Pawleys Island Personal Injury Lawyer

Pawleys Island Personal Injury Attorney

Dealing with an injury is never easy, and the recovery process can take longer than anyone might want. If you suffered an injury due to someone’s negligence, you’ll likely be even more unhappy with the situation. When you need help with your medical bills after an accident, you need to speak with a Pawleys Island personal injury lawyer to handle your case and get you the help you need.

At Axelrod & Associates, we have a team of attorneys with experience handling personal injury claims. We can fight for you and negotiate with the insurance company to ensure you get an acceptable deal and all the money you need to recover from your injury and get back to your normal life.

Can Axelrod & Associates Help Me With My Personal Injury Claim?

No one should have to face the legal system alone. That’s one of our guiding principles at Axelrod & Associates. We want to be able to help everybody with their legal issues, which is why we have such a diverse offering of services we provide. From personal injury to criminal defense, we provide a little bit of everything, so you can always keep us in mind when you need an advocate in court.

Our team has over 100 years of combined legal experience to use for your case. We’ll get you set up with the right team and legal strategy to give you a solid chance at getting the compensation you deserve after an injury affects your life.

What Is a Personal Injury Claim in South Carolina?

If you suffer an accident and an injury from this incident, you may be able to file a personal injury claim. These claims are filed against another person in an attempt to seek compensation to deal with the injury. You can file these claims against someone who you believe caused your accident.

South Carolina law does not allow anyone injured in an accident to bring a claim against another citizen. You’ll have to demonstrate negligence on the part of the other party or parties involved in the incident.

What Is Negligence in South Carolina Law?

South Carolina looks at a few different elements to determine if someone was negligent in a personal injury case. These elements of the situation are:

• Duty of care: The other party should have had a duty of care to keep you safe. If they were another driver, they had to obey the rules of the road to avoid injuring someone. If the other party was a doctor, they must have done everything in their power to keep you safe and healthy while you were in their care. If the other person did not have a duty of care, you may not be able to file a personal injury claim successfully.
• Breach of duty: You’ll have to demonstrate that this person did not follow through on their obligation to keep you safe. Whether from an honest mistake or a place of intention, you’ll need to show that they did something out of the ordinary that led to your injury.
• Causation: You’ll also need to establish that the person’s breach of duty led to your injury. If the two acts are unconnected, you likely won’t be able to file a claim for personal injury.

There are some instances where people do not have a duty of care to others. For instance, if someone is trespassing on your property, you do not have a duty of care to make sure they are aware of any dangers on the property. Since they aren’t there legally, you don’t have to inform them of anything. You cannot do anything malicious to intentionally try to harm them unless it’s self-defense, but you likely won’t be liable for any accidents.

What Are the Most Common Personal Injury Claims in Pawleys Island?

Now that we know what constitutes a personal injury claim and what you’ll need to prove in Pawleys Island, we can look at some of the most common cases we see at our office.

Vehicle Accidents

Vehicle accidents happen every day in South Carolina, and it can often get quite complicated to figure out who’s at fault and who should file a claim against whom. Unavoidable accidents are often not eligible for a personal injury claim, but if you can determine the negligence of the other driver, your lawyer may agree you have a case.

Some of the common forms of negligence while driving include speeding, not following the rules of the road, texting while driving, road rage, distracted driving, talking with passengers, driving under the influence, and eating. If you can prove any of these parts of the case, you may be able to file a claim if the other driver is at fault for the accident.

Dog Bites

Dogs are often harmless and some of our greatest friends. However, not every dog is well-trained and safe for strangers, and they can occasionally lash out and injure someone. While we often say dog bites as a catch-all term, dogs can injure people by scratching them or knocking them over, as well as using their teeth.

There are a few instances where a dog attack does not warrant any legal action. This can happen if the person antagonizes the dog and provokes an attack or if the person trespasses on the owner’s property.

Medical Malpractice

Doctors are supposed to take care of patients and make them feel better than they did when they came to the hospital. Unfortunately, not every medical procedure goes well, and occasionally, a bad result comes from negligence on the part of medical personnel.

You can’t file a claim against a doctor or nurse who makes a mistake in good faith. Just because a patient dies doesn’t mean there was any foul play involved. However, if the doctor tries a treatment others wouldn’t, or if they fail to diagnose something that should have been obvious, they may be open to a claim for malpractice.

Premises Liability

When an owner invites you onto private property or when you are on public property, the owner has a responsibility to reasonably keep you safe. If there is some form of issue with the area, they need to inform you of the danger and fix the problem as soon as possible. Failure to do so may result in a personal injury claim if someone gets hurt.

Wrongful Death

Wrongful death often goes hand-in-hand with some of the other instances we’ve discussed, but the claim can lead to bigger payouts if a loved one dies due to someone else’s negligence.

Do I Need to Hire an Attorney When Dealing with a Personal Injury Claim?

Hiring an attorney gives you a much better chance of taking home a needed settlement. Your lawyer can negotiate with the insurance company and give you unbiased advice on whether something is a fair deal or whether it’s worth holding out for more.

Demonstrating negligence on the other party’s part is difficult, and a layperson has little chance of convincing a jury of someone’s liability. Your attorney will have experience handling similar cases and can use this knowledge to help you win your claim.

FAQs

Q: What Percentage Does an Attorney Take for a Personal Injury Case?

A: In personal injury cases, your attorney will often work on a contingency basis, meaning they won’t charge you unless they win. The attorney’s fee will come out of your settlement and winnings. Typically, personal injury attorneys take about 30 to 40 percent of the settlement as compensation for their work.

Q: What Sort of Compensation Should You Expect In a Personal Injury Case?

A: You can file a claim to get the other party to pay for your medical bills, pain, suffering, long-term treatment, medicines, and lost wages. Your winnings will depend on the severity of your injury and if there was any maliciousness involved. The judge may order the defendant to pay punitive damages if they showed malice during the accident.

Q: Is There a Statute of Limitations When It Comes to Personal Injury Claims in SC?

A: Most personal injury claims fall into the category of a three-year statute of limitations. You’ll have to file a claim before three years have passed from the day of the incident. This applies to things like medical malpractice and other accidents like car crashes. You cannot bring legal action against someone after this time frame, so make sure you don’t wait.

Q: Do You Have to Demonstrate Negligence to Win a Personal Injury Claim?

A: Proving negligence is vital. If someone gets injured through a pure accident, the state does not want to punish anyone. You’ll need to show the other party did something out of the ordinary and had a duty of care for you to win a case for personal injury. Your attorney can work with you to help demonstrate negligence at play.

Axelrod & Associates: Trustworthy Personal Injury Attorneys

Dealing with a personal injury is never easy. At Axelrod & Associates, we want to make the process as easy as possible. You can’t afford to waste any time with a personal injury claim. Contact us today to get started and see how we can help.