Hartsville, SC Workplace Injury Lawyer

An accident at work can leave you and your family without income. While you recover from your injuries, you could be facing high-dollar medical bills, all while you are unable to return to work. In many cases, your injury could become a full-fledged disability that prevents you from being able to work in the future.

Work with our attorneys to get yourself the compensation you need after an accident. Our attorneys will analyze what the best route to compensation is and fight in court to get you the damages you deserve. However, laws for injured workers are complex, and your ability to sue might be limited.

For a free review of your case, call our workplace injury attorneys today at Burriss Ridgeway Injury Lawyers by dialing (803) 451-4000.

How Can Injured Workers Sue for Damages in Hartsville, SC?

Your ability to sue your employer after an accident is usually limited. Instead, workers are expected to file an insurance claim against their employer’s Workers’ Compensation policy. Our attorneys can help you with that if that is your best route to compensation, but in some cases, you may be able to seek additional damages through a lawsuit.

While insurance covers damages for medical bills and some part of your lost wages, it will not pay damages related to pain and suffering. To get full damages, you need to file a lawsuit, but lawsuits are often blocked when it comes to negligence suits against your employer, specifically.

Those rules do not, however, block lawsuits for intentional injuries against your employer or lawsuits against other parties for negligence. This means if your employer attacked you, a lawsuit should be available. It also means a lawsuit can be filed for your workplace injury against a different party.

Many workers are injured by customers, dangerous products, negligent vendors or suppliers, or dangerous conditions at another site. In these cases, you can typically sue anyone who caused your accident as long as they are not your employer.

This also means that many workers classified as independent contractors can sue their clients if permitted under their contract. That client is technically not your “employer,” and if you are properly classified as an independent contractor, nothing is keeping you from suing them. This can get complicated when it comes to certain professions in the “gig economy” and with contractors and subcontractors. Some of these workers might still be considered “employers” and will have “employees” under these rules, so always check with a workplace injury lawyer if your classification is in doubt.

When to Settle a Workplace Injury Case vs. When to Go to Trial in Hartsville, SC

One of the biggest questions you will face in your injury case is whether to accept a settlement or go to trial. One aspect of this will be whether you can, in fact, sue in the first place – which is something we discussed above. In many cases, you can file an insurance claim to get some damages. However, it will not pay for everything, potentially meaning that you still have to file a lawsuit and face the ultimate consideration of whether to go to trial, even in what might look like an insurance-based case.

Factors to Consider

Ultimately, the question of settling vs. going to trial comes down to a few factors: how strong your case is, how strong the defense is, how much evidence you have, how willing the defense is to settle, and what the defense’s settlement offers have looked like. If you have a strong case and the defense is not offering enough for your settlement, it might be best to go to trial. Contrast this with a situation where you have a lot of evidence but a weak case; it might be best to settle rather than risk the case at trial, but not if the defense’s settlement offer is incredibly low.

While settling can often get you damages much quicker than going to trial, a settlement locks you out of additional damages, as you cannot relitigate the case after settlement.

How Our Attorneys Help

All in all, whether to accept a settlement offer or not will be a question you should discuss with our attorneys after we have had the chance to review your case and calculate damages. Without knowing what your case should be worth, we cannot advise you on whether to settle or not.

Whose Decision is it?

The decision of whether to take a settlement or go to trial is ultimately a decision that lawyers are ethically required to leave to their clients. While we can advise you on what we think you should do, it is always your right to end the case and accept a settlement if you feel that is what is best for you. However, if we think we can potentially get you higher damages through additional negotiations or by taking the case to trial, we will advise you of that.

Types of Workplace Injuries We Can Help with in Hartsville, SC

Our attorneys can help with all kinds of workplace injuries. From simple injuries like repetitive stress injuries, strained muscles, or back injuries to more serious injuries like concussions, spinal injuries, and amputation, our attorneys are available to help. We represent injured workers in all kinds of industries and fields and can help you determine how to best get compensation for your injuries, whether you are an independent contractor, a “gig worker,” or a full-time, part-time, or seasonal employee at your job.

Call Our Workplace Accident and Injury Attorneys in Hartsville, SC Today

Call Burriss Ridgeway Injury Lawyers at (803) 451-4000 for your free case evaluation with our workplace injury lawyers.

$6 Million

The Plaintiff was injured as a result of a failing component of a commercial motor vehicle that fell from the vehicle into the roadway. The Plaintiff brought claims against the owner and operator of the tractor trailer as well as the manufacturer of the vehicle.

$4.1 Million

The Plaintiff was insured as a result of a refrigeration system that malfunctioned, spraying ammonia gas into the Plaintiff's face. As a result of this event, the Plaintiff sustained significant vision loss. The Plaintiff brought claims against his employer and the manufacturer of this system.

$2 Million

The Plaintiff was injured while riding his motorcycle when he collided with another vehicle. This event occurred in the city of Columbia and the Plaintiff sustained significant bodily injury resulting in extensive medical expenses and permanent injury.

$1.8 Million

The Plaintiff was injured when he was rear-ended by a tractor trailer on Interstate 20. The Plaintiff brought claims against the owner and driver of the tractor trailer for his injuries relate to his lower back.

$1.5 Million

The Plaintiff sustained significant injury when she was attacked by a dog while performing repairs on a rental property. The Plaintiff was at the rental property as part of her employment with a rental management agency. She was attacked by the animal and sustained permanent nerve damage in her legs.

$1.3 Million

The Plaintiff was killed as a result of a collision with a logging truck that had been improperly loaded by a timber harvester. The proceeds of the settlement were funded by both the timber harvester and the owner of the logging truck.

$1.5 Million

The Plaintiff underwent surgery to her neck as a result of injuries sustained when she was struck on the head by a piece of loading equipment at her job. The Plaintiff was employed by a national retailer and was engaged in stocking shelves when the piece of equipment failed. After settling her workers' compensation claim, the Plaintiff brought a claim against the manufacturer of this equipment.

$1.1 Million

The Plaintiff brought a claim against a local medical facility for a false positive HIV reading. As a result of this false positive, the Plaintiff lived for 4½ years believing that she had the virus which leads to what she feared was an eventual AIDS diagnosis.