Martin & Jones, PLLC
Serious injury, wrongful death, medical malpractice
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Hurt in an accident in Raleigh and dealing with an insurance company? A personal injury claim is how you recover money for medical bills, lost wages, and pain after someone else's carelessness caused the harm. North Carolina gives you three years from the date of the injury to file a lawsuit (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-52). But here is the rule that makes North Carolina cases unusually tough: it's a pure contributory negligence state, so if the insurer shows you were even 1% at fault, you can be barred from recovering anything. That makes proving the other side was fully responsible the heart of every case. Lawsuits are filed in Wake County, and injury firms work on contingency, so you pay nothing unless they win.
Updated May 14, 2026
Serious injury, wrongful death, medical malpractice
Car and truck accidents, personal injury
Auto accidents, workers' comp, disability, injury
Car wrecks, motorcycle accidents, personal injury
Personal injury, consumer claims, civil litigation
Car accidents, serious injury, workers' compensation
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A personal injury claim covers any time someone's carelessness causes you real harm — a wreck on I-440 or Capital Boulevard, a crash with a commercial truck, a fall in a store, or a defective product. To win, you have to prove the other party was negligent and that their negligence caused your injuries and losses. Common Raleigh cases involve car and motorcycle accidents, trucking collisions, and premises injuries on business property.
North Carolina's biggest difference from most states is how it handles fault. It is one of the last pure contributory negligence states, which means if a jury decides you were even 1% responsible for the accident, you can be completely barred from recovering. Insurers know this and will work hard to assign you a sliver of blame. That single rule is why having a lawyer who can build a clean liability case matters more here than almost anywhere else. The deadline is also firm: three years from the injury under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-52, and just two years for wrongful death.
Cases are filed in Wake County — District Court for smaller claims and Superior Court for larger ones — at the courthouse in downtown Raleigh, though many cases settle with the insurer before a lawsuit is filed. Fees are contingency, typically 33% to 40% of the recovery, and the firm advances the cost of medical records and experts, getting paid only if you do. Because the contributory negligence rule is so unforgiving, a strong Raleigh injury lawyer earns the fee by locking down fault early, before the insurer's version of events takes hold.