What happens if an insurer disputes liability for my injuries?

Short Answer

If an insurer disputes liability, it may deny the bodily injury claim, argue that someone else caused the incident, or contend that your own conduct contributed to it. The insurer’s decision is not binding, but North Carolina’s contributory negligence rule can create a serious obstacle if supported by the evidence. Your attorney can request the insurer’s position in writing, submit additional evidence, negotiate the dispute, and evaluate whether filing a lawsuit is appropriate.

What a Liability Dispute Means

Liability concerns who was legally responsible for the event that caused your injuries. Before paying a bodily injury claim, an insurer commonly reviews coverage, investigates responsibility, and evaluates the claimed injuries and losses. These steps can overlap.

A liability dispute is different from a disagreement about the extent of your injuries. An insurer may accept that its insured caused an accident but question whether every claimed medical expense or period of missed work resulted from it. Alternatively, the insurer may dispute responsibility entirely.

Common liability positions include:

The insured did not act negligently.
Another person or condition caused the incident.
The injured person failed to act reasonably and contributed to the injury.
Witness accounts, physical evidence, or other records conflict.
The incident occurred differently from the way it was reported.
The insured’s conduct did not cause the particular injuries being claimed.

A delayed decision is not necessarily a denial. An adjuster may still be collecting a witness statement, waiting for a law enforcement report, confirming coverage, or comparing inconsistent accounts. However, the claimant’s attorney can follow up for confirmation that the representation letter and claim were received and ask what information remains outstanding.

How North Carolina Law Affects a Disputed Claim

To recover on a negligence claim, an injured person generally must establish that the other party owed a duty of reasonable care, failed to meet that duty, and caused injuries and losses as a result. The insurer may challenge any of these points.

North Carolina also allows contributory negligence as a defense. If the defense establishes that the injured person’s own negligence helped cause the injury, that finding can prevent recovery even when the other party was also negligent. Under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-139, the party asserting contributory negligence generally has the burden of proving it.

For that reason, evidence should address both sides of the event: what the other person did wrong and why the injured person’s conduct was reasonable. A short or unclear statement can take on added importance when an insurer is looking for facts to support a contributory negligence defense.

What Happens After the Insurer Takes a Disputed Position?

The next step depends on the insurer’s stated reason and the available evidence. A represented claimant’s attorney may:

Ask for the position in writing. A written explanation can clarify whether the disagreement involves fault, causation, coverage, damages, or missing information.
Identify factual gaps. The attorney may compare witness statements, photographs, video, incident reports, vehicle damage, medical documentation, and the parties’ accounts.
Submit responsive evidence. Additional records or a focused explanation may resolve a misunderstanding, although the insurer is not required to change its decision.
Continue negotiations. Some disputes narrow after the parties exchange information. Others remain unresolved.
Evaluate litigation. If no voluntary resolution is possible, a lawsuit may allow the evidence to be gathered through formal procedures and the disputed issues to be decided in court.

An insurance adjuster does not make the final legal determination of fault. A denial ends the insurer’s voluntary payment process unless the position changes, but it does not by itself eliminate the underlying legal claim.

Evidence to Preserve During a Liability Investigation

Liability evidence can disappear quickly. Memories may become less precise, video may be overwritten, physical conditions may change, and damaged property may be repaired. Your legal representative may need to send preservation requests when potentially important material is controlled by another person or business.

Useful items may include:

Photographs and video of the scene, vehicles, property, hazards, and visible injuries.
Names and contact information for witnesses.
Law enforcement or incident report information.
Letters, emails, claim numbers, and adjuster communications.
A copy of the representation letter and proof showing when and how it was sent.
Medical records, bills, discharge papers, and visit summaries.
Employment records supporting time missed from work.
Receipts for injury-related out-of-pocket expenses.
A factual timeline prepared while events are still fresh.

A law enforcement report may help identify people, vehicles, statements, and reported conditions, but it does not necessarily settle civil liability. The full evidence still matters.

Do Not Let the Investigation Hide a Filing Deadline

For many North Carolina personal injury actions, N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-52 provides a three-year filing period. Different deadlines or procedural rules can apply depending on the type of defendant, claim, injury, or other circumstances.

Insurance negotiations, an open investigation, requests for documents, and statements that a decision is still pending do not automatically extend the deadline for filing a lawsuit. A represented person should keep counsel informed of new communications and promptly provide requested information so counsel can evaluate timing based on the particular facts.

How This Applies to the Current Claim

Here, the insurer reportedly has not confirmed receipt of the representation letter and has not communicated a liability decision while seeking information from a witness and law enforcement. That does not yet establish that liability has been denied. It may mean the investigation remains open, the letter has not reached the assigned adjuster, or the insurer has not completed its review.

Because the bodily injury claimant already has legal representation, the attorney can confirm the correct claim number and adjuster, resend the representation notice with delivery records, ask whether the insurer needs additional information, and request a written liability position once the investigation is complete. The claimant should generally direct substantive claim communications to counsel rather than independently giving a new detailed account without coordination.

If the insurer later disputes liability, the precise reason will matter. A claim that the insured was not negligent calls for different evidence than an allegation of contributory negligence or a contention that the incident did not cause the injuries.

When Wallace Pierce Law May Be Able to Help

Wallace Pierce Law may be able to review the reason for a liability dispute, organize the evidence, communicate with the insurer, and assess whether additional investigation is warranted. This can include following up on an unacknowledged representation letter, obtaining available reports, contacting witnesses, preserving relevant material, and responding to allegations that the injured person contributed to the incident.

If the insurer maintains its position, the firm may also evaluate available insurance issues, applicable deadlines, and whether litigation should be considered. The appropriate response depends on the facts, the available proof, and North Carolina law; no particular outcome can be assured.