Q. Tell us about yourself and your practice?
A. I am the owner of a boutique law firm with a focus on workers’ compensation, social security, disability and personal injury claims. I represent “ plaintiffs” in these claims— meaning I help people assert their workers’ compensation, social security and personal injury claims against insurance companies and the government. I am certified by the North Carolina State Bar as a specialist in the area of workers’ compensation. Much like in the medical field, legal specialization requires passing additional board examinations, peer review and hours of continuing education classes in that particular practice area. I also frequently teach continuing legal education classes to other lawyers and have authored several publications, in the area of workers’ compensation. I am a member of the Board of Governors of the North Carolina Advocates for Justice, which is an association of attorneys, who represents the rights of people against the government and insurance interests. I also serve on the Executive Committee of the NCAJ’ s Workers’ Compensation Section, where I am involved in promoting legislation helpful to both my personal injury and workers’ compensation clients. I have kept my law firm small-just ,my two paralegals and me -in order to give personalized attention to each client. I believe this individualized attention and immediate access to the attorney, sets our law firm apart from the larger firms. We can provide a high level of legal service with a personal touch.
Q. If a mom asked you to tell us what does personal injury mean what would you say?
A. A personal injury claim arises when someone acts in a negligent manner to cause bodily injury to another person. This negligence is referred to as a “ tort ” which is defined as a civil wrong. This should not be confused with a crime. The civil court system runs parallel to the criminal court system. A negligent act can result in both a crime and a personal injury claim. Someone can be found “ liable” for a personal injury claim. They are “ guilty” of crime. For instance if a drunk driver ran ignoring a stop sign and hit your car you would have a personal injury claim against the drunk driver for your medical bills, lost wages and pain and suffering. You would make a claim against the driver’ s auto insurance company for this money. The State would also bring criminal charges against the drunk driver for the crimes of drunk driving and running the stop sign. The criminal case would be brought by the district attorney. The criminal case is not YOUR case— it is the State’ s case against the driver (who is referred to as the defendant.) The district attorney makes all of the decisions, as to whether to offer a plea or go to trial. You would be a witness in the criminal action. However, the personal injury is YOUR case against the defendant. You would be the “ plaintiff” and would be suing the driver and his insurance company in your own capacity. You would make the decision whether to settle or go to trial. There are two parts to a personal injury lawsuit 1) liability and 2) damages. Liability means that there is fault for the accident in a party other than the injured person. You have to prove fault in another party before you can even discuss recovering damages. So you can have massive injuries, but if the opposing party is not at fault or “ liable” for the accident then you will not be able to recover for those injuries. Another hurdle in North Carolina is the defense of “ contributory negligence.” Contributory negligence arises when you contribute to your injury however slight. It is a complete defense against the other party’ s liability in a personal injury claim. The law says that if you are 1% at fault for the accident, then you get $0— even if the other person was 99% negligent. For instance, if you are a pedestrian crossing in a crosswalk against a Do Not Walk sign and you are struck by a speeding car then you are contributorily negligent as a matter of law and cannot recover for your injuries— even if crossing against the light was only a minor reason for the accident and the speeding car was the main reason for the accident. This system is inherently unfair and makes the injured person an insurer of someone else’ s negligence, even if they were only minimally at fault. Only four states in the country use this system. We are working with our legislature this session to convert to a “ comparative negligence” state— meaning that your total damages are just reduced by the amount of your fault as long as your fault was less than 50%. However, the insurance industry is putting up a lot of money to keep the system the way it is. The system only benefits the insurance industry because it prevents a lot of meritorious claims from being successfully brought before our courts. So, it is important to note that not all accidents result in a recovery. A lawyer can be a big help in explaining these various requirements and defenses.
Q. What is the process to file a personal injury lawsuit?
A. There are two types of claims— those that are accepted and those that are denied. We assist with both types of cases. In accepted cases we monitor the medical progress to make sure the client is getting the proper treatment. At the end of the treatment period we negotiate a settlement to the claim and handle all liens. If the insurance company does not offer enough money to resolve the claim, then we would file either a personal injury lawsuit or a workers’ compensation request for hearing depending on what type of claim it is. In a denied case then we will definitely have to file a lawsuit (or a request for hearing in a workers’ compensation claim) in order to prove liability on the part of the offending party. We would also put on evidence of damages at the trial. In a personal injury lawsuit we would draft a document called a “ complaint.” It costs $110 to file a complaint with the court system. The complaint is accompanied by a “ summons” which is a legal notification to the defendant that you are suing them. We have 45 days to obtain “ service” of the complaint and summons on the defendant. Typically, the sheriff’ s office will deliver the papers or they can be served by certified mail. The person being sued would turn over the complaint and summons to their insurance carrier, who would hire a lawyer for them. All insurance policies provide for a lawyer at the insurance company’ s selection if you are sued for a claim that is covered by the policy. The defendant through his lawyer has 30 days from the date of service to file an “ answer” to the complaint. The parties then engage in the “ discovery” process— meaning an exchange of documents and information. Every person involved in the accident will be subject to a “ deposition” which is a series of questions asked by the opposing lawyer. These questions are asked before a court reporter and are answered under oath. It is a pre-cursor to trial. The answers to these questions can be used at trial by either party. Discovery and depositions are used by the parties to evaluate the claim and prepare for “ mediation ” which is a court ordered settlement conference. It is held before a neutral certified mediator. A mediator is a lawyer, who has undergone special training to assist parties in resolving their claims. The mediator is a facilitator of the settlement negotiations but the mediator does not make any legal decisions. If the parties cannot settle the claim at mediation then it goes to trial. It typically takes about a year to 18 months to get to trial after the complaint has been filed.
Q. Many people have never called a lawyer before. What should they expect when they call your office? Put people at ease…
A. When people call my office they first speak with one of my paralegals, who takes preliminary information and determines what kind of case they have. If it is the type of case that we handle, then the paralegal will put the person on hold while she gives me the preliminary information. I will then talk with the person and determine if we can help them. If we can help them, then I will make an appointment for them to come to my office to discuss their claim in more detail. I do all of my work on a contingency basis— meaning that my fee is a percentage of the final result or settlement. There are no consultation fees or retainers. I ask clients to bring all paperwork from their medical providers, pay stubs, accident reports, insurance policies and any communication with the insurance company to the initial consultation,so we can get started on the claim. Both of my paralegals are bilingual, so we can also handle claims brought by Spanish speaking individuals.
Q. People have accidents every day. What separates a simple accident from one where a person should seek your firm’ s assistance?
A. Someone should definitely seek assistance when they have catastrophic injuries,even if there is clear liability. They should also seek assistance when liability is contested-meaning the other person denies doing anything wrong or if the insurance company is asserting the defense of contributory negligence. Sometimes people hire us just to be put at ease that their claim is being handled correctly. They either do not have the time to handle it on their own or they just want the peace of mind knowing that they are not going to sign anything or agree to anything that is not in their best interests. Many of my clients are illiterate or cannot understand English, so it is important for those people to have legal representation.
Q. Do you offer free initial consultations?
A. Yes
Q. From a legal standpoint what is the meaning of pain and suffering? What sorts of damages are covered under Charlotte Personal Injury Law?
A. In a civil case there are three types of damages 1) medical expenses 2) lost wages and loss of future earning capacity and 3) pain and suffering. Medical bills and lost wages are referred to as “ special damages” -meaning they can be quantified. “ Pain and suffering” is an element of damages that is purely in the hands of the jury. It means how a reasonable jury would quantify the physical pain and mental anguish suffered as a result of the accident. It is a very fluid concept. A good settlement might be three times the special damages in order to compensate for pain and suffering.
Q. What are the legal steps and costs involved with accident cases or any other type of personal injury case such as car accidents, slips and falls, assaults , work injuries and defective products medical or dental malpractice claims?
A. All of these types of cases have their own statute of limitations, unique issues and procedures. Medical and dental malpractice claims are extremely costly to bring. Typically the damages must exceed $100, 000 in order to compensate for the costs involved in bringing these claims. Even before you can file a malpractice lawsuit, you would need to have a doctor in that specialty sign an affidavit that he is familiar with the standards of care in this community and will testify to the negligence of the offending person. This can be very difficult to achieve. Medical malpractice cases require hiring several medical and other professional experts to give testimony to establish the malpractice. This can be very costly. Therefore, only the most egregious cases of medical malpractice will ultimately result in a lawsuit. Much like a medical malpractice claim, products liability cases (or defective product cases) are extremely expensive to bring. The cases require hiring multiple experts in various fields of engineering. Again the damages must justify the costs before bringing this type of case. Assaults are not covered by insurance policies because they are intentional acts. You would have to sue the assailant directly. North Carolina has weak creditor’ s rights laws, so it is next to impossible to collect a judgment against an insolvent person. We typically do not sue individuals unless there is insurance coverage. Slips and falls are very difficult to bring in NC because of contributory negligence. You have to prove that not only that the premises owner should have realized that there was hazard but that you had no way of seeing the hazard. It’ s hard to argue that the owner knew the hazard was there when you didn’ t see it. You have a duty to look where you are going. If you don’ t pay attention, then you would be contributorily negligent and barred from recovery. Work injuries are covered by the North Carolina Workers’ Compensation Act. You cannot bring a personal injury lawsuit against your employer for injuries that arise out of and in the course of employment. Workers’ compensation is your “ exclusive remedy.” The NC Industrial Commission would have jurisdiction over your claim. Your claim would be heard by an Industrial Commission judge instead of a jury. There is no award for pain and suffering in workers’ compensation. Damages are calculated differently than in a personal injury case . For an in depth explanation of rights and remedies under the NC Workers’ Compensation Act , I would refer your readers to my website www.pantazislaw.com. I hope these brief explanations have been helpful in shedding some light on how our legal system works. In addition to the personal injury and workers’ compensation claims, we also assist disabled persons in pursuing their social security benefits. Please feel free to call my office, if you would like more information about any of these practice areas.
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