Auto Claim Denied Due to North Carolina’s Contributory Negligence Law

Roy Jackson was on his way home after running some errands. He was driving along State Route 1104 in Lexington about 5 minutes from his house when a driver heading in the opposite direction suddenly swerved into his lane.

‘There was no time to do anything,’ Jackson said. He was able to jerk his truck’s steering wheel to the right and avoid getting hit head-on. The other vehicle side-swiping his truck before stopping down the road.

‘I called Highway Patrol and the Clerk of Courts, (they said) he accepted responsibility when he paid the ticket,’ Jackson said.

When Jackson did talk to the insurance company, he was told they had denied the claim and would not cover the cost of repairs to his truck. Jackson asked for an explanation and that’s when he was told about contributory negligence.