Unlike Tennessee, where many injury claims must be filed within 1 year, North Carolina usually gives you 3 years from the injury date to file a personal injury lawsuit.

What should have happened first: the same day or within 24 hours, call 911 if needed, make sure CMPD or another responding agency documents the scene, get medical care, and save photos of the lane shift, cones, flaggers, equipment, or missing warning signs. On I-77 and other Charlotte work zones, traffic patterns can change overnight. If you wait even a week, the setup may be gone.

What to do now depends on who may be responsible.

• If it was a private contractor, driver, property owner, or store, the usual deadline is 3 years.
• If a state agency or state road crew caused it, a claim may fall under the North Carolina Tort Claims Act and be filed with the North Carolina Industrial Commission within 3 years.
• If the injury led to death, a wrongful death case is generally 2 years.

Right now, gather the basics in order: crash report or incident number, names on trucks or signs, your medical records, bills, and photos of bruising, burns, or the broken collarbone diagnosis. If there were witnesses, get their names before memories fade.

What comes next: treatment usually starts immediately, insurance contact often begins within days, and records collection can take weeks. A straightforward claim may settle in a few months after treatment stabilizes. A disputed case, especially one involving a road contractor or government entity, can take many months to more than a year.

The biggest mistake is thinking "I have 3 years, so I can wait." In Charlotte construction season, waiting even one week can mean losing the work-zone evidence that proves what happened.