In South Carolina if you are injured in an automobile accident as a result of another driver’s negligence, you may be entitled to recover against the other driver and their insurance company for your bodily injuries. The damages in such a case include your medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and any permanent injury or impairment you may have sustained.
In order to make a recovery, you must first be able to show that the other driver was negligent. Some examples of this would include failure to yield the right of way, following too closely, disregarding a stop sign or other traffic control devise, failing to keep a proper lookout, etc. The investigating police officer’s conclusions on the accident report, or his decision whether or not to issue a ticket to either or both drivers, is not binding on the issue of liability. Although some insurance companies will look at the officer’s findings in order to assist them in making a decision as to whether to accept liability in the case, they do not have to agree with the police officer. It is therefore important to seek legal representation as soon after the accident as possible, so that your attorneys and their investigators can begin accumulating evidence including interviewing witnesses and taking photographs.
Assuming that liability can be established on the part of the other driver, the vast majority of automobile accident cases are settled out of court without the necessity of a lawsuit being filed. Generally, no attempts to settle the case are made until the client is through with their treatment or is at least at the point of maximum medical improvement. The reason for this is that it is very important that we know the full extent of your damages, or injuries, prior to attempting to settle your case. If the case cannot be settled for a satisfactory sum, the next step is generally to file a lawsuit against the other driver and seek a jury trial. Even after a lawsuit is filed, most cases settle prior to actually going to trial.
South Carolina law currently requires vehicles to be insured, or self-insured, in an amount of $25,000 per injured party and $50,000 per accident. This means that if your injuries are serious enough, it may be necessary to explore other available coverages. For example, if the other driver was driving a non-owned automobile, he may be insured by an excess liability policy. Furthermore, he may have been operating the vehicle on behalf of an employer, which could make the employer vicariously liable for the driver’s negligence. Additionally, your attorney will ascertain whether you have any underinsured motorist coverage available to help you get fully compensated. If the other driver had no insurance and was driving an uninsured motor vehicle, we will attempt to pursue an uninsured motorist claim on your behalf.
This is simply a brief overview of automobile accident law in the state of SC. Each of these cases is different and presents its own unique set of facts. The important thing is that you retain competent legal representation as early as possible in the process so that your attorney can get to work on your behalf.
If the employee is hurt on the job as a result of an accident, he is entitled to file a workers’ compensation claim.
Workers’ Compensation
Perhaps no subject in the law generates more emotion and more confusion than that of workers’ compensation. The theory behind workers’ compensation laws is to compensate an injured worker in a fair and efficient manner, without the necessity of proving that the injury was due to the employer’s negligence, so that the worker can quickly get the medical treatment he needs, draw the compensation he deserves, and get back to work if at all possible. Unfortunately, all too often the employers and their insurance companies are immediately hostile to an injured worker and wrongfully deny the benefits the system is designed to administer. This is one reason it is a good idea to seek legal representation as soon after you are injured as possible so that your attorneys can begin the process of investigating and processing your claim before problems present themselves.
Generally, employers in the state of South Carolina which have four or more employees are required to carry workers’ compensation insurance. If the employee is hurt on the job as a result of an accident, he is entitled to file a workers’ compensation claim. He has 90 days to report the injury to his employer, and there is a separate statute of limitations within which to actually file the claim with the state Workers’ Compensation Commission. If the claim is accepted, the employer’s insurance company should pay for all causally-related medical treatment. They have the right to choose your medical providers, and it is important that you consult with an attorney who has some knowledge of the various physicians in the area so that action can be taken if inappropriate physicians are chosen to treat you.
If the authorized treating physician takes you out of work, you will be eligible to draw temporary total disability payments (TTD), equivalent to two-thirds of your average weekly wage, up to the maximum compensation rate for the year of injury, after a 7-day waiting period is satisfied. If the doctor places you on light duty, and there is no light duty available, you should also draw TTD benefits. Once you have reached the point of maximum medical improvement (MMI), if you are still having symptoms as a result of the injury, we will ask the doctor to assign you the appropriate permanent impairment rating, which we then use to help negotiate a settlement for any permanent disability you have sustained. If the case cannot be settled, or if the claim was denied at the outset for what we consider to be an invalid reason, we will typically file a Form 50 with the state Workers’ Compensation Commission requesting a hearing.
Workers’ compensation cases can be quite complicated, and they are very much form driven. Without knowledge of the various time limitations, as well as the proper use of the Commission forms and regulations, potential pitfalls could endanger your case. It is wise to seek an attorney as soon as possible after the injury who has extensive experience in handling workers’ compensation claims so that your rights can be adequately protected, and your claim can be handled in a manner which is advantageous to you.
A competent law firm makes all the difference
Wrongful Deaths
Occasionally, some of the injuries our firm handles, including automobile accident cases, involve a death. In that event, the claim is known as a wrongful death case. What this means is that a death occurred as a result of someone else’s negligence or carelessness. For example, if another driver were to disregard a stop sign, or some other traffic control device, and cause an accident which results in death to another party, this would be considered a wrongful death claim.
In order to pursue the claim, an estate must be opened with the Probate Court, and the personal representative of the estate is the individual who hires the attorney and is the plaintiff in any lawsuit that is filed. Any damages recovered in the claim include funeral expenses, emotional damage, grief, and the loss of the decedent’s financial support for any dependent beneficiaries. The beneficiaries of such a claim are the intestate heirs of the estate, i.e. the people who would have inherited from the decedent if there were not a will. These are typically the surviving spouse and children of the deceased.
If the person who died endured any conscious pain and suffering prior to death, a claim known as a survival action is generally initiated on behalf of the estate, which also includes any medical bills incurred before death. The survival action and wrongful death claims are usually pursued at the same time and in the same forum, or lawsuit, so as to avoid repetition of investigation and accumulation of evidence.
Wrongful death claims are always tragic, and it is very important for the family members of someone who has died due to another’s negligence to promptly seek help from a law firm with experience in the area. Oftentimes, it is the time period immediately after an accident when witnesses’ memories are the freshest and the evidence is easier to gather. Hiring a competent law firm in a prompt fashion can make all the difference in the world.
We represent people who have been injured as a result of another’s negligence
Other Personal Injuries
In addition to automobile accident victims, we represent people who have been injured as a result of another’s negligence in a variety of different contexts, including slip and falls, dog bites, medical malpractice, and others. The damages recoverable in these cases are essentially the same as those we seek for our clients in automobile accident claims.
In order to make a recovery, it is necessary to demonstrate that your injury was caused by the adverse party’s negligence or carelessness. In the case of slip and falls, you must typically be able to prove that your injury was the result of a hazardous condition which the other party either knew, or should have known, about. It is not enough to show that you simply fell at a certain location. You must be able to demonstrate that your fall was the result of a hazard of which the other party was on notice. For example, assume you fall while pushing a grocery cart down a shopping aisle. Your fall results in an injury. However, you do not know what caused you to fall, or how it got there, or how long it had been there. In most cases, this fact scenario would not result in a successful claim. If, on the other hand, you fell on a wet floor caused by an employee of the store recently mopping who walked away without proper warnings being placed around the wet area, this would most likely result in a successful claim.
As with auto accidents, the sooner we can get started on your claim, the better. Oftentimes, the degree of success we have in handling a claim results from the initial investigation and discovery we are able to do at the outset. If you are injured, and you believe that your injury was caused by someone else’s negligence, or you’re not even sure, give us a call, and we’ll be glad to help.
