Practice areas · North Carolina
The NC personal-injury cases I take, and how each one is worked.
Eight practice areas, one attorney working every file. Each page below walks through the law, the defense playbook, and how I work that specific case. Consultation is free. No fee unless I win your case.
How my practice is organized
One practice area. Eight case-type branches. Every file worked personally.
Personal injury is the only kind of law I have practiced since 1985 — over 41 years, no other practice area, ever. The eight pages below are not a service menu in the conventional sense; they are the eight case types that show up often enough in North Carolina to deserve their own walk-through of the law, the defense playbook, and how I work the file. When you call my office, you reach the lawyer working your case. There are no associates because I do not have any.
North Carolina is one of only four states that still applies contributory negligence. If the defense proves you were even 1% at fault for the accident, your recovery can be barred. The defense is good at finding that 1%. That rule sits on top of every page on this hub — it is why a car-accident case in Wilmington is worked differently than a car-accident case in a comparative-negligence state, and it is why the case-selection bar is the same across all eight branches. The work cannot be done in volume.
Pick the page that matches what happened. If you are not sure, the personal-injury umbrella covers the broad law and the three thin sub-types I also handle (bicycle, bus, pedestrian). Consultation is free. No fee unless I win your case.
— Robert L Armstrong
The eight L1 hubs
Pick the page that matches what happened.
Each card opens a full L1 page with the NC law, case results (client names withheld for privacy), an FAQ, and the same direct line to me. The personal-injury page is the umbrella — start there if your case does not obviously sit under one of the other seven.
Personal injury
The umbrella practice — what NC personal-injury law covers, how contributory negligence shapes every case, and the three thin sub-types (bicycle, bus, pedestrian) handled here.
Car accidents
Rear-end collisions, hit-and-run, drunk-driving cases, whiplash, multi-vehicle. The largest share of my caseload and the one adjusters know best.
Truck accidents
18-wheeler, delivery, and commercial-vehicle cases under FMCSA rules. Multi-defendant analysis across driver, carrier, dispatcher, and shipper.
Motorcycle accidents
Catastrophic injury patterns, UM and UIM policy stacking, and the contributory-negligence pressure on helmet, lane position, and speed.
Premises liability
Slip-and-fall, broken stairs, vacation-rental injuries, deck collapse, nursing-home falls. Cases other firms decline under NC notice rules.
Brain injuries
Concussion, brain bleed, diffuse axonal injury. Long-term cost analysis with neurologists, neuropsychologists, and life-care planners.
Spinal cord injuries
Paraplegia, quadriplegia, herniated disc, failed-back syndrome. Future-care planning that early settlement offers consistently ignore.
Wrongful death
Two-year NC statute of limitations, estate-administration coordination, and recovery protected from late or estranged claimants.
What ties the eight pages together
The same NC law, the same case-selection bar, the same direct line.
Every page on this hub is worked the same way. A first call within 24 hours, including weekends. An investigation that starts before evidence walks — witnesses interviewed before memory fades, scene photos pulled before the property changes, medical records assembled before treatment is discounted by an adjuster. A defense-aware analysis of the contributory-negligence exposure that hangs over every NC personal-injury case. A recovery analysis that accounts for future cost, not just the bills already received.
The 1% problem
NC's contributory-negligence rule does not just shape the trial; it shapes the first phone call from the adjuster, the framing of the recorded statement, and the language of the early offer. The defense plays for the 1% from day one. So does the work on this side, and that is the reason the case-selection bar is high across all eight branches — taking a defensible case past the early-settlement window is the only way to honor it.
How long you have, where it sits
Three years for most NC personal-injury claims. Two years for wrongful death. Three years for property damage. The deadline is hard. Beyond the clock, the case sits geographically in one of the six NC counties my firm covers — New Hanover, Brunswick, Pender, Onslow, Bladen, Duplin — which shapes venue selection, jury draw, and which adjuster you will be dealing with.
If you want to see how this work looks across the eight branches, the case results page collects representative outcomes — client names withheld for privacy — and the about page covers the long version of why this is the only kind of law I have practiced.
In their words
What clients across the eight branches said after the case closed.
“Mr. Armstrong is the most efficient and helpful attorney we could have asked for — not only helping with our lawsuit but also deeply caring about our health. He made us feel as if we weren't just any other client.”
“I am so thankful to have been represented by Robert L. Armstrong! He is a fantastic listener who really cares. It was so relieving to have him take over all of the chaos of my car accident. He validated me, took control of the situation and brought some peace back into my days.”
“I hired Robert Armstrong for my motorcycle accident. He was an outstanding legal representative who showed genuine concern for me and really understood the physical, emotional and financial hardship the accident caused. I would recommend him to anyone needing legal assistance in this matter.”
Common questions
About my practice areas.
The questions that come up most often on the first call about which practice area to read. Answered the way I would answer them on the phone.
Frequently asked questions
Which practice-area page should I read first?
Start with the page that matches what happened. A car wreck on Market Street routes to car accidents. A fall at a vacation rental routes to premises liability. If the injury is severe enough that you are weighing long-term care, the brain-injury or spinal-cord-injury page may be more relevant than the wreck page that started it. If you are not sure, the personal-injury umbrella covers the broad NC law and the three thin sub-types (bicycle, bus, pedestrian), and any first call I take will point you to the right page.
Is there overlap between car accidents and personal injury?
Yes — car accidents are personal-injury cases. The split exists because a Wilmington car wreck has its own defense playbook (adjuster scripts, UM and UIM stacking, recorded-statement traps) that warrants its own page. The personal-injury umbrella covers what every injury case in NC shares: contributory negligence, statute of limitations, the categories of damages. Read both if a car wreck is what brought you here.
Do you take cases outside the eight areas listed here?
Personal injury is all I do, so I take cases that fit somewhere on this list — car, truck, motorcycle, premises, brain injury, spinal cord, wrongful death, or the broader personal-injury bucket that includes bicycle, bus, and pedestrian. I do not take criminal defense, family law, estate planning, or business law. If a call comes in that does not fit, I will say so honestly in the first conversation and point you to a colleague who handles it.
What does contributory negligence mean for my case?
North Carolina is one of only four states that still applies contributory negligence. If the defense proves you were even 1% at fault for the accident, your recovery can be barred entirely. That rule sits on top of every case on this page, which is why the first call is so important. Tell me what happened and I will tell you honestly whether I think the case can be defended.
How long do I have to file a personal-injury case in NC?
Three years for most personal-injury claims. Two years for wrongful death. Three years for property damage. The deadline is hard — once it passes, the case cannot be filed regardless of how strong it is. Witness recollection, scene evidence, and medical records all degrade well before the deadline, so the case should not wait on the clock.
What does the consultation cost?
Consultation is free. The fee is contingent. There is no fee unless I win your case. My firm advances costs such as filing fees, expert witnesses, and deposition fees, and is reimbursed from the recovery if there is one. If there is not, you do not owe a fee.
When you're ready to talk through what happened, the call is free.
Tell me what happened. I will tell you which page on this hub matches your case, what North Carolina law makes possible, and what the next step should be. No fee unless I win your case.
Contingency-fee representation. Free consultation.