Raleigh Car Accident Lawyer — Felicetti Law Firm

Raleigh had 59 traffic deaths in 2022, and where they happened says something important about how a claim here gets built.

Fifty-one of fifty-nine deaths were on state roads

Of Raleigh’s 59 road deaths in 2022, 51 occurred on NCDOT-maintained roadways and only six on city-maintained streets. State roads through the city tend to carry higher volumes at higher speeds. Twenty-four of the 59 people killed were pedestrians. The city logged roughly 50,000 crashes that year, and between 2019 and 2023 recorded 185 fatal and 905 serious-injury crashes.

The maintaining agency matters because that is who holds the signal timing, the design files, the complaint history and the crash records for the stretch of road where you were hurt.

Capital Boulevard

Raleigh Police data on pedestrians struck in 2022 puts Capital Boulevard first with 27, then New Bern Avenue (17), Glenwood Avenue (16) and Hillsborough Street (11). Capital Boulevard alone accounted for seven pedestrian deaths that year, and ten of the thirty-plus pedestrian crashes recorded citywide from early 2022. The stretch between I-440 and I-540 carries about 65,000 vehicles a day, projected to reach 75,000 by 2040.

North Carolina’s hardest rule

North Carolina still uses pure contributory negligence. Any share of fault attributed to you — even one percent — bars recovery completely. There is no proportional reduction. It is the most unforgiving fault rule in the country and only a handful of jurisdictions still apply it.

The practical consequence in Raleigh is that insurers investigate your conduct as hard as their own driver’s, and that a recorded statement given casually in the first few days can end a claim that was otherwise strong. You are not obliged to give one to the other side’s insurer before taking advice.

Where a Wake County claim is heard

Civil matters in Wake County are heard at the Wake County Courthouse, 316 Fayetteville Street Mall — not the Justice Center on South Salisbury Street, which handles criminal matters. Claims worth more than $25,000 go to Superior Court; smaller ones to District Court. The filing deadline is three years from the injury.

WakeMed Raleigh Campus is the Level I trauma center and Wake County’s only trauma provider.

Ask before you write the claim off

Given how harsh the fault rule is, the worst thing to do is assume. Tell us what happened and we will tell you honestly where you stand. Call (800) 333-1988 at any hour or contact us online. Free consultation, no fee unless we recover.

Call (800) 333-1988 — Free Case Review

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Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. This page is general information about North Carolina law, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Deadlines and fault rules have exceptions; only a review of your own facts can tell you which apply. Cases are handled by attorneys licensed in the local jurisdiction.