After an accident that results in an injury, don’t pay for any of your damages out of pocket. Before you do anything, it’s best to get in contact with a lawyer to help you with your case. You can win a settlement that covers all your damages.
The South Carolina personal injury attorneys at Miller, Dawson, Sigal & Ward have years of experience. With millions recovered for our clients, you can trust in our dedication to you. We won’t stop fighting until you get the settlement you rightfully deserve. Allow us to help you today.
What Kinds of Personal Injury Cases Do You Handle?
Our South Carolina personal injury attorneys can handle all types of cases, including:
- Car accidents
- Truck accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
- Slip and fall accidents
- Workplace injuries and workers’ compensation
- Maritime injuries
- Product liability
- Dog and animal bites
- Medical malpractice
You may be confused on what exactly qualifies as a personal injury that’s worthy of filing a claim. As long as negligence is involved with your injury, you can always file a claim and fight to win compensation for your damages.
How Much Are Personal Injury Cases in South Carolina Worth?
On average, a South Carolina personal injury case can result in compensation anywhere from $25,000 to north of one million dollars. The amount of money recovered in these cases varies so greatly because of many factors.
How much you can win in your settlement depends on the type of accident that caused your case, how extensive your damages are, and how much those damages have impacted your life.
There’s no accurate way to determine how much your settlement will be worth unless you get your case reviewed by one of our personal injury lawyers. After reviewing the context of your case, all the evidence, and your damages, we can provide you with an estimate on how much you can likely recover.
Important Things to Remember After an Accident
There are many steps you can take immediately after an accident to protect yourself both physically and financially.
The most important thing you can do for your health after an accident is to seek medical attention. Even if you think you have not suffered any significant injuries, it is always best to get looked over by a trained professional. Many injuries are not immediately noticeable but can lead to serious health complications if left untreated.
For your financial health, the best thing you can do is to hire an experienced personal injury attorney. You are your most vulnerable immediately after an injury, and other parties may try to take advantage of you during this time.
Do not sign anything without first consulting with an attorney. You should also never admit fault for an accident. Even an apology can be used against you. The less you talk about your accident without your lawyer present, the better.
Compensation for Your Damages After Suffering a Personal Injury
You can recover compensation for the damages you sustained by filing a claim with an insurance company or a personal injury lawsuit against the liable party. There are many damages you can recover depending on your circumstances.
Pain and Suffering
Pain and suffering can include several other damages such as loss of consortium, loss of enjoyment of life, mental anguish, and emotional trauma. Your pain and suffering aren’t limited to just the physical aspects of your personal injury case.
Since these damages are non-economic, they don’t have any fixed monetary value. This means that our personal injury attorneys in South Carolina will use various formulas to determine how much you can win in your settlement. We will ensure that nothing gets left out and that the insurance company doesn’t downplay your pain and suffering.
Medical Expenses
This is the most common damage involved in virtually every personal injury case. For all your medical expenses, both currently and in the future, you can get compensated through your claim. You should never have to pay for your medical treatment yourself, especially if a negligent party caused you to get injured.
Property Damages
If your injury also caused property damages to your vehicle or other personal items, you can get them reimbursed. If there are extreme damages, you can even get compensation to replace whatever property you have that can’t get repaired.
Lost Wages
Your injuries can prevent you from working or even holding a job altogether. Your settlement can get you the compensation you need to cover all your financial obligations while you recover from your accident.
How Comparative Negligence Works in South Carolina
In South Carolina, personal injury victims have to abide by the comparative negligence rule stated in the South Carolina Code of Laws § 15-38-15. Under this law, you have to be less than 50% responsible for your accident, or you can’t file a claim.
If you are partially at fault but less than 50%, you can recover damages for the percentage of the fault assigned to the other liable party. That means that if you are deemed to have been 20% at fault for your accident, you can recover compensation for up to 80% of the total value of your claim.
Thus, the insurance company and the defense may try to shift the blame on you so that they don’t have to pay you anything or at least minimize what they do have to pay. Even though the law gives you the right to file a claim, it doesn’t mean you automatically get compensation. You still have to provide proof, negotiate, and fight for your settlement.
Why Should I Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer?
When you hire one of our South Carolina personal injury lawyers at MDSW to help you file a claim, we do more than just file paperwork and talk to the insurance companies. The Thumbs Up Guys will:
- Collect evidence and use it to build a strong case for your claim
- Handle all your communications and correspondence with other parties and ensure your privacy gets protected at all times
- Calculate all your damages accurately
- Represent you and your best interests during negotiations
- Take your claim to court if necessary
- Help guide you through complex laws and answer all your legal questions
Even though no law in South Carolina requires you to hire a lawyer, don’t try to fight your case alone if you don’t have any legal experience. Instead, prioritize your health and recovery first and let our personal injury lawyers do the hard work for you.
How Much does a Personal Injury Lawyer Charge?
Personal injury lawyers in South Carolina do not charge their clients in the same manner as most other lawyers. You won’t have to pay a personal injury lawyer any upfront costs to retain their services or worry about being billed for every minute your attorney spends working on your case.
Instead, personal injury lawyers work on a contingency fee basis. This payment structure means that your lawyer only gets paid if you recover compensation. You will never pay a single cent out of pocket to your attorney. Instead, they will receive their fee directly from the compensation you recover. The amount they receive will be a pre-agreed upon percentage of the payout.
In the unlikely event that you are not able to recover any compensation, your attorney doesn’t get paid. Because of this, you can rest assured that they will do everything in their power to ensure you recover a large settlement or court-ordered payout.
Never Accept the Initial Settlement Deal
The insurance company may try to offer you a deal to settle fast for a fixed amount. They may claim that hiring a lawyer is wasteful and that they’re willing to work directly with you to resolve any issues you face after your accident. Don’t listen to any of the lies they say.
Insurance companies only want to pay you the least amount of compensation possible for your damages. If you accept their initial lowball offer, you won’t be able to recover any further compensation after. Don’t get cheated out of a fair settlement, and never trust the insurance company to act in your best interest.
South Carolina’s Statute of Limitations to File a Personal Injury Claim
Under South Carolina Code of Laws § 15-3-530, South Carolina personal injury victims have a general three-year deadline to file their claims. Due to the varying nature of personal injury cases, you may have even less time depending on the type of accident that caused your injury. Get help from our lawyers as soon as possible so that you can get started on your claim.
Get a Free Consultation Today
Don’t let your personal injury case linger. With no upfront fees and zero obligations, don’t hesitate to contact the South Carolina personal injury attorneys at Miller, Dawson, Sigal & Ward today. You can contact us 24/7 to schedule an appointment for a free consultation. Trust in our years of experience to fight hard for your rights.