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RALEIGH (MCT) — State Rep. Rick Glazier wants to change North Carolina law to make it easier for people to successfully sue when people hurt them through negligence.

But his legislation to change the law has reached a dead end, negotiators say.

Powerful groups, such as North Carolina's insurance and business interests, have fought the Fayetteville Democrat's bill. Opponents say the changes would drive up costs and put money into lawyers' pockets.

At issue is whether someone who is injured -- such as in a car wreck -- should be allowed to collect any damages if he did anything that contributed to the incident.

Current state law, under a concept known as "contributory negligence," says such a plaintiff is entitled to no compensation if his actions, no matter how small, were a factor in his injury.

Glazier's bill would allow the injured party to collect partial compensation, a concept called "comparative fault."

Hans and Lisa Vogel of Fayetteville say the state's contributory negligence law prevented them from getting compensation after their son, Jackson Vogel, was killed in a single-car wreck in May 2005 in Charlotte.

Jackson Vogel had been drinking with a friend, Alec Proctor, at a cookout and at a bar. Vogel was riding in Proctor's car when Proctor crashed on a highway onramp. Proctor's blood-alcohol level was more than twice the legal standard for drunken driving, and he served a 16-month sentence for Vogel's death.

Vogel's parents sued Proctor, seeking to collect money from his automobile liability insurance policy. But a Cumberland County jury in December 2007 rejected their claim. The jury decided Jackson Vogel was negligent, and his negligence contributed to his death.

''Our intention, of the money that we received, was to pay off expenses we had, as well as to fund an endowed scholarship we have in honor of our son up at Appalachian State," Hans Vogel said.

Duane Gilliam, a lawyer in Fayetteville, said that the existing law dissuades lawyers from accepting negligence cases unless the clients suffered catastrophic injuries that caused death or a permanent disability.

The risk of losing makes it untenable to pursue a case for someone whose losses are smaller, Gilliam said. He offered as an example a person who lost wages for a few months because he couldn't work while recovering from injuries.

If the law changes, Gilliam said, lawyers will be more likely to pursue cases in which the potential damages are smaller.

North Carolina is one of four states, plus Washington D.C., that operate under a contributory negligence law, according to N.C. Advocates for Justice, the state's trial lawyer association. Fairness demands that North Carolina's law should match those of 46 other states with comparative fault, said the association president, Phil Baddour, a former lawmaker.

Critics' charges

Yet doing so could mean North Carolina drivers would pay more for insurance, critics say. The Insurance Federation of North Carolina, which represents insurance companies, says a study this year estimated that the law change would push up the cost of insurance 3 percent to 16 percent, most likely around 5 percent. The federation aired radio ads in May that urged voters to tell their lawmakers to oppose the bill.

The N.C. Chamber of Commerce, which represents the business community, also opposes the bill.

If the law is changed, it needs to include assurances that a jury would hear all evidence of how a plaintiff may have contributed to his injuries, said Jennifer Cohen, the executive director of the insurance federation. In a car wreck case, for example, the jury should be told whether the plaintiff wore a seatbelt or had been distracted by sending text messages on a phone, she said.

Changes to the law also should ensure that in successful lawsuits against multiple parties, the co-defendants aren't required to pay more because one defendant has no money, Cohen said.

She wants juries to be told if a plaintiff previously won compensation for injuries, and the amounts paid.

The state House passed Glazier's bill last year, but it didn't make it through the Senate.

Sen. Pete Brunstetter, a Republican from Forsyth County, has tried to get the bill through the Senate. He said Wednesday that negotiations broke down among the interested parties, including lawyers, medical groups, the chamber and the insurance federation. The Advocates for Justice organization withdrew its endorsement of the bill in June.

The legislation probably will be proposed when the General Assembly meets in 2011, Brunstetter said.

Lisa Vogel says she's disappointed by that. She had planned to visit lawmakers in Raleigh in June to tell them to change the law.

Jackson Vogel made a mistake when he got into the car with his friend, she said. But the Vogels believe Proctor is responsible for their son's death.

''This law basically penalizes people who maybe make mistakes, unaware that they're making a mistake. It's as simple as walking down the wrong side of the road," Lisa Vogel said. "It's the 'you should have known better' law."