Fatal Car Accident Lawyers in Raleigh, NC

Before you can pursue fair compensation for a fatal car crash, you will need to determine which party or parties are to blame for your loved one’s death. Some examples of responsible parties could include:

• Another motorist — Most fatal wrecks are vehicle-on-vehicle crashes in which one or both drivers are to blame. If the other driver was distracted, intoxicated, tired, or failed to obey the rules of the road and caused the crash that killed your loved one, they should compensate you and your family.
• Government entities — Government entities in North Carolina are responsible for designing and maintaining roads. A government’s negligence can include creating unsafe driving conditions by failing to provide proper signs and signals, not removing overgrown vegetation that impedes visibility, failing to properly design roads to be safe at reasonable speeds, and failing to provide adequate crosswalks.
• Construction companies — Construction companies and their managers or employees can be responsible for fatal crashes if they fail to put up the required signs or use flaggers to signal highway construction zones. A construction company may also be responsible if it used or stored construction equipment in a way that endangered motorists and caused a fatal collision.
• Employers — Employers are responsible for what their employees do within the course and scope of employment. As a result, the employer could be held liable if an employee caused a fatal accident while working. If the other vehicle involved in a crash was a commercial vehicle, our North Carolina accident attorneys can determine the owner of the at-fault vehicle, the driver’s employment status, the driver’s purpose for driving when the accident occurred, and whether the at-fault driver was qualified to drive that vehicle.
• Dining or drinking establishments — If a dining or drinking establishment over-serves alcohol to someone they knew would likely drive, and that person causes a crash, the establishment may be liable.
• Negligent entrustment — If a vehicle’s owner lets someone drive that vehicle while knowing the driver is inexperienced, incompetent, unlicensed, intoxicated or has a reckless driving history, the owner could be held responsible if the driver were to cause a fatal crash. This liability extends to parents being accountable for their children’s actions under North Carolina’s family purpose doctrine.
• Passengers — Passengers could cause or contribute to fatal car crashes as well. For example, if a passenger interferes with or distracts the driver, the passenger could be held liable if their actions were to cause a collision.
• Manufacturers — Sometimes, a design or manufacturing defect in a vehicle or one of its components can cause an accident. If that is the case, the manufacturer could be held liable for the results of that defect under product liability laws.