While an accident due to reckless driving might leave you with worse injuries and costlier medical expenses, it could also increase the damages available in your case. Victims who do not highlight defendants’ reckless driving could end up accepting settlements that are far too low compared to what might have been available from a jury award that included punitive damages, which we will seek to avoid.
Reckless driving, like drunk driving, might open the door to punitive damages, which would be paid in addition to the compensation you receive for medical bills, lost wages, and physical pain and mental suffering. The prospect of punitive damages, which are only available at trial, could enable us to leverage much higher out-of-court settlements, letting victims keep their cases out of court while still recovering the amounts they deserve.
For a free case evaluation from our Columbia, SC car accident attorneys, call Burriss Ridgeway Injury Lawyers at (803) 451-4000 today.
How Does Reckless Driving Influence Available Damages in a South Carolina Injury Case?
When drivers injure victims through their willful, wanton, or reckless conduct, they could be forced to pay punitive damages when lawsuits go to trial. Punitive damages are used by courts to punish particularly egregious or reckless conduct and deter others from engaging in it. For example, in car accident cases, punitive damages might be awarded against drunk drivers who harm others during crashes.
According to S.C. Code Ann. § 15-32-530(A), South Carolina typically limits victims’ punitive damages awards to three times the compensatory damages awarded or $500,000, whichever amount is greater. However, there are some exceptions to this rule, such as § 15-32-530(C)(3), which states there is no cap on punitive damages when defendants act while their judgment is substantially impaired because they are under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Punitive damages are paid in addition to victims’ damages for their medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering, not in place of them. Our South Carolina car accident attorneys will calculate your economic and non-economic damages before filing your case so we can make accurate requests for relief in your lawsuit. This will be how much we seek in compensatory damages from the defendant. Though we will not request an exact amount in punitive damages, we will explicitly pay for them when filing the complaint in court as required under § 15-32-510.
Punitive damages are only available when lawsuits go to court, not when they settle without trials. When initially preparing your case, we will assess the defendant’s conduct and the accident’s circumstances to gauge whether or not punitive damages will be on the table during your lawsuit.
Does Reckless Driving Worsen the Injuries Suffered During South Carolina Accidents?
Reckless drivers pose considerable risks to others’ safety. Street racing, swerving in and out of lanes, driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and other forms of reckless driving make for some of the most catastrophic accidents and injuries to victims.
For example, driving much faster than the speed limit increases the risk of cars flipping over upon impact. These types of accidents pose a threat of fatal or life-altering head injuries for victims, as well as paralyzing spinal cord injuries or disfiguring facial injuries. High-speed accidents also increase the risk of engine fires, which might leave victims with painful and distressing burn injuries over their bodies.
T-bone crashes when reckless drivers run through stoplights at intersections, pedestrian accidents when drunk drivers run onto sidewalks, and head-on collisions when a reckless driver goes the wrong way down a one-way street can all cause devastating injuries to victims.
Worse injuries may mean costlier medical expenses and other damages, which we will prioritize documenting. After suffering more serious injuries, victims might be rightly focused on their physical healing. Suppose someone else’s reckless driving has kept you in the hospital for days or weeks, making you return for countless follow-up appointments. In that case, you may lose track of time, putting you at risk of missing the three-year statute of limitations for car accident lawsuits in South Carolina. We can intentionally avoid this by prioritizing your case and ensuring we file before the deadline comes.
How Does Reckless Driving Influence Settlements in South Carolina Injury Cases?
Drivers who know their risk of being found liable for willful, wanton, or reckless conduct and the possibility of paying large amounts in punitive damages might be prepared to offer better out-of-court settlements, which our lawyers can review to see if they are fair and worth accepting.
Reckless driving and its consequences could influence settlements for injury cases in several ways, which our lawyers can prepare you for. For example, when victims suffer especially bad injuries due to reckless driving, like a traumatic brain injury, they might prioritize a fast financial recovery above all else. While we will aim to hasten your recovery, accepting a settlement right away might leave some damages uncovered. After getting the first settlement offer, we will remind you of your total damages. The defendant’s conduct could enable us to get a better offer or larger award at trial.
During settlement negotiations, we can leverage evidence such as eyewitness statements corroborating the defendant’s conduct, security camera footage showing the defendant street racing, or evidence of the defendant’s intoxication if they were drunk driving. Defendants might agree to increase their settlement offers to avoid a trial, at the end of which they might be made to pay all victim’s economic and non-economic damages, as well as additional punitive damages. The settlement may be similar to what you would get from a jury award, but it would keep the matter out of court. All of that said, you should never feel pressured to accept a settlement, and our attorneys can take your case to trial at any point, particularly if there is a good chance of you also getting punitive damages.
Call Our South Carolina Injury Lawyers About Your Accident
Get a free case review from the South Carolina car accident attorneys of Burriss Ridgeway Injury Lawyers when you call us today at (803) 451-4000.
