Right after you have an automobile accident in North Carolina, the first thing you should be worried about is your health. Make sure you get the healthcare you need.
But RIGHT after that you will want to call someone like me to make sure that you don’t run into the common errors that people make while trying to navigate their personal injury claim on their own.
The first error is talking too much. Everything you say can and will be used against you. Remember that the insurance company for the other side wants you to be even the least bit responsible for this accident, too, which gives them the ability to avoid paying out. If you don’t have to talk, don’t talk. If you need to tell the cops what happened, tell them, but don’t be apologetic if it wasn’t your fault.
The second biggest error is the gap in treatment. Delaying your care after your accident, even if you’re trying to do so for noble reasons, really only ends up hurting you in the end. Not even addressing the medical reasons to not avoid care, from a claims standpoint, the argument is always going to be, “If you were really hurt you would have sought treatment sooner.” By seeking treatment asap, you nip that one in the bud.
The third biggest error is not documenting everything. I tell all of my clients to write a pain journal starting the day of the accident. This will help preserve your memory of how much this experience negatively impacted you and will show the liability carrier that you’ll be a more compelling witness.
The last one is not getting ALL of your insurance involved. The at-fault carrier needs a claim set up with them. YOUR auto carrier needs a claim set up with them. Your HEALTH insurance needs to be used as well (except with chiropractors…more on that in another article). Insurance is there to be used in emergencies. This is an emergency!
Don’t try to handle your North Carolina personal injury claim on your own. Call an attorney who knows the deal. Call me at 919-929-2992.
My skill and training is in handling claims correctly with the possible lead up to litigation if necessary. People hire me to do that for them: To handle their claim correctly and without damaging it (and keeping them from unintentionally damaging it). That’s what people “need” attorneys for.
People do not “need” attorneys because they want to get more money. That’s not the right way to look at these situations, at least most of the time. The better way to look at these situations is to see that the claim is what the claim is. It has potential to be a little more or a little (lot?) less depending on how it’s handled. My job is to help it meet its potential; my job is to not make it something it never was.
I tell people daily that it’s better to have your health than a “good” case. A “good” case, one that is high value, is one where you’re permanently injured. That case might be seen as good because you’re hurt terribly badly, but you don’t want that.
Conversely, when you have a situation that can be managed by someone stretching you and cracking your back for a couple of months, you have something with some value, but you do not have a case where you’re going to retire off of the proceeds. That’s wonderful. You do not want a high value case, trust me.
Obviously, different cases have different values. I don’t often get challenged on what I think cases are worth very often, but when I do, I am always curious on what the person is basing their case value opinion. I am basing my opinion on the hundreds of cases I’ve handled in NC since 2001 in this area of law. Most of the time, the other person is basing their valuation on what they want. That’s it. One is backed up by factual data, the other is backed up by personal desire.
If you want to get help and be treated fairly, I can probably help. But I can’t make things to be what they aren’t.
One of the most common reactions I see from clients is frustration when the insurance company’s first settlement offer comes in.
“That’s it?”
Sometimes the offer is lower than expected. Sometimes it’s so low that it feels insulting. Occasionally, it causes a client to wonder whether the claim is even worth pursuing.
My advice is simple: take a breath and keep your cool.
It’s called a first offer for a reason.
Insurance companies almost never lead with their best number. The first offer is simply the opening move in a negotiation. It gives the adjuster a place to start, allows them to evaluate how serious you are about pursuing the claim, and provides a benchmark from which further discussions can take place.
Think about it this way. If you were selling your house and a potential buyer made an offer below your asking price, would you immediately assume that’s the highest amount they would ever pay? Of course not. You would negotiate. Personal injury claims work much the same way.
What you have to remember is that you can’t help but take this personally. This was an injury to YOUR body and it HURT! How can you not take that personally? I understand. But what you have to understand is that NO ONE ELSE in this process is taking this personally because it didn’t happen to them. To them, it’s a business transaction, so they’re viewing it as such. It’s just a number.
A low first offer does not necessarily mean the insurance company believes your case lacks value. It doesn’t mean I won’t be able to get you where you should be in terms of value. It may simply mean they are doing what negotiators do: testing the waters. We just have to be patient with the process.
Before I make a settlement demand, I spend time gathering medical records, bills, wage-loss information, and other evidence that helps tell the story of what happened and how the injury has affected my client’s life. Once that information is presented, the negotiation process begins. Rarely does it end with the first offer.
Most cases get settled! We have to be patient with the process. The Insurance Information Institute notes that most claims are resolved through settlement negotiations rather than trials, meaning the back-and-forth process is a normal part of how claims are handled. See: https://www.iii.org/article/settling-insurance-claims-after-a-disaster
What makes negotiating cases much more difficult these days, too, is that in the olden days adjusters had much higher “desk authority,” meaning they had more money to dole out for each case within their own personal discretion. Nowadays, many adjusters aren’t allowed to make ANY offer without first getting approval from a supervisor. This leads not only to delays, but incremental movements, which can be very frustrating to deal with. That means you have to remember that the person making the initial offer may not even have the power to offer what the claim is ultimately worth without obtaining additional approval. That approval process can take time and frequently requires multiple rounds of negotiation.
So what should you do when you hear the first offer?
First, don’t take it personally.
Second, don’t assume the case is over.
Third, talk with your attorney (me!?) about the strengths and weaknesses of the claim and develop a strategy for responding.
Sometimes the first offer is close to fair. Sometimes it’s nowhere close. Either way, it is simply one step in the process.
The goal is not to react emotionally to the first number that appears in the process. The goal is to reach a fair resolution based on the facts, the injuries, and the law.
If you’ve been injured in an accident and are dealing with an insurance company, give me a call at 919-929-2992. I’d be happy to discuss your claim and help you understand what a fair settlement may look like.
In short, dog bites are weird cases in NC. To put them in a nutshell, though, there are really three main issues with them: History of the dog, existence of insurance, severity of the bite.
In a manner of speaking, the owners have a way out if the dog doesn’t have a known “dangerous propensity” that they are aware of. If the dog has bitten someone else before, then they are super on the hook for it (what is known as strict liability), though you likely won’t know this without the animal control report and maybe asking AC for a history of reports on the dog (or some inside info from neighbors, etc.). That doesn’t mean you can’t prevail if there’s no previous bite. A dangerous propensity can be something other than a bite. It can be growling, lunging, dog aggression, etc. You can also go a straight negligence route; that would be the old reasonable person standard. Like if you left a big dog with a toddler on a deck alone and there’s no rail and it knocks them off.
Then there is always the problem of coverage. You can have the clearest liablity (strict or otherwise) but if the owner doesn’t have homeowners or renters insurance, you probably won’t see any actually meaningful recovery out of it. I tend to firmly but nicely ask the owner to provide their insurance carrier with my info and a report on the incident, then see what happens. About 70% of the time they comply. But sometimes they just stay silent. There are ways to get around them stonewalling you without filing suit but they are uncertain. This can be frustrating because the only way to really put the pressure on them to give you insurance info is the file suit, but you kind of don’t really know if the case is worth filing suit on without knowing there is coverage. It can be a leap of faith, which is scary.
Then, probably the biggest issue in most situations, so maybe I should have led with it, is the severity of the bite. These cases can be frustrating, so if it’s two puncture wounds and one ED visit (with no necessity for a rabies shot) then the juice is probably not going to be worth the squeeze anyway. But there are bites and there are BITES. Where was the bite? How bad does it look? What treatment is needed? Will scarring be an issue? Surgery necessary? Rabies shots (those are about $20k)? While I firmly believe it’s always better to have your health than a good case, obviously, the further up this scale you go, the more it may be worth the hassle of going through all of this. If you’re in a situation where the first two things are easy (Clear liability, insurance is already in play/in contact) then you can normally get even a small one settled with reasonable effort. And if the injuries are bad, you may need to wait a bit to see how they heal, but you can often get them settled. If you do not have one or both of the first things, then maybe filing is the only answer, but you’re really going to have to think about whether it’s worth it if the damages aren’t that bad.
Like I said, these are weird. If you have a dog bite claim in NC, call a lawyer who has handled them. Call me at 919-929-2992.
Part of any healthy negotiation situation is reminding yourself not to take anything personally. That is hard to do with personal injury claims because the negotiation involves something so very intimate: your health.
I understand. When you hear the other side throw out some low, arbitrary number to allegedly compensate you for the injuries you suffered as a result of your accident it feels like a personal insult. And it’s OK to feel that way. But for purposes of moving forward with your claim, it’s healthy to remember that it’s not personal: this is business.
One thing you can remind yourself to do is remember that the first offer is almost never the best offer. Things are going to go up from there, so even if the first offer seems low, that doesn’t mean the case is worthless or they’re not respecting you or your suffering. It just means that they have a job to do.
But so do I. I will do my best to help portray your story in the light most favorable to you. I’ll highlight your features and shade your flaws as best I can to try to help them see the case as close as possible to how you see it. Granted, they aren’t likely to see it like you do, because it didn’t happen to them, personally. But we can try to get them close.
As with all things North Carolina personal injury claim-related, if you have a question, please call me at 919-929-2992.
Whether an attorney licensed in North Carolina may ethically execute a “letter of protection” agreeing to pay a health care provider from settlement proceeds, where doing so creates obligations to a third party that may conflict with the attorney’s duties to the client.
II. SHORT ANSWER
No. The North Carolina Rules of Professional Conduct prohibit a lawyer from undertaking obligations to third parties that materially limit the lawyer’s representation of a client. A letter of protection creates a concurrent conflict of interest under Rule 1.7, risks impermissible financial entanglement under Rule 1.8, and interferes with the lawyer’s duties regarding the safekeeping and distribution of funds under Rule 1.15.
Health care providers are not without remedy. North Carolina law provides a clear statutory mechanism for protection of medical bills through properly asserted liens under N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 44-49 and 44-50, which attorneys are legally obligated to honor.
A. Letters of Protection Create a Concurrent Conflict of Interest Under Rule 1.7
Rule 1.7(a)(2) prohibits representation where there is a “significant risk” that the lawyer’s responsibilities to a third person will materially limit the representation of the client.
A letter of protection does precisely that.
By agreeing to pay a medical provider from settlement proceeds, the attorney assumes a direct obligation to a third party. That obligation creates a material limitation because:
The client may wish to dispute, reduce, or refuse payment of the provider’s charges;
The attorney, having promised payment, is constrained in advising or pursuing those options;
The attorney’s independent professional judgment is divided between client and creditor.
This is not a theoretical concern. It strikes at the core of settlement strategy, negotiation of medical bills, and allocation of proceeds.
Even if client consent is attempted under Rule 1.7(b), the lawyer must reasonably believe that competent and diligent representation remains possible. Where the lawyer has pre-committed settlement funds to a third party, that belief is, at minimum, highly questionable.
B. Letters of Protection Risk Violating Rule 1.8 by Creating Improper Financial Obligations
Rule 1.8 strictly limits financial entanglements arising from representation.
While Rule 1.8(e) allows advancement of litigation expenses, it does not authorize a lawyer to guarantee a client’s debts to third parties.
A letter of protection may function as:
A guarantee of payment and/or
A commitment that exposes the lawyer to personal liability or pressure to pay regardless of the client’s position.
This creates a self-interest conflict, as the lawyer may act to avoid personal exposure rather than to maximize the client’s recovery.
C. Letters of Protection Undermine the Lawyer’s Duties Under Rule 1.15
Rule 1.15-2 requires a lawyer to:
Hold funds in trust when there are competing claims, and
Distribute funds only to those entitled to receive them.
Critically, when a claim is disputed, the lawyer must retain the disputed portion in trust until resolution.
A letter of protection improperly short-circuits this framework by:
Predetermining entitlement before resolution of disputes;
Forcing the lawyer to disburse funds even where the client contests the bill;
Transforming the lawyer from a neutral fiduciary into an enforcer of a private agreement.
This is incompatible with the lawyer’s fiduciary obligations under Rule 1.15.
D. The Lawyer’s Duty of Loyalty Runs to the Client, Not to Third-Party Creditors
Rule 1.2 requires the lawyer to abide by the client’s decisions regarding the objectives of representation.
A letter of protection shifts practical control toward the medical provider by:
Restricting the client’s ability to challenge charges;
Limiting settlement flexibility;
Subordinating the client’s financial interests to those of a third party.
The Rules do not permit a lawyer to elevate a third-party creditor’s interests above those of the client.
E. North Carolina Law Provides a Clear, Ethical Alternative: Statutory Medical Liens
Health care providers are not left unprotected. North Carolina law provides a specific mechanism:
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 44-49 grants medical providers a lien on personal injury recoveries;
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 44-50 governs enforcement and distribution.
To assert such a lien, the provider need only:
Provide the medical records and billing, and
Give notice that a lien is being asserted.
Once properly asserted, the attorney is legally obligated to account for that lien in any disbursement of settlement proceeds.
This statutory framework:
Protects providers’ interests,
Preserves the attorney’s ethical duties, and
Avoids creating extra-contractual obligations that generate conflicts of interest.
V. CONCLUSION
A letter of protection places the attorney in an untenable position:
It creates a concurrent conflict of interest under Rule 1.7;
It risks improper financial obligation under Rule 1.8;
It interferes with fiduciary duties under Rule 1.15.
The North Carolina Rules of Professional Conduct do not require, and do not support, such arrangements.
Instead, the law provides a clear and sufficient alternative: health care providers may protect their interests by properly asserting statutory liens under N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 44-49 and 44-50, which attorneys are legally bound to honor.
For these reasons, refusal to execute a letter of protection is not only permissible but ethically compelled.
When people think about car insurance in North Carolina, they usually focus on the coverage that protects other people if they cause an accident—liability insurance. That’s required by law, so most drivers know they need that.
What many people don’t think about enough is the coverage that protects them.
In North Carolina, that protection comes from Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist coverage, usually referred to as UM/UIM coverage. And if you ask me what limits you should carry, my answer is simple:
As much as you can reasonably afford.
North Carolina operates under a liability system. That means the person who causes the crash is responsible for paying the damages. In theory, that sounds fine. In reality, the at-fault driver often doesn’t have enough insurance or sometimes any insurance at all. When that happens, the person who caused the wreck may not have the financial resources to compensate you fully. That’s where UM/UIM coverage becomes critical.
Here is a link to a previous post on what that is, precisely:
North Carolina requires drivers to carry minimum liability limits, but those limits are not particularly high relative to medical expenses. The latest increase of liability limits was in 2025, and that lifted us up to $50,000. That can be one ED visit.
Serious injuries can easily exceed those amounts once you factor in:
Emergency room treatment
Imaging and diagnostic tests
Physical therapy/Chiropractic care
Lost income
Pain and suffering
Long-term medical care
If the at-fault driver only carries minimum coverage, their insurance may run out long before your damages are fully covered.
If that happens, your UIM coverage should be able to help bridge the gap.
A lot of people assume their insurance policy is mainly there to protect others from them. UM/UIM coverage flips that idea around. It protects you and your family when someone else’s insurance isn’t enough.
As a personal injury attorney, I regularly see cases where someone suffers significant injuries and the at-fault driver only has what the state requires (if that) and it’s just not enough to cover their damages.When my client has strong UIM coverage, there’s often a path to recovering fair compensation. When they don’t, the options can become extremely limited.
That’s one of the reasons I encourage people to think about insurance coverage before they ever need it. Increasing your UM/UIM limits is usually one of the least expensive ways to dramatically improve your protection. For many drivers, raising those limits only adds a small amount to the monthly premium. But if you’re seriously injured by someone with little or no insurance, those additional limits can make an enormous difference in your ability to recover.
You can’t control who shares the road with you. Some drivers are uninsured. Others carry the bare minimum coverage. And accidents happen every day. The best way to protect yourself financially is to carry as much uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage as you can reasonably afford.
It’s one of the smartest insurance decisions you can make
If you’ve been injured in a car accident in North Carolina and have questions about insurance coverage or your rights, call me at 919-929-2992.
One of the most common things I hear after a car accident is this:
“My insurance agent told me not to use my MedPay.”
That advice is almost always wrong.
If you paid for Medical Payments coverage (Med Pay), you should use it. That’s what it’s there for. And refusing to use it because someone says “you don’t want a claim on your policy” makes about as much sense as this:
Imagine you had life insurance. You get murdered. Your family says, “Well, yes, he had life insurance… but we don’t want to collect it. We’d rather make the murderer pay.”
That’s ridiculous.
They’re not mutually exclusive.
You can collect life insurance and pursue the wrongdoer. Just like you can use your Med Pay and pursue the at-fault driver.
What Med Pay Actually Is
MedPay is no-fault coverage under your own auto policy. It pays medical expenses after an accident regardless of who caused it. It doesn’t require a lawsuit (at least it shouldn’t). It doesn’t require a fight (see last caveat). It’s a contractual benefit you purchased.
You are paying premiums for that benefit every time you pay your auto insurance bill.
Why would you not use something you’re paying for?
The Insurance Information Institute explains that Medical Payments coverage is designed to pay medical expenses for you and your passengers after an accident, regardless of fault: 👉 https://www.iii.org/article/medical-payments-coverage
That’s not a loophole. That’s the purpose.
“But My Agent Said It Might Raise My Rates”
Here’s where things get interesting.
Insurance agents are typically compensated through commissions based on the policies they sell and retain. Their income can be affected by underwriting performance, loss ratios, and retention metrics. If claims increase, profitability can decrease. Lower profitability can impact agency compensation structures.
In other words, agents often have financial incentives aligned with keeping claims low.
I’m not saying every agent is acting in bad faith. Many are good people. But understand this:
They are not your fiduciary in a personal injury claim. They are part of the insurance ecosystem.
Using Med Pay can sometimes affect underwriting decisions at renewal. That’s true. But so can not using it and letting medical bills go unpaid, damaging your credit, or forcing you into collections.
You have to weigh real-world consequences—not hypothetical rate adjustments.
And remember, in NC, they can ONLY raise your rates for things that you’ve done in TWO scenarios: You’re convicted of a moving violation, or YOU cause an accident resulting in payment from the policy. When YOU do not cause the accident, they can’t raise your rates for claims.
If you don’t use MedPay:
Your providers may send bills to collections.
Your credit may take a hit.
You may feel pressured to settle early just to get bills paid.
You may appear less “injured” because there’s limited treatment documentation.
If you do use MedPay:
Bills get paid promptly.
You get appropriate care.
Your claim is properly documented.
Financial stress decreases.
You bought the coverage. Use it.
The Bottom Line
Insurance companies sell products. Med Pay is one of them. It’s not charity. It’s not a loophole. It’s a contractual benefit you paid for.
Telling someone not to use Med Pay after they’ve paid premiums for years is like telling a family not to collect life insurance because “we’d rather just pursue the murderer.”
They are not mutually exclusive.
If you’ve been injured in a car accident in North Carolina and you’re unsure whether to use your MedPay, call me. I’ll give you a straight answer based on your situation—not on anyone’s commission structure.
📞 Call me if you’ve been injured in a car accident and have questions about MedPay. 🖥️ https://jeffreyhowardlaw.com
If you’re a Duke student, faculty member, or staff employee and you’re injured in a car accident in Durham or the surrounding area, you may assume the insurance company will “do the right thing.”
That assumption usually costs people money.
I represent injury clients throughout the Triangle, including many connected to Duke University, and I’ve seen firsthand how quickly a supposedly simple auto accident claim can go sideways without legal help.
Smart, Capable People Still Get Taken Advantage Of
Duke-affiliated clients are often highly educated, capable, and organized—which unfortunately makes insurance adjusters assume they can push harder.
Being smart doesn’t mean you know insurance law. And in North Carolina, one wrong statement or one misstep can tank an otherwise valid claim.
That’s especially true given our state’s strict contributory negligence rules.
Your Injury Claim Is About More Than Medical Bills
If your injuries interfere with:
Classes or exams
Research obligations
Clinical rotations
Teaching or administrative duties
those losses matter—but only if they’re documented and presented correctly.
Between I-85, I-40, downtown Durham, and campus-adjacent areas, accidents are common—and often involve distracted or aggressive drivers.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) provides national data on how frequently serious injuries occur even in everyday crashes: 👉 https://www.nhtsa.gov/road-safety
These aren’t rare events, and they shouldn’t be treated casually.
Why Duke-Affiliated Clients Call Me
I take a practical, detail-oriented approach. I don’t overpromise, and I don’t let insurance companies minimize what my clients are dealing with.
If you’re connected to Duke and you’ve been injured in an automobile accident, talking to an attorney early can protect your claim, your finances, and your future options.
📞 If you’re a Duke student or employee injured in a car accident, call me at 919-929-2992. 🖥️ jeffreyhowardlaw.com
If you’re a UNC student, faculty member, or staff employee and you’re injured in a car accident, your situation is often more complicated than you realize—especially if you assume it’s going to be easy and the insurance companies involved will just “do the right thing.”
They often don’t.
I regularly help people connected to UNC Chapel Hill who are hurt in automobile accidents, and there are some unique issues that come up for university-affiliated folks that make having an experienced personal injury attorney especially important.
You May Be Dealing With Multiple Systems at Once
After a crash, UNC students and employees often find themselves navigating more than just auto insurance. There may be:
University health plans
Student health services
Employment-related leave issues
Missed classes, research deadlines, or teaching responsibilities
Insurance companies don’t care about any of that. My job is to make sure your injury claim reflects how the accident actually disrupted your life—not just what shows up on a billing statement.
North Carolina Law Is Not Forgiving
North Carolina follows a pure contributory negligence rule. That means if an insurance company can argue you were even 1% at fault, you could recover nothing. Adjusters know this and will look for ways to use your statements, your actions, or even your campus commute habits against you.
Many UNC students and staff are hit in rear-end collisions or low-speed crashes near campus, Franklin Street, or I-40. Those cases are often dismissed as “minor,” even when the injuries aren’t.
Neck and back injuries, concussions, and soft-tissue trauma are common—and frequently underestimated. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) explains why these injuries can be serious even when vehicles aren’t heavily damaged: 👉 https://www.cdc.gov/transportationsafety/whiplash/index.html
Why I’m a Good Fit for UNC-Affiliated Clients
I’m not a billboard firm. I don’t pass your case off to an inexperienced “case manager” (whatever that is) with no training and with whom you’ll never meet. I work directly with my clients, explain what’s happening, and make sure nothing gets missed—especially when you’re balancing an injury with academic or professional responsibilities.
If you’re part of the UNC community and you’ve been injured in a car accident, it’s worth having someone on your side who understands both the law and the practical realities you’re dealing with.
📞 Call me if you’re a UNC student or employee injured in a car accident. 🖥️ jeffreyhowardlaw.com
