Personal Injury FAQs
General
- Should I provide a statement to an insurance company without a lawyer's help?
- Will I have to go to trial to recover damages?
- What is considered "pain and suffering?"
- What determines the amount I might recover?
Brain injury
- What are the most common types of brain injury?
- What causes a brain injury?
- Are some injuries milder than others?
- Am I entitled to compensation for my brain injury or one suffered by a family member?
Dog bites
- A dog bit me. Who do I tell?
- Which jurisdiction covers dog bites—state or local?
- What do leash laws cover?
Wrongful death
Libel/slander
- What is the difference between libel and slander?
- What recourse do I have if someone libels or slanders me?
Products liability
Premises liability
- I fell and was injured. Can I sue someone?
- Liability—establishing someone's negligence
- Damages—the amount that will fairly and adequately compensate you for your injuries
- Causation—establishing that your damages are caused by the other person's or business's wrongful acts
- Source of collection—insurance or other assets from which damages can be recovered
General
Should I provide a statement to an insurance company without a lawyer's help?
In an auto accident case, it is in your best interests to provide only your basic statutorily-required information to your own insurance company, until you consult with a Charleston personal injury attorney. You should immediately send the FR-10 form to your insurer after an auto accident. Recorded statements may not be in your best interests in an auto case and are almost never to your benefit in other cases. (You might have a contractual duty to give a statement to your insurer in some cases.) The more significant your injuries, the more imperative it is that you seek legal counsel from a South Carolina law firmbefore providing any statement.
Will I have to go to trial to recover damages?
About 95 percent of personal injury cases filed settle prior to trial.
What is considered "pain and suffering?"
Pain and suffering includes both the physical harm of the injury and the mental anguish you may experience because of the threat of surgery or because you must avoid activities you had engaged in prior to your accident.
What determines the amount I might recover?
Every case addresses these issues:
Brain injury
What are the most common types of brain injury?
Brain injuries fall into two categories—traumatic brain injuries and acquired brain injuries.
Traumatic brain injuries occur when the brain is damaged by an external force, such as an accident or a blow to the head. Acquired brain injuries occur at a cellular level, such as by oxygen deprivation.
What causes a brain injury?
A force or blow can result in traumatic brain injury either by causing the brain to move inside the skull or by damaging the skull to the extent that it then damages the brain. Many traumatic brain injuries stem from motor vehicle accidents, direct blows to the head with heavy instruments, sports activities, slips and falls, and physical violence.
- Some causes of acquired brain injury include starvation of oxygen to the brain and lack of blood flow to the brain. Other circumstances under which one might suffer an acquired brain injury include near-drowning, choking, stroke, disease, and toxic exposure. Hypoxia or anoxia (deprivation of oxygen) to a fetus around the time of birth is often seen in birth injury or cerebral palsy cases.
Are some injuries milder than others?
The level of brain damage can vary with traumatic and acquired brain injuries. A person may suffer a mild brain injury, which impacts the person for a short period and with minor symptoms.
Symptoms of a moderate brain injury can last longer, and the effects can be more profound.
A serious brain injury can lead to life-changing and debilitating problems and can result in such conditions as coma, vegetative state, minimally responsive state, locked-in syndrome, brain death, and many other conditions.
When the brain injury is hypoxic or anoxic in nature it can cause developmental delay in the baby and profound lifelong disability.
Am I entitled to compensation for my brain injury or one suffered by a family member?
This depends on many factors. An experienced brain injury law firm in South Carolina can best evaluate your case for possible compensation. He or she must thoroughly review the facts of your case with experts and advise you regarding all options. If necessary, we will retain an expert and/or communicate with your own physician.
Dog bites
A dog bit me. Who do I tell?
Contact your local animal control agency or the police.
Which jurisdiction covers dog bites—state or local?
Both do. In addition to South Carolina laws, your local communities might also have animal laws covering bites, leashing, and vaccinations. Your local laws might ban ownership of certain breeds, too.
What do leash laws cover?
Most communities require dogs to be leashed unless they are confined to a house or fenced yard, even on the owner's property. Failing to adhere to the leash laws combined with dog biting may increase potential penalties.
- Negligent or careless such as careless driving
- Reckless
- An intentional act such as deliberate murder
Wrongful death
What is wrongful death?
When a person dies because of a wrongful act of another person, this is called a wrongful death claim. An estate for the deceased person will need to be opened in most cases. The idea behind a wrongful death lawsuit is that wrongful death, in addition to injuring the person who died, also brings harm to the people who depended on that individual for financial and/or emotional support. The wrongful act might be:
South Carolina has a statute permitting a lawsuit to be brought by the dead person's relatives in the event of a wrongful act.
What is the statute of limitations for filing a wrongful death claim?
South Carolina law sets the time frame for filing, and it can be complicated. Filing a lawsuit after the statute of limitations runs can bar a wrongful death (or any other) claim. Time begins with the time the incident occurred or the party/claimant actually became aware of (or should have known of) the injury. The state will not honor a wrongful death claim filed after the legislated time frame and the opportunity to recover damages for the family will be forever lost.
Libel/slander
What is the difference between libel and slander?
The act of communicating a false statement about you to someone else with the intent of damaging your reputation or good name is called defamation. Defamation through the written word is libel. Defamation through the spoken word is slander.
What recourse do I have if someone libels or slanders me?
If you have been defamed, there are steps you can take to demand a retraction or ensure no further publication, such as writing a cease and desist or demand letter for monetary damages. You may want a South Carolina attorney well-versed in defamation law to handle these letters for you, or you may be in a position to file suit if that is what is best.
It can be especially difficult to prove damage to reputation in certain cases. In other cases, damages are presumed to have happened by the mere publication. No matter what, you should keep a log of all written and verbal statements, including when, where, what, and who. Also note any witnesses and their contact information.
The statute of limitations applies to filing a lawsuit so immediate action is necessary. An experienced defamation law attorney can help you fully understand the best course of action and likely outcome. Once in court, you may receive punitive damages, that is, money intended to punish the person defaming you.
Products liability
What if I know that a defective product harmed other people besides me?
Products liability is the area of law that allows, in a proper case, a person injured by a defective product to recover damages from the seller, manufacturer, or designer of the product. A defective product might include a dangerous baby seat, a toxic drug, or a defective automobile. Consumer and products liability lawsuits may involve several theories of liability including negligence law, contract law, warranties, and statutory violations.
Premises liability
I fell and was injured. Can I sue someone?
If you fell while working, your injuries may be covered by your employer's workers compensation insurance and you may have a right to sue a third party. If your injury occurred in a store or a building, you can sue to recover damages to compensate you for your injuries. Be aware, however, that a building owner is not liable for every injury that occurs on the property. To recover for an injury, the owner or operator of the business must have breached his duty to keep the premises reasonably safe and to warn of hidden dangers. A property owner usually has no duty to warn of open and obvious dangers. A law firm can provide you with additional details about premises liability.
