is a big reason why he was named 2019 “Lawyer of the Year” in railroad law in U.S. News & World Report's Best Lawyers publication (Norfolk, VA area), and he has been named a “Best Lawyer” and “Super Lawyer” by those peer-reviewed organizations for multiple years. Rick was also named a “Leader in the Law, Class of 2022” by Virginia Lawyers Weekly (total of 33 statewide honorees consisting of lawyers and judges across Virginia). And in September 2023, Rick was selected as a recipient of the National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA) 2023 President’s Award. Although many nominations were submitted from across the country, Rick was just one of eight attorneys chosen by the prestigious National Board which certifies civil trial attorneys across the U.S. Rick was also recently named to Virginia Lawyers Weekly 2024 Virginia’s Go To Lawyers Medical Malpractice. The attorneys awarded this honor are nominated by their colleagues and chosen by a panel from the publication.
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