Durham Car Accident Liability Lawyers

Key Takeaways

• North Carolina is an at-fault state, meaning the driver who causes the crash — and their insurer — is responsible for paying damages.
• State law requires minimum liability insurance of $50k per person, $100k per accident for bodily injury, and $50k for property damage.
• Drivers must report accidents involving injury, death, or $1,000+ in property damage to law enforcement immediately.
• Car accident victims have three years from the date of the crash to file a personal injury lawsuit.
• Determining liability depends on strong evidence, including photos, witness statements, police reports, and traffic law analysis.
• To prove fault, victims must show duty of care, breach, causation, and damages.
• North Carolina follows pure contributory negligence, meaning a victim who is even 1% at fault may be barred from recovering compensation.
• An experienced Durham car accident liability lawyer can help protect evidence, establish fault, and pursue maximum compensation.

When a careless driver causes an accident, you are probably not thinking about anything other than whether anyone is hurt and what happens next. The nuances of liability and how the car accident claim process works likely will not occur to you until well after the adrenaline of the accident wears off.

However, car accident liability and determining who pays for damages are defining issues that can affect your compensation claim and your financial future.

In North Carolina, car accident liability is the legal responsibility someone has for causing a car accident and paying for the resulting losses. The losses can include medical expenses, lost income, pain, suffering, property damage, and other related losses. Liability affects insurance claims, lawsuits, and their outcomes following a car accident.

The Durham car accident liability lawyers at Kornbluth Ginsberg Law Group, P.A., are ready to review the specifics of your situation during a free consultation.

Contact us online now or anytime at 919-980-9895 to find out how we can help with your car accident claim. Our office is conveniently located at 3400 Croasdaile Drive, Suite 300, Durham, NC. Visit us, we can help you!

Is North Carolina a No-Fault State?

Most states have one of two car insurance systems: at-fault or no-fault. In no-fault states, an injured car accident victim turns to their insurance provider first for help paying for medical expenses and lost wages. Fault, therefore, does not dictate which insurance company pays for damages. No matter who caused the accident, the victims file claims with their own insurance companies.

At-fault states are different. States that follow a fault-based car insurance system assign financial responsibility for the crash to the liable party and their insurance provider when an accident occurs. That is why proving liability for an accident is crucial in states that use a fault-based system. When an individual’s negligence causes a collision, that individual becomes responsible for the losses their actions caused.

Is North Carolina a no-fault state for car accidents? No. North Carolina follows a traditional fault-based system, meaning the driver who causes the accident and their insurer are liable for paying for the resulting harm.

Key NC Car Accident Liability Laws Drivers Should Know

North Carolina law mandates that all drivers carry specific car insurance coverage and proof of insurance on their person or in their vehicle. The law also requires that a company licensed to conduct business in North Carolina maintain continuous liability insurance coverage. Out-of-state policies cannot be accepted for vehicles registered in North Carolina.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation lists minimum coverage requirements as of July 1, 2025, as:

• $50,000 bodily injury for one person
• $100,000 bodily injury to two or more people in one accident
• $50,000 property damage

North Carolina law requires motorists to report to law enforcement immediately when an accident causes a death or injury to a person and property damage of $1,000 or more. Accidents involving property damage to a vehicle seized from a person charged with an impaired driving offense must also be reported to law enforcement by the involved parties immediately.

One final law North Carolina drivers should know is the statute of limitations for car accident cases. The statute of limitations outlines how long an individual has to file a personal injury lawsuit against an at-fault party. In North Carolina, the statute of limitations gives car accident victims three years from the date of the crash to file a lawsuit.

How to Determine Liability in a Car Accident

One of the most crucial steps in determining liability is to gather as much evidence as possible at the scene. Figuring out who was responsible for the crash typically comes down to what the evidence shows.

After a collision, call law enforcement, take as many photos and videos as possible, and ask witnesses for a brief statement and their contact information. Details at the scene are easy to overlook in the traumatic aftermath of an accident, but gathering as much physical evidence as possible could put you in a better position to prove liability.

Identifying fault also means analyzing local traffic laws and assessing whether a driver’s actions violated any of those laws. Assessing driver behavior and reviewing law enforcement reports and expert analysis could also be helpful in determining liability.

Proving Fault After an Accident

Technically, proving liability for a car accident means proving four specific legal elements.

The elements include demonstrating that:

• An individual owed you a duty of care.
• The individual violated the duty of care.
• The violation directly caused the accident and your injuries.
• You suffered measurable damages as a result.

Proving the elements and showing how the other driver is responsible for causing the crash takes evidence.

While all drivers have a duty of care to operate their vehicles safely, proving that a driver breached the duty can be challenging. Evidence such as witness statements, photographs or videos of the scene, cell phone records, and information from a police report can all help establish how the other driver’s actions caused the collision.

Other evidence, like your medical records, can help prove the severity of your injuries and how the injuries directly resulted from the other driver’s careless actions and the crash. Finally, repair receipts, medical bills, and other documentation are among the evidence needed to help establish that you suffered measurable losses due to the collision.

Acting quickly to manage the scene and save evidence can help you preserve your legal rights and ability to pursue maximum compensation for your injuries.

Contributory Negligence in North Carolina

North Carolina’s contributory negligence rule can impact liability. The state follows a strict doctrine called pure contributory negligence. Under the rule, following a car accident, an individual who files a personal injury lawsuit can be barred from recovering compensation for their injuries if their negligence was a proximate cause of the crash, no matter how minimal a role their fault played.

That means if the court examines the facts of a case and determines that the victim’s actions played even a 1 percent role in the crash, the person recovers no compensation. In other states that apply a comparative negligence rule, a partially at-fault claimant may still recover some compensation, though the amount is reduced according to the percentage of fault attributed to them.

Why You Need Our Durham Car Accident Liability Lawyers

Car accident liability plays a significant role in North Carolina personal injury claims and can affect your ability to recover the compensation you deserve. Working with a local Durham car accident liability attorney at Kornbluth Ginsberg can help you pursue the best possible outcome to your situation.

Contact our office online today or anytime at 919-980-9895 to arrange a free consultation to discuss your car accident claim and how our Durham car accident attorneys can help determine liability in the crash that injured you.