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I was involved in an accident in Durham County where I was at fault. I was issued a ticket that stated that I was exceeding safe speeds given the condition (rain).
My question is do I need a traffic lawyer? My understanding is that I will receive 3 insurance points no matter what - a lawyer cannot get you out of it. I was advised by several people to just "go to the court house" the day of my trial and "speak with the DA". The result being I would not get any drivers points (which are different from insurance points) and I would not have to pay the fine or court costs. Is this accurate? If so - where exactly do I go? And how do I speak with the DA? Do I just ask him for it to be dismissed? This is the first time I have been issued a citation for an accident.
If this is not accurate - what benefits are there of a traffic lawyer? Thanks for any help.
I think regardless of whether you speak with the DA you must pay the court costs and fines.
As for if you need a lawyer or not... it depends. How much damage happened in the accident? Was anyone hurt? How much over the speed limit were you going?
I've never gone for an accident - only for a run of the mill speeding ticket.
I think regardless of whether you speak with the DA you must pay the court costs and fines.
As for if you need a lawyer or not... it depends. How much damage happened in the accident? Was anyone hurt? How much over the speed limit were you going?
I've never gone for an accident - only for a run of the mill speeding ticket.
Because it happened on a ramp getting on interstate - there was no stated speed limit. But on the ticket he estimated that I was going 55 . There was only 2 cars involved, including my own. His vehicle was totaled and mine had 3k worth of damages. The officer recorded there was an injury on the citation, but my insurance did not have to pay for any medical costs.
I guess my thought was because I would be speaking with the DA before my scheduled court time, and it was resolved, there would be no court time and therefore no court costs (I have no idea, just my reasoning). I just don't know what the benefits are of getting a traffic lawyer.
Well soon enough, you'll be hit with a ton of letters from traffic lawyer, so you should at least call one or two of them up, and you'll get a better idea of what they can do for you. The consultation over the phone is free, so it doesn't hurt to contact them about it.
that sounds serious enough that you may wish to consult an attorney.
that being said, i've handled minor traffic violations (speeding, 10 over) by speaking with the DA. you will always have to pay court costs regardless of the outcome. fines may be waived at the discretion of the DA but that doesn't happen often.
Talk to the Asst DA and be sure to bring a letter from your insurance company as verification that they've paid the other party's claim in full. I don't know how it works in Durham -- every courthouse is a little different -- but where I live, I would probably get the charges dismissed without points and without court costs.
If you don't want to take the risk that it won't work out that way, get a lawyer.
Either way, your insurance company will not be happy that they've paid a claim and they will probably take revenge when your policy is up for renewal. C'est la vie.
You will get points no matter what (unless you have accident forgiveness with your insurance company). I would first talk with the DA and bring in the form or letter stating that the other party has been paid as wizard stated above (points repped).
If that doesn't work, I would get a lawyer for the ticket. They can get this moved to a violation that doesn't put points on your license. You will have to pay court costs though and maybe a small fine for the "new" infraction but the "old" infraction will not exist anymore.
So with those two steps that takes care of you not getting points on your license. It is then when you find out that the insurance company issues its own points. It is equal to the points on the license but not "official". You cannot change insurance companies to get rid of this b/c they all share this information. Your payments will increase and you will have them for a year vs the 3 years if they were on your license.
The officer recorded there was an injury on the citation, but my insurance did not have to pay for any medical costs.
At first I thought you were saying that the officer recorded that your insurance did not have to pay medical costs.
I assume you mean that your insurance has not paid medical ...YET.... People have a long time to collect medical costs I believe. How bad were they hurt??
Hmmm...maybe there is a place for me in Raleigh afterall.
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. There was only 2 cars involved, including my own. His vehicle was totaled and mine had 3k worth of damages. The officer recorded there was an injury on the citation, but my insurance did not have to pay for any medical costs. 
