North Carolina Injury Attorney Blog

Big Tobacco recently paid $5 Million to settle a wrongful death claim to the Estate of Bobby Hill. A resident of Canton, North Carolina, Hill died from mouth cancer in 2003 at the young age of 42. He had been dipping since age 13. Altria makes and sells Skoal and Copenhagen. This is the first settlement of its kind in the smokeless tobacco arena.

Many familiar with the cigarette litigation say that this settlement will cause plaintiff's lawyers to start filing more cases against the smokeless tobacco giant. Hill dipped tobacco made and sold by U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Co -- which Altria acquired in 2009. The deal was struck before the acquisition. A spokesperson for Altria says this was a special situation, honoring the prior deal, and the tobacco giant does not plan to settle any other pending cases.

Continue reading "Chewing Tobacco Lawsuit Nets $5 Million In 1st Ever Settlement" »

Friday evening, around 6:30pm, a car driven by Patricia Harvey, 48, struck a bicyclist from behind causing a tragic crash on Piney Mountain Drive off of Chungs Cove Road in east Asheville. Police have indicated that the cyclist, Tami Rene Leaven, 35, died at the scene from massive head injuries.

Police say that Leaven did not have any lights on her bike, although the law does not require a bicyclist to have a light on the rear of a bicycle - only a reflector that can be seen from 200 feet behind. Most bicycles are sold with a reflector that satisfies state law in this regard. Police have not said whether the bike ridden by Leaven had the required reflector. A police spokesperson said that the area where the collision happened on Piney Mountain Drive was a dark section of road and not well lit.

In North Carolina, the law requires motorists to see what can be seen and to keep a proper lookout. It is unclear at this time whether Leaven was visible to motorists approaching from behind or not. If the bicycle she was riding did not have the required reflector, then Harvey may not have seen her in time to avoid the collision. If the bike did have a reflector visible from the rear, then the question will be 'why did Harvey fail to see it?' These are questions the District Attorney's Office must grapple with, and the DA will have to decide whether the facts justify bringing criminal charges against Harvey.

Continue reading "Car Strikes And Kills Female Cyclist In Asheville" »

On Thursday morning around 9:50 a.m., a motorcycle driven by Bruce Offenbacker, age 24, rocketed down NC Highway 10 at over 100 mph. On the back of the motorcycle was Offenbacker's 20 year old girlfriend, Jasmine Shope of Newton.

As the motorcycle approached the intersection of Bethany Church Road, Isaiah Edgell, 44, was stopped in his 1989 Mazda pickup truck facing west on NC Highway 10, waiting to make a left hand turn into the Country Market. Iredell County Trooper C.M. Trouille just happened to be sitting in his marked State Highway Patrol vehicle behind the stopped pickup truck. When the pickup truck began to make its left hand turn, the motorcycle collided with the passenger side of the pickup truck at a high speed and with substantial force. Trooper Truoille stated he never even saw the motorcycle before impact. This crash was orignally covered by the Hickory Daily Record. The following video is a good example of how this crash happened:

Continue reading "Two Critically Injured In Claremont Motorcycle Crash " »