Short Answer

Yes, they may be able to contact you about vehicle storage or repair logistics if your lawyer is only handling the injury claim, but you should confirm the scope with your lawyer first. Keep the discussion limited to property damage issues, such as where the car is located, whether it is being inspected, and how storage charges are being handled. Do not discuss fault, injuries, treatment, or settlement terms unless your attorney has cleared that communication.

Why the Insurance Company May Separate the Car Damage From the Injury Claim

After a Durham car accident, there may be more than one claim moving at the same time. The bodily injury claim involves your medical treatment, pain, lost income, and other injury-related losses. The property damage claim involves the vehicle, towing, storage, repairs, total loss handling, rental issues, and sometimes personal property inside the car.

Some personal injury representation agreements cover only the injury claim. If that is true in your case, the other driver’s insurance company may still need to speak with you, your own insurer, the repair shop, or the storage yard about the vehicle. That does not mean the insurer gets to ask you every question it wants. It means there may be a practical reason to coordinate the car portion separately.

The safest approach is to ask your lawyer: “Are you handling the property damage claim, or only the bodily injury claim?” Once you know the answer, you can respond in a way that protects the injury claim while still dealing with the car.

Storage Charges Can Become a Practical Problem

Vehicle storage fees can add up quickly after a crash. If the car is sitting at a tow yard or storage lot, the insurance company may want to know whether your own insurer is handling repairs or whether the car can be moved to a lower-cost location. That request is usually about limiting ongoing property damage costs, not necessarily about the value of your injury claim.

In North Carolina claims, an injured person is generally expected to act reasonably to avoid unnecessary added losses when possible. That does not mean you must do whatever the other driver’s insurer demands. It does mean you should not ignore storage letters, tow notices, or calls about moving the vehicle. If you cannot safely or practically move the car, document why.

Useful steps may include:

• Finding out exactly where the vehicle is located.
• Asking the storage yard for the daily rate and current balance.
• Confirming whether your own insurance company has opened a collision or comprehensive claim.
• Asking whether the other driver’s insurer has inspected the vehicle or needs access.
• Getting all instructions about release forms, title issues, and moving the car in writing.
• Saving photos of the vehicle before it is repaired, moved, or released.

Keep Property Damage Communications Narrow

If your attorney is not handling the car damage portion, you can often communicate about basic vehicle logistics. A narrow conversation might include the vehicle’s location, the name of the tow yard, whether you have collision coverage, whether your insurer has inspected the car, and whether the vehicle can be released or moved.

Try not to let a property damage call turn into an injury interview. If the adjuster asks about how the crash happened, whether you were distracted, how fast you were traveling, what hurt, whether you missed work, or whether you are still in treatment, those topics may affect the bodily injury claim. A simple response may be: “My attorney is handling the injury claim. Please send injury-related questions to my attorney.”

This distinction matters because North Carolina allows contributory negligence to be raised as a defense in injury cases. In plain English, if the defense proves that your own negligence helped cause the injury, it can create serious problems for the claim. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-139 places the burden of proving contributory negligence on the party asserting it. Even so, casual statements about fault can become important later.

What Not to Discuss Without Checking With Your Lawyer

Even if the insurer may contact you about the car, certain topics should usually be routed through your attorney when the attorney is handling the injury claim. These include:

• Recorded statements about the crash.
• Detailed descriptions of injuries, pain, symptoms, or recovery.
• Medical treatment history or future treatment plans.
• Lost wages or missed work.
• Prior injuries or prior claims.
• Medicare, Medicaid, health insurance, or medical bill reimbursement questions.
• Any release, settlement, or check that could affect the injury claim.

Be especially careful with paperwork. A property damage release should not release your injury claim. Before signing any release from the other driver’s insurer, read it carefully and ask your lawyer to review it if there is any doubt.

Why the Adjuster May Ask About Treatment or Medicare

In the facts above, the insurance representative asked both about the vehicle storage issue and about injury-related information, including back and side pain, ongoing care, and possible Medicare coverage. Those are different categories of information.

Questions about the car being in storage may relate to the property damage claim. Questions about pain, treatment, medical care, and Medicare coverage relate to the bodily injury claim. If your lawyer is handling the injury claim, those injury questions should generally go through counsel.

Medical bill and reimbursement issues can affect how a personal injury settlement is handled. For example, North Carolina law recognizes certain medical provider liens against personal injury recoveries. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 44-49 creates certain liens for medical services connected to the injury, and N.C. Gen. Stat. § 44-50 addresses how those liens may attach to injury settlement funds. Medicare or other benefit issues may also require careful handling before settlement funds are disbursed.

Deadlines Still Matter Even If Everyone Is Talking

Handling the car damage does not stop the clock on the injury claim. In many North Carolina personal injury and vehicle property damage cases, N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-52 provides a three-year deadline for certain injury and property damage lawsuits. The exact deadline can depend on the type of claim and facts.

Ongoing calls with an adjuster, repair discussions, medical updates, or settlement negotiations do not automatically extend a lawsuit deadline. If a deadline may be approaching, speak with a licensed North Carolina attorney promptly.

How This Applies to the Situation Described

Based on the facts provided, the insurance representative appears to be asking two things at once. First, they want to know whether the injured driver’s own insurer is handling vehicle repairs so the car does not sit in storage. That is a property damage and storage issue. If the injury lawyer is not handling property damage, the driver may need to deal directly with the insurer, their own carrier, the tow yard, or the repair facility.

Second, the representative asked for injury and treatment information, including pain complaints, ongoing care, and possible Medicare coverage. Those topics belong with the bodily injury claim. If counsel is handling that claim, it is reasonable to direct those questions to the lawyer rather than answering them yourself.

A practical response might be to tell the adjuster, in writing, that you are willing to discuss only vehicle location, storage, inspection, and repair logistics, and that all injury-related questions should go to your attorney. You can also copy your attorney on the message so everyone understands the boundary.

Information to Gather Before Responding

Before you return the call or email, gather the basic documents that help separate the car issue from the injury issue:

• The claim number for the other driver’s insurance company.
• Your own insurance claim number, if you opened one.
• The tow yard or storage facility name, address, phone number, and daily rate.
• Photos of the vehicle from multiple angles.
• Repair estimates or total loss paperwork, if available.
• Any property damage release or form the insurer wants signed.
• Letters, emails, or texts from adjusters about moving the vehicle.
• Your attorney’s contact information for injury-related questions.

Keeping written records helps show what was discussed and prevents confusion later. It also helps your attorney understand whether a property damage document could affect the injury claim.

When Wallace Pierce Law May Be Able to Help

Wallace Pierce Law may be able to help when an insurance company mixes property damage questions with injury claim questions after a Durham car accident. The firm can review the scope of representation, explain which communications should go through counsel, and help organize injury-related records, bills, treatment information, and lien or reimbursement issues.

If the vehicle storage issue is outside the injury representation, the firm may still help you understand how to keep the property damage discussion narrow so it does not harm the injury claim. That may include reviewing a proposed release, identifying questions that should be redirected to counsel, and helping you preserve photos and documents that may matter later.

Talk to a Personal Injury Attorney in Durham

If your question involves injuries, insurance, fault, medical documentation, settlement paperwork, or a possible deadline, speaking with a licensed North Carolina attorney can help clarify your options. Call 919-313-2737 to discuss what happened and what steps may make sense next.

Disclaimer: This article provides general information about North Carolina personal injury law based on the single question stated above. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. It is not medical advice, tax advice, or insurance policy interpretation. Laws, procedures, and local practice can change and may vary by county. If there may be a deadline, act promptly and speak with a licensed North Carolina attorney.