Personal Injury Lawyer Goose Creek, SC

Quick Answer: If you were injured in Goose Creek because of someone else’s carelessness, you can generally recover medical bills, lost income and pain and suffering from the responsible party’s insurer. Goose Creek is in Berkeley County, so most injury lawsuits are filed in the Berkeley County Court of Common Pleas in Moncks Corner. You generally have three years to file, two years for claims against government entities, and you can recover as long as you were not more at fault than the other side.

On this page:

• Where is a Goose Creek injury case filed?
• What injuries do we see most in Goose Creek?
• What if you are an active-duty service member or military spouse?
• What if you were hurt on Joint Base Charleston property?
• Can an apartment complex be liable for an assault?
• What if a dog bit you?
• What is your claim worth?
• What should you do after an injury?

Where Is a Goose Creek Personal Injury Case Filed?

Usually in Berkeley County. The following table summarizes the courts and agencies most often involved in Goose Creek injury cases:

A lawsuit may also be filed where a defendant lives or does business, so a Goose Creek case can sometimes be filed in Charleston County. We consider the options with you before filing.

What Injuries Do We See Most in Goose Creek?

Most of our Goose Creek injury cases begin on the road, especially on U.S. 52, St. James Avenue, Red Bank Road, College Park Road and Crowfield Boulevard, which carry heavy commuter, military and commercial traffic. Those cases are covered on our Goose Creek car accident lawyer page. We also represent people hurt in falls at stores and restaurants, assaults at apartment complexes and parking lots, dog bites, and accidents at pools and recreation areas.

What If You Are an Active-Duty Service Member or Military Spouse?

Service members and military families have the same right to recover for injuries as anyone else, but their lives raise practical issues. Permanent change of station orders, deployments and training can make it hard to attend medical appointments or court dates. Treatment through TRICARE or a military treatment facility may give the government a right to reimbursement from the recovery. In addition, the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act can provide certain protections in civil proceedings for those on active duty. We plan around these issues from the start.

What If You Were Hurt on Joint Base Charleston Property?

Different rules apply. Injuries caused by the negligence of federal employees, including some incidents on military installations, are generally governed by the Federal Tort Claims Act, which requires an administrative claim to the responsible agency, generally within two years, before a lawsuit can be filed. Claims against private contractors working on base may proceed differently. Because these rules are strict and unforgiving, talk with a lawyer promptly if you were hurt on federal property.

Can an Apartment Complex Be Liable for an Assault in Goose Creek?

It can, in some circumstances. The South Carolina Supreme Court held in Bass v. Gopal, Inc., 395 S.C. 129, 716 S.E.2d 910 (2011), that a business may owe a duty to take reasonable security measures when criminal activity was foreseeable. Prior incidents on the property, broken gates or lighting, and ignored complaints can all matter. These cases require early investigation, since incident logs and video may be discarded.

What If a Dog Bit You in Goose Creek?

Under S.C. Code Section 47-3-110, a dog’s owner or caretaker is generally liable when the dog bites or attacks someone in a public place or lawfully on private property, unless the person provoked the dog. The claim is often covered by the owner’s homeowner’s or renter’s insurance. Get medical care right away, especially for bites to the face or hands, report the bite to animal control and get the owner’s information.

What Is a Goose Creek Personal Injury Claim Worth?

It depends on the severity of the injury, the medical bills, lost income, any permanent effects and the available insurance. Generally, an injured person can recover medical expenses, lost wages and earning capacity, pain and suffering, and compensation for permanent impairment or scarring. Under South Carolina’s modified comparative negligence rule from Nelson v. Concrete Supply Co., 303 S.C. 243, 399 S.E.2d 783 (1991), your recovery is reduced by your share of fault, and you cannot recover if you were more at fault than the other side.

What Should You Do After an Injury in Goose Creek?

• Get medical care promptly and follow your treatment plan;
• Report the incident to the police, the property owner or the business, as appropriate;
• Photograph the scene, the hazard and your injuries;
• Collect names and phone numbers of witnesses;
• Ask businesses to preserve any video; and
• Avoid giving recorded statements to the other side’s insurer before talking with a lawyer.

Most injury claims must be filed within three years under S.C. Code Section 15-3-530, and claims against state or local government entities generally within two years under the South Carolina Tort Claims Act.

When Should You Settle a Goose Creek Injury Claim?

Generally, not until your doctors can describe your long-term condition. Once you sign a release, the claim is over, even if you later need surgery or more treatment. At the same time, the filing deadline keeps running, so if treatment takes a long time, we may file suit to protect your rights while you continue to recover. We also confirm what health insurers, TRICARE, Medicare or Medicaid paid, since those programs may need to be repaid from the settlement.

Who Is Responsible for a Fall at a Goose Creek Business?

A store, restaurant or other business generally must keep its premises reasonably safe for customers and warn of dangers that are not obvious. In most fall cases, the injured person must show that the business created the hazard or knew or should have known about it in time to fix it. Wet floors without warning signs, damaged mats, cluttered aisles, broken curbs and dark parking lots are common causes. Report the fall to a manager before you leave, ask that the video be preserved, and photograph the exact spot where you fell.

Related pages: Our main North Charleston personal injury lawyer and Charleston personal injury lawyer pages explain this practice area in more depth. Clients in Goose Creek also turn to our Goose Creek car accident lawyer, Goose Creek workplace injury lawyer, Goose Creek medical malpractice lawyer, Goose Creek wrongful death lawyer and Goose Creek criminal defense lawyer pages, and we handle the same kinds of cases for clients who need a personal injury lawyer in Hanahan or a personal injury lawyer in Summerville.

If you were injured in Goose Creek, SC, our Goose Creek personal injury lawyers at Clekis Law Firm can explain your options. Call 843-900-0000 or contact us to schedule a consultation. Our North Charleston office at 2850 Ashley Phosphate Road is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and we also meet clients by appointment at our Charleston office on Church Street.

Attorney responsible for this page: Nicholas J. Clekis, Clekis Law Firm, 2850 Ashley Phosphate Road, North Charleston, SC 29418.