Charleston Personal Injury Lawyer

Charleston Personal Injury Attorney

The term “personal injury” can apply to any situation in which one party has harmed another party, usually through negligence or failure to use reasonable care and caution in a specific situation. It is also possible for a personal injury to happen from breaking the law, in which case the at-fault party not only faces civil liability for the damages they caused to the victim but also criminal prosecution from the state.

Representing Personal Injury Cases in Charleston, SC

Axelrod & Associates, P.A., has years of professional experience helping Charleston clients with all types of personal injury claims, and we can apply this experience to your case. The attorneys of our firm have more than 100 combined years of experience handling a wide breadth of personal injury cases, and we take time to develop an individually tailored case strategy for each client we represent. If you believe that another party is responsible for harming you or a loved one, a Charleston personal injury attorney is the ideal resource to consult to determine your most viable options for recovering from the incident as fully as possible.

Types of Personal Injury Cases We Handle in Charleston

Whenever you are searching for a Charleston personal injury attorney to represent you, it is vital that you take time to evaluate a potential attorney’s experience level with cases like yours. At Axelrod & Associates, P.A., our team regularly provides clients in the Charleston area with legal counsel in cases such as:

• Motor vehicle accident claims. Motor vehicle crashes are one of the most commonly cited causes of personal injuries throughout the Charleston area each year. Recovery from any accident is likely to require an auto insurance claim followed by a personal injury suit. Our team can confront an auto insurance carrier for you and help build a comprehensive personal injury suit when insurance alone cannot compensate you for all your damages.
• Medical malpractice cases. If you or a loved one suffered harm from the professional negligence of a medical provider in the Charleston area, your personal injury case will unfold under South Carolina’s medical malpractice laws. This is a unique type of case that involves meeting strict deadlines and procedural requirements, and recovery is limited in some respects. It is imperative to have seasoned legal counsel on your side to ensure the greatest chance of success with your case.
• Slip and fall accident claims. A slip and fall might sound like a minor issue, but the reality is that thousands of people experience life-changing injuries from slip and fall incidents in the United States each year. If you suffered a slip and fall on private property because the property owner failed to maintain a reasonably safe premises, you could have grounds to file a personal injury suit under the state’s premises liability laws.
• Catastrophic injury claims. A personal injury is catastrophic when it causes permanent harm of some kind. Traumatic brain injuries, internal organ damage, and spinal cord injuries are a few common examples of catastrophic injuries that can lead to permanent disability and extensive economic losses. Our team can work closely with you to determine the full extent of the damages you can claim from the defendant who inflicted such an injury.

These are just a few examples of the types of personal injury cases we represent in Charleston, and we know that any personal injury has the potential to inflict long-term economic problems on the victim and their family. Our goal is to help our client recover as fully as possible as quickly as possible. When you choose our firm to represent you, you will have a reliable legal advocate readily available to assist you with all your recovery efforts until you recover the compensation you are legally owed.

Proving Liability for Your Personal Injury in Charleston

Your first legal challenge in a personal injury case is proving the exact cause of the injury and the damages the defendant inflicted. You must identify the party responsible for causing your injury, prove the full extent of the damages you suffered, and prove that those damages did not result from any other cause. In other words, you must clearly establish a causation between the defendant’s actions and your claimed damages.

It is vital to remember that in any personal injury case in which multiple parties share fault, the state’s comparative fault rule applies. Each liable party will have a fault percentage assigned to them, indicating the share of the total damages they are responsible for causing. It’s possible for multiple defendants to share fault for your personal injury, but it is also possible for a plaintiff to bear comparative fault. Your Charleston personal injury attorney can help identify each liable party involved in your case, and if you bear any partial liability, they will help you understand how this could influence your recovery.

Claimable Economic Damages in Your Charleston Personal Injury Case

The objective of a personal injury claim is for the plaintiff to prove liability for their damages and recover appropriate compensation for those damages. Once you have established fault for your personal injury, you can proceed with claiming compensation for the losses you suffered. This may sound straightforward, but the average person is likely to overlook available avenues of compensation if they do not have experienced legal representation advising them.

Damages in a personal injury claim typically fall into economic and non-economic designations. Economic damages are the direct financial losses a plaintiff suffered because of a defendant’s negligence or misconduct. These may include:

• Medical expenses. Most personal injury claims filed in Charleston pertain to physical injuries. If you suffered physical harm from the defendant’s actions, they are liable for the cost of all the medical care you will need to fully recover. You have the right to seek compensation for immediate and future medical expenses resulting from the defendant’s negligence or intentional misconduct.
• Lost wages. When you are unable to work and earn income due to the defendant’s actions, they are liable for the income you are unable to earn while you recover. You can seek compensation for the wages you were unable to earn, as well as the value of any vacation time or other paid time off you were compelled to use in the immediate aftermath of the incident.
• Lost future earnings. Unfortunately, some personal injuries have permanent effects, including leaving a victim unable to work and earn income in the future. If this applies to your case and your future earning capacity has diminished due to the severity of the harm you suffered, an experienced Charleston personal injury attorney can help hold the defendant accountable for the future income you are no longer able to earn.
• Property losses. Some personal injury claims involve damage to personal property, such as your home, your vehicle, or other personal belongings. Insurance could cover some of these losses, but any property damage you cannot recover through insurance must be claimed in your personal injury suit as economic damages.

Hiring an experienced Charleston personal injury attorney is the most important step you can take toward maximizing the compensation you recover for your economic damages. However, your recovery does not end there, as you also have the right to claim non-economic damages from the defendant as well.

The term “pain and suffering” applies to the non-economic damages you suffered from a defendant’s actions. These losses are difficult to translate into financial terms, but a good attorney will know how to maximize your pain and suffering compensation. They may seek an amount that reflects how long it takes for you to reach maximum medical improvement from your injury, or they may aim for a large lump sum that reflects the overall severity of the harm you suffered. For many plaintiffs in personal injury cases, their pain and suffering compensation eclipses the total of their recovered economic damages.

Resolving Your Charleston Personal Injury Case

Most personal injury cases filed end outside of the courtroom. Private settlement negotiations allow all parties involved in a civil case to avoid the stress and expense of litigation as long as they are willing to compromise on a mutually acceptable resolution to their case. When you choose Axelrod & Associates, P.A., to represent your personal injury case, we will seek to settle the case as soon as possible if we can. If settlement is not an option, we are fully prepared to represent you in litigation. The sooner you connect with our team, the more time we have to build a cohesive claim for you.

South Carolina Personal Injury Lawyer FAQs

Q: What Evidence Will I Need to Prove Fault for a Personal Injury?

A: The evidence you may need to prove liability for your personal injury will depend on the type of injury you sustained. You might need to prove a defendant was negligent or that they broke a law in causing your injury. For example, if you are filing a personal injury suit in response to a car accident, you will need evidence like traffic camera footage, eyewitness testimony, and drivers’ cell phone records. Some cases may require input from expert witnesses who can provide professional insights into the most complex details of the case.

Q: Can I Still Claim Compensation if I Partially Caused My Personal Injury?

A: South Carolina enforces a modified comparative fault rule that can come into play in any personal injury claim in which the plaintiff shares fault with the defendant for causing the damages. As long as the plaintiff is less than 50% at fault, they can still recover compensation, but their fault percentage is deducted from their final case award as a penalty. If they are 50% or more at fault, they lose the ability to claim compensation from the defendant.

Q: How Long Do I Have to File a Personal Injury Claim in Charleston?

A: The statute of limitations for personal injury claims in the state is three years, and this time limit starts on the date the personal injury occurred. Failure to file a personal injury claim within this time means losing the right to claim compensation from the defendant. Three years may sound like enough time in which to file your case, but it is ideal to start the process as soon as possible so you can ensure the freshness of any evidence you will need to prove liability.

Q: How Much Is My Personal Injury Claim Worth in Charleston?

A: The total potential value of your personal injury claim hinges on the extent of the damages you experienced from the defendant’s actions. State law allows the plaintiff to recover full repayment of all direct financial losses from the incident as well as compensation for the anticipated future damages they will face. The plaintiff also has the right to claim as much pain and suffering compensation as they believe to be appropriate to reflect the severity of the harm they experienced and the future complications they are likely to face due to the defendant’s actions.

Q: What Will It Cost to Hire a Charleston Personal Injury Attorney?

A: Most of the personal injury attorneys representing clients in the Charleston area accept these cases on a contingency fee basis. With a contingency fee agreement, the client pays a percentage of their final case award to their attorney as their fee, but only if the attorney wins their case. If the attorney is unable to secure compensation for their client’s damages, the client does not pay a fee at all. This eliminates any financial risk of hiring legal counsel when you need it most.

The team at Axelrod & Associates, P.A., can answer any other pressing legal questions you may have about your impending personal injury case, and our goal in every case we accept is to help our client maximize their recovery as much as state law allows. You have a limited time in which to file your case, and the sooner you connect with legal counsel you can trust, the more likely you are to succeed with your claim. Contact Axelrod & Associates, P.A., today to schedule your consultation with a Charleston personal injury attorney you can trust.