Pass the Victim's Fair Treatment Act

Dear North Carolina General Assembly,
North Carolinians, like myself, are faced with a serious problem involving the Contributory Negligence law that is currently in place. With the Contributory Negligence law, victims and their families are not treated fairly nor are they given fair trials. As a North Carolina resident, voter, and
the daughter of a victim, I'm asking you to support SB 477, the Victims' Fair Treatment Act. This new law would place North Carolina with the majority of states that use the Comparative Negligence law, which apportions fault and does not allow an individual to recover if they are more than 50% at fault. An award is discounted by an individual's percentage portion of fault. Under the current North Carolina law, a person who is only 1% at fault cannot recover at all, and this is unfair. It also puts a strain on our medical providers and insurers when the injured party does not receive a fair settlement that satisfies unpaid medical bills and health insurance subrogation liens. People are often set back financially from being out of work and will take lower settlements because they are desperate for money and are afraid to risk a zero verdict because of the contributory negligence defense. With the current Contributory Negligence Law, those who are negligent have no financial responsibility to compensate the victim for the injury or death they caused when the victim was partially at fault for not watching out or being careful for their safety. I strongly encourage you to stand with us and help make the changes needed to protect our citizens. Vote for SB 477, The Victim's Fair Treatment Act to change the North Carolina Law to the fair Comparative Negligence Law.