What can a Marion South Carolina personal injury law firm do for accident victims who suffer injury, property, and wrongful death losses?
What can a Marion South Carolina personal injury law firm do for accident victims who suffer injury, property, and wrongful death losses?
An experienced accident lawyer at the Clekis Law Firm in Marion South Carolina can offer accident victims legal avenues toward compensation when an injured party may not be at fault, referred to as “damages. Insurance companies have a desire to close out claims quickly, so consulting with an accident lawyer after injury and property damage occur is a wise decision. A Marion South Carolina injury lawyer has valuable resources to support a case by:
- sending investigators to the accident scene,
- reviewing police reports, witness testimony and medical reports,
- hiring appropriate financial personnel to make valuations of loss,
- determining the cause of the accident,
- supporting victim’s rights against aggressive insurance companies,
- drafting and filing complicated insurance and legal documents.
Compensation in Marion South Carolina.
South Carolina laws provide for compensation, based on assigned fault and proven claims of negligence, when dangerous mishaps occur in the workplace, on private property, on public property, under medical care, during vacation, or in motor vehicles. An injury attorney can explain how the law applies in each setting and how much time a victim has to make a legal claim. The physical and financial obstacles caused by unforeseen expenses and injuries can be difficult to overcome, requiring legal action to cover debts related to medical bills, lost wages, or funeral expenses when a wrongful death results from an accident.
Damages in Marion South Carolina.
Damages in Marion South Carolina.A car accident lawyer at the firm can explain damage valuation determinations for auto insurance claims, and other accidents requiring compensation for:
- Compensatory damages: An accident lawyer can assist in determining what types of compensatory award damages to request for economic damages including lost wages, medical bills, medical care, and treatment, plus household expenses and non-economic damages including pain and suffering, loss of consortium, or companionship.
- Punitive damages: If an injury attorney can prove that a defendant deliberately, with reckless disregard, acted in a manner to cause harm to another person, punitive damages may be awarded in specific situations.
Capitations in Marion South Carolina.
Monetary awards in Marion South Carolina can be capped out depending on the type of accident, or injury sustained. For example, in most medical malpractice cases, non-economic damages meant to compensate for pain and suffering are limited to $350,000 per defendant, and $1.05 million overall. These caps do not apply to all personal injury cases across the board, only those stemming from medical malpractice.
Another Marion South Carolina damage cap law that does apply to all injury cases is one that covers punitive damages, which is compensation that is awarded to an injured plaintiff but is intended to punish the defendant for particularly outrageous behavior. In Marion South Carolina, punitive damages in injury cases are limited to the greater of three times actual damages, or $500,000.
Accident lawyers can be of assistance for a variety of legal actions toward fiscal recovery after a motor vehicle, personal injury, premises liability, medical malpractice, or worker’s on-the-job accident.
Marion South Carolina Statute of limitations.
When personal injury is caused at the hands of another in Marion South Carolina, the statute of limitations gives an accident victim three years from the date of the injury to file a lawsuit in the state’s civil court system in accordance with S.C. Code Ann. section 15-3-530. If a legal claim is not filed before the three-year window closes, the state’s civil court system will likely refuse to hear the case unless there is an exception. An exception can include a person becoming aware of an injury they sustained, but did recognize the impact of it until sometime in the future, but when the injury can be proven to be due to the named accident in the legal claim, a filing window may be extended. An attorney can guide individuals of any deviations from that timeline.
Marion South Carolina Motor vehicle Accident Attorney.
In Marion South Carolina, the law requires that any collision resulting in at least $1,000 in total property damage, or results in injury, or death and occurs on a public highway must be reported to the South Carolina Department of Public Safety on the appropriate form. If these collisions occur on private property, or are reported on any form other than the TR-310, they are excluded. Traffic data in 2018 for South Carolina revealed 1,036 fatalities with 168 pedestrian fatalities and traffic collision injuries decreased from 60,566 in 2017 to 58,053. South Carolina drivers involved in fatal traffic collisions in 2018 included 68.8% men and 28.4% women and 94.4% of all contributing factors of an accident were driver-related. Attorney Clekis is an experienced auto accident attorney who can answer victim’s questions regarding injury, property damages and other catastrophic losses.
South Carolina is a “modified comparative negligence” state. This means an individual can still recover damages in a personal injury lawsuit, but the award may be reduced according to each party’s share of negligence. Under this rule, the amount of compensation a person is entitled to receive will be reduced by an amount that is equal to their percentage of fault, but if an individual is found to bear more than 50 percent of the legal blame, they cannot collect anything from other accident parties.
Criminal components in Marion South Carolina.
Accidents can be caused by blatant negligent acts, such as reckless driving, distracted driving, or driving under the influence, which may result in criminal action and civil action. An experienced personal injury lawyer can help with the intricacies of a complex accident case by addressing criminal components that will impact civil cases.
Marion South Carolina Personal injury Attorney.
Personal injury accidents occur in any setting as a result of the action, or inaction of another, and a victim may recover compensation if fault and/or liability is proven. The recovery of damages is contingent upon a personal injury attorney proving negligence of another individual, or entity that owed a duty of care to the victim. The Clekis Law Firm has years of experience dealing with personal injuries that include:
- Birth injury includes a trauma to a baby during the birthing process and can include breech birth, prolonged labor, physician interactions including use of forceps, or cesarean section complications which may lead to medical malpractice claims.
- Brain and spinal injury.
- Product liability.
Marion South Carolina Premises liability Lawyer.
When an individual is hurt on someone else’s property, they may take legal action when injury was caused due to poor conditions on the property, including improper maintenance, upkeep, or from interactions with occupants and animals on the premises. The responsibility of the property owner depends on the standard of care owed to the injured person, which is based on the reason for their presence on the property. For example, an invitee is owed a duty of care, but a trespasser may not be owed that same duty. Homeowners’ insurance may cover these types of injuries in many cases.
Marion South Carolina Medical malpractice Attorney.
Medical malpractice occurs when an individual is injured while under the care of a health care provider. Marion South Carolina has a $500,000 cap on non-economic damages in medical malpractice lawsuits against practitioners (the cap jumps to $1 million if malpractice caused death, or left someone in a vegetative state). The non-economic damages cap is in lawsuits against non-practitioner defendants. A number of exceptions are noted in the statute, so it is best to check with legal counsel, because each case is unique. There is a three year statute of limitations for medical malpractice claims, and up to six years to file a claim, but two years for a foreign object left in a body and a personal injury attorney can assist with timeline specifics. A Notice of Intent must be filed to alert the health care provider of the impending suit.
Marion South Carolina Workers’ compensation Lawyer.
When a person becomes injured on the job, or contracts an illness that is job-related, they should hire the services of a workers compensation attorney at the Clekis Law Firm who can assist with a claim for monetary damages. Injuries may be caused by an accident, or event that results in a physical injury, a medical condition caused by repetitious use of a body part, or conditions associated with the workplace environment itself. A lawyer can deal with the South Carolina Division of Workers’ Compensation on a client’s behalf.
Marion South Carolina Wrongful death Lawyer.
A wrongful death legal action in Marion South Carolina can be brought by loved ones when a person dies because of the negligent, reckless, or deliberate act of another. Damages in these lawsuits can include:
- Medical bills and burial expenses
- Compensation for lost wages
- Compensation for the pain and suffering
- Punitive damages that are intended to punish the person who caused the death.
Legal action after an accident in Marion South Carolina.
An accident victim in Marion South Carolina can take steps to minimize additional stress by hiring competent legal counsel at the Clekis Law Firm who can objectively speak on a victim’s behalf in a courtroom, or against an insurance company’s legal team, yielding a swift and fair monetary settlement.
Clekis Law Firm Main Office
171 Church Street
Charleston South Carolina 29401
Office Phone: 843-900-0000
Email: clekislaw@clekis.com
Source.
https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t15c079.php
https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t15c003.php
https://www.iihs.org/topics/fatality-statistics/detail/state-by-state
