Auto Accident Attorney Hollywood, SC

Quick Answer: After a car accident in Hollywood, South Carolina, you generally make a claim against the at-fault driver’s liability insurer, and your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage may add to the recovery. If a road defect or a school bus was involved, the claim may be against a public entity under the South Carolina Tort Claims Act, which generally requires suit within two years and limits damages. Most other crash lawsuits must be filed within three years.

On this page:

• What makes Highway 162 and 165 dangerous?
• What about run-off-road crashes?
• Can the road itself be responsible?
• What if a school bus was involved?
• What about collisions with golf carts?
• Why are nighttime crashes so dangerous here?
• Who investigates a Hollywood crash?
• What coverage pays?
• What injuries do these crashes cause?
• What should you do after a crash?
• How long do you have to file?

What Makes Highway 162 and Highway 165 Dangerous?

Both are two-lane roads with limited room for error. Curves reduce visibility, driveways and side roads enter without turn lanes, and slow-moving farm equipment and trucks share the road with commuters. Passing on a two-lane road, drifting over the center line and following too closely behind a turning vehicle all lead to serious crashes. Weekend traffic toward the islands adds drivers who are unfamiliar with the curves.

What About Run-Off-Road Crashes?

When a vehicle leaves the pavement on a rural road, it can strike trees, utility poles or deep ditches, or overturn. These crashes can be caused by another driver forcing the vehicle off the road, a distracted or impaired driver, a tire failure or road conditions. Passengers injured in a single-vehicle crash may have a claim against their own driver’s insurance.

Can the Road Itself Be Responsible for a Crash?

Sometimes. A steep drop-off between the pavement and the shoulder, a missing guardrail at a dangerous curve, faded markings, missing warning signs or vegetation blocking sight lines can contribute to a crash. Claims against the South Carolina Department of Transportation or a county for road defects are governed by the South Carolina Tort Claims Act, which generally requires suit within two years, limits damages and contains immunities for certain design decisions. Photograph the roadway as soon as possible, since conditions can change.

What If a School Bus Was Involved?

Many South Carolina public school buses are owned by the state, and crashes caused by a school bus driver are generally handled as claims against a public entity under the Tort Claims Act, with its shorter deadline and damage limits. Children injured on or around a bus, including while boarding or crossing to the bus, may have claims as well. Drivers must stop for a school bus displaying its stop signal under South Carolina law.

What About Collisions With Golf Carts?

Permitted golf carts may travel on certain secondary roads near the owner’s address under S.C. Code Section 56-2-105, generally only during daylight hours. A car that strikes a golf cart can cause devastating injuries to the cart’s occupants. Fault may rest with the car’s driver, the cart driver or both, and insurance coverage for golf carts varies by policy.

Why Are Nighttime Crashes So Dangerous Here?

Without streetlights, curves and hazards are harder to see, deer and other animals are more active, and impaired or fatigued drivers are more common. Response times for emergency services in rural areas can also be longer. Drivers must adjust their speed to conditions, and a driver who outruns his or her headlights may be at fault.

Who Investigates a Hollywood Crash?

Under S.C. Code Section 56-5-1260, drivers involved in a crash with injury or death must notify law enforcement immediately.

What Insurance Coverage Pays After a Hollywood Crash?

South Carolina requires at least $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident in bodily injury liability coverage, plus uninsured motorist coverage at the same limits, and insurers must offer underinsured motorist coverage. Because rural crashes so often cause serious injuries, underinsured motorist coverage on your own policy can be the most important source of recovery.

What Injuries Do Rural Crashes Cause?

Head-on, run-off-road and rollover crashes can cause fractures, spinal and brain injuries, internal injuries and severe lacerations, often requiring transport to trauma care in Charleston and long recoveries.

What Should You Do After a Crash in Hollywood?

• Call 911 and get medical care;
• Photograph the vehicles, the road surface, shoulders, signs and markings;
• Get witness names and phone numbers;
• Notify your own insurer; and
• Avoid recorded statements to the other driver’s insurer before talking with a lawyer.

How Long Do You Have to File?

Generally three years from the crash under S.C. Code Section 15-3-530, and generally two years for claims against public entities. Under Nelson v. Concrete Supply Co., 303 S.C. 243, 399 S.E.2d 783 (1991), you can recover as long as you were not more at fault than the other driver, with the recovery reduced by your share of fault. If a crash was fatal, see our Hollywood wrongful death lawyer page.

What About Collisions With Farm Equipment and Trucks?

Tractors, combines and other farm equipment use Highway 162 and Highway 165 to move between fields, and logging and delivery trucks travel these roads as well. Farm equipment on public roads generally must display a slow-moving vehicle emblem and proper lighting, and operators must use reasonable care when entering or turning off the road. Drivers approaching from behind must slow down and pass only when it is safe. When a collision happens, fault may rest with the equipment operator, the farm, a trucking company or the other driver, and commercial and farm policies often provide more coverage than personal auto policies.

What If an Impaired Driver Caused the Crash?

Impaired driving is a factor in many serious rural crashes, particularly at night. The injured person may pursue a civil claim regardless of the outcome of the criminal case, and punitive damages may be available because impaired driving is considered reckless. The criminal file, including test results and video, can be valuable evidence.

How Do Insurers Handle These Claims?

Adjusters may argue that injuries were preexisting, point to gaps in treatment, or suggest you were driving too fast for the curves. You do not have to give the other driver’s insurer a recorded statement, and a signed release ends the claim. Talk with a lawyer before you agree to anything.

What About Your Vehicle?

The at-fault insurer generally owes repairs or, for a total loss, the vehicle’s fair market value, plus a rental or loss-of-use. Compare any total-loss offer with similar local listings.

What If the Other Driver Fled?

Your uninsured motorist coverage may apply in a hit-and-run. South Carolina law places conditions on these claims, including prompt reporting to law enforcement and, in many cases where the vehicles did not touch, an independent witness. On dark rural roads, call 911 right away and note anything you can about the other vehicle, including its color, damage or direction of travel.

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

If you were hurt in a car accident in Hollywood, SC, our Hollywood car accident lawyers at Clekis Law Firm can explain your options. Call 843-900-0000 or contact us to schedule a consultation. We meet clients by appointment at our Charleston office at 171 Church Street, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and at our North Charleston office on Ashley Phosphate Road, which is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We can also meet by phone or video call.

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