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Understanding Fault in South Carolina Car Accidents

While in the aftermath of an accident, some people who were seriously injured begin to question how much their own actions contributed to crashes occurring, they should not speak to insurance companies representing any of the other drivers involved. In such cases, even seemingly minor admissions can be devastating for the personal injury claims relating to those incidents.

If you have suffered severe injuries or your loved one was killed in a car accident in South Carolina, you will want to contact the Nye Law Group as quickly as you can. Our firm can speak to insurers on your behalf and negotiate a fair and full settlement for your medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering. If an insurance company is not willing to provide adequate compensation, we can file a lawsuit.

Negligence Laws in South Carolina

Car Accident LawyerSouth Carolina Code § 15-1-300 clearly states that contributory negligence does not bar recovery in a motor vehicle action. In other words, a person can still recover damages in a lawsuit stemming from a car accident even if he or she was partially at fault.

Under the statute, a person is permitted to recover damages so long as his or her share of negligence was not more than the defendant’s or the combined negligence of all other parties when there are multiple defendants. An individual is prohibited from recovery only when he or she is 51 percent or more at fault for his or her injuries.

The amount of negligence that is attributed to a plaintiff is essential because that will also factor into a reduction in the final jury award. As an example, a person who is awarded $100,000 in a car accident case but is found to have been 30 percent at fault would see his or her award reduced by $30,000 and would ultimately receive $70,000.

Critical Post-Crash Actions in South Carolina

A general rule for car accident victims in all states is to seek medical attention immediately. Even when people do not think they were hurt, specific injuries involve delayed symptoms and insurance companies often use delays in treatment to argue that damages were not that serious.

After receiving medical care, victims should avoid speaking to insurers, and insurance companies will typically make multiple attempts to contact people injured in car accidents. In many cases, insurers pressure victims into accepting settlements that are far less than what they are entitled to.

When you have been injured in a car accident in South Carolina, the only phone conversation you will want to have afterward is with an experienced personal injury attorney. Your legal counsel will be able to represent you in all dealings with insurance companies so you can recover as much compensation as possible.

Find a Car Accident Lawyer in South Carolina

If you or your loved one was severely injured in a car crash in South Carolina, you will want to seek legal representation quickly. The Nye Law Group serves residents and visitors in the greater Bluffton areas.

You can receive a free, no-obligation consultation that will let our firm provide a complete evaluation of your case as soon as you call 855-636-9277 or contact us online today.

Five Common Causes of Car Accidents in South Carolina

While all motor vehicle accidents involve their own unique factors, many car crashes share the same causes. Many of these common causes of crashes are examples of negligence for which the negligent drivers become liable to victims for various damages, including medical expenses, lost income, and pain and suffering.

Did you sustain serious injuries or was your loved one killed in a car accident in South Carolina? You will want to contact the Nye Law Group as soon as possible. Call 855-636-9277 to schedule a free consultation.

Frequent Causes of Car Accidents in South Carolina

accident lawyerAmong the many different possible causes of automobile crashes, five of the most common include the following:

  1. Distracted Driving — In recent years, an increasing number of crashes have involved drivers preoccupied with mobile phones. Texting while driving is especially dangerous because it is considered a cognitive, manual, and visual distraction. Other cell phone use can be just as dangerous, and other distractions such as eating while driving can also cause accidents.
  2. Reckless Driving — The South Carolina Code establishes that a person commits a reckless driving crime when he or she operates a vehicle in willful or wanton disregard for the safety of others. A conviction for this offense, which can apply to a broad number of scenarios, may be evidence of negligence used against the driver in a personal injury lawsuit.
  3. Speeding — However common it might be for drivers to operate at speeds exceeding posted limits, such violations also result in significant effects on other driving behaviors in emergency situations. Accidents caused by speeding drivers often involve catastrophic injuries.
  4. Drunk Driving — Driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol or drugs makes any person more likely to cause a motor vehicle accident. Drunk drivers can still be held civilly liable for victim injuries even if they avoid criminal convictions for the offenses.
  5. Turn Accidents — Several crashes stem from one driver turning in front of or into another. Some turns may have been unlawful. In other cases, drivers misjudge the speed of other vehicles.

Every accident has its own independent factors that can dramatically impact all personal injury claims stemming from the crash. You will want to make sure that you retain legal counsel as soon as possible after an accident in order to have a lawyer conduct an independent investigation of your scene to accurately determine all negligent parties, especially in cases involving multiple vehicles.

Find a Car Accident Attorney in South Carolina

If you suffered severe injuries or your loved one was killed in a car accident anywhere in South Carolina, it is in your best interest to quickly seek legal representation. Contact the Nye Law Group as soon as possible.

Our Bluffton personal injury lawyer can negotiate with the negligent driver’s insurance company to make sure you receive a fair and full settlement that accounts for all of your past, present, and future needs. Call 855-636-9277 or contact us online to have our firm provide a complete evaluation of your case during a free consultation.

 

Actions To Take After a Car Accident in South Carolina

Many people have been involved in motor vehicle collisions, but certain wrecks require the individuals involved to take steps to preserve their opportunities to obtain compensation for various damages. The immediate aftermath of any crash can be an extremely confusing and disorienting time, especially when a victim has suffered serious injuries so it’s important to know about these steps before an accident occurs.

Injured in a Car Accident

Car Accident LawyerIf you sustained severe injuries or your loved one was killed in an automobile accident in South Carolina, it is in your best interest to retain legal counsel as soon as possible. The Nye Law Group can fight to get you all of the compensation you need and deserve. Call (855) 636-9277 to have our firm review your case and help you understand all of your legal options during a free consultation.

Common Causes of Car Accidents in South Carolina

Most crashes are the result of some kind of driver negligence. In such cases, a negligent driver is liable to victims for their injuries.

Some of the most frequent causes of automobile accidents in South Carolina include, but are not limited to:

When you have been involved in any kind of crash, the first thing you should do is make sure that you receive medical attention. Even if you do not think that you were hurt, you should still consent to a medical evaluation to be sure you did not sustain an injury with delayed symptoms. Insurance companies defending negligent motorists will use any delay in treatment to argue that a victim’s injuries were not that serious.

It is also important for car accident victims to avoid speaking to insurers until they have legal representation.

South Carolina Insurance Requirements

South Carolina requires all motorists to maintain automobile insurance policies that satisfy state minimums. In South Carolina, all drivers are required to have at least a 25/50/25 policy of liability and physical damage coverage.

The 25/50/25 refers to the following insurance minimums:

  • $25,000 per person for bodily injury
  • $50,000 for all persons injured in one accident
  • $25,000 for all property damage

In certain cases, negligent parties may not have any insurance or may have inadequate insurance limits to cover the costs of the damages caused. An experienced personal injury lawyer can help a victim file a claim with his or her own insurance provider to possibly collect under an uninsured or underinsured policy.

Car Accident Attorney in Bluffton, SC

Did you suffer catastrophic injuries or was your loved one killed in a car crash in South Carolina? You will want to contact the Nye Law Group as soon as possible.

Our Bluffton personal injury lawyer can conduct an independent investigation to determine the cause of your crash and make sure all negligent parties are held fully accountable. Call (855) 636-9277 or conact us online to have our South Carolina personal injury attorney provide an honest and thorough evaluation of your case.

What You Should Do After a Car Accident in Georgia

Most people are not prepared when it comes to steps to take following an automobile accident. As a result, it can be extremely confusing and distressing for victims who have suffered serious injuries to obtain compensation from negligent parties for various medical bills, lost wages, and other damages.

Did you sustain severe injuries or was your loved one killed in a car crash in Georgia? You will want to contact the Nye Law Group as soon as possible. You can schedule a free consultation as soon as you call 855-636-9277 today.

Necessary Steps After Car Accidents

Car accident lawyerGeorgia Code § 40-6-273 requires drivers involved in accidents resulting in injury to or death of any person to immediately notify police. Under Georgia Code § 40-6-270, all drivers involved in accidents are required to stop, give their names and driver’s license information to other drivers, and render reasonable medical assistance.

Following any motor vehicle accident, the people involved should always seek medical attention—even when they do not think that they were hurt. Delays in seeking treatment will be used against victims in some cases, and certain injuries such as whiplash can involve very delayed symptoms.

Regardless of whether you believe you were hurt in a car crash, it is always a good idea to immediately seek medical attention. Certain injuries involve delayed symptoms. Delays in treatment will inevitably lead to insurance companies questioning the sincerity of your injury claims.

Avoid Talking About Your Accident

One of the first parties that a car accident victim is likely to hear from is the insurance company for the negligent motorist. Victims should avoid answering these phone calls or making any recorded statements to representatives for insurers.

While such agents can often seem genuinely concerned about your well-being and claim to be committed to taking care of the many costs associated with your recovery, the settlement offers presented are rarely what victims are actually entitled to. In most cases, proposed settlements deliberately exclude future medical expenses, and victims who accept these settlements are powerless to obtain any additional compensation.

Instead of engaging any insurance company representatives in conversation, car accident victims should immediately retain legal counsel. An experienced personal injury attorney can represent you in all dealings with insurers and fight to make sure you receive all the compensation you are entitled to.

Find a Car Accident Lawyer in Georgia

If you suffered catastrophic injuries or your loved one was killed in a car accident anywhere in Georgia, it is in your best interest to quickly contact the Nye Law Group. Our personal injury attorneys can conduct an exhaustive independent investigation of your crash and work to hold all negligent parties accountable.

Our firm provides legal representation in a contingency fee basis, meaning that you pay us nothing unless you receive a monetary award. Call 855-636-9277 or contact us online to receive a free initial consultation that will let our lawyers review your case and answer all of your legal questions.

What Happens If I Was Partially at Fault in My South Carolina Car Accident?

It is not uncommon for a victim who was seriously injured in a car accident to at some point in the aftermath begin to question how much his or her own actions contributed to a crash occurring. Many people internally replay these events in their minds and wonder how doing something different could have lessened the severity of their injuries or possibly avoided the accident even occurring.

While this line of thinking is perfectly normal, people who are beginning to wonder how their own actions might have contributed to an accident occurring should not be speaking to an insurance company representing any of the other drivers involved. Rest assured, any admission a person makes about something he or she could have or wishes he or she would have done differently will be used against him or her later on.

Car accidents all over South Carolina can be the result of negligence by multiple parties. Fortunately, state law in South Carolina recognizes that one party in such cases usually bears the brunt of the blame and allows for damages to be apportioned according to the degree of fault allocated to each party.

South Carolina Laws on Comparative Negligence

car crash lawyerUnder South Carolina Code § 15-1-300, a plaintiff’s contributory negligence in any motor vehicle action does not bar recovery of damages so long as his or her share of negligence was not more than the defendant’s (or the combined negligence of all other parties in cases involving multiple defendants). This is commonly known as the “51 percent” rule (commonly referred to as a “modified comparative negligence” system), and a person who was 51 percent or more at fault for his or her injuries is unable to recover any damages.

In all other cases, a plaintiff’s jury award can be reduced by the amount of fault assigned to him or her. For example, if a plaintiff is awarded $100,000 in a case in which the plaintiff was struck by an individual who ran a red light, the plaintiff’s award could be reduced if the nature of his injuries was worsened by not wearing a seatbelt.

In such a case, the jury could decide that a plaintiff is 25 percent at fault for his or her injuries. The defendant would, thus, still be obligated to pay the plaintiff $75,000.

Avoid Admitting Fault After a Car Crash in South Carolina

The first thing you should do after any kind of car accident in South Carolina is seek medical attention—even if you do not think that you were hurt. The next thing you should do is seek legal representation.

An experienced personal injury attorney will be able to immediately begin conducting an investigation into your accident. Additionally, a lawyer can handle all phone calls from insurers for other parties on your behalf so you can avoid making any damaging recorded statements.

Agents for insurance companies often contact victims very quickly after these accidents and will sometimes make what can sound like sincere and occasionally generous offers to settle cases—to avoid “bringing lawyers into this.” Keep in mind that these settlements rarely account for the full lifetime of care that can be required, and agreeing to such settlements requires signing paperwork that leaves victims without any legal recourse once the awards have been exhausted.

Find a Car Accident Attorney in South Carolina

Did you suffer serious injuries or was your loved one killed in a car accident in South Carolina? You will want to contact The Nye Law Group as soon as possible.

Our firm provides a free, no-obligation consultation so our experienced personal injury attorneys can review your case and help you understand all of your legal options.

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402 West Trade Street,
Suite 112
Charlotte, NC

704-285-6319 get directions

119 Southern Boulevard, Savannah, GA 31405

912-200-5230 get directions
View all locations
CONTACT US

NO PRESSURE. SPEAK TO AN ATTORNEY. NO HIDDEN FEES.

* All Fields Required

Or Call 912-200-5230