Lugoff, SC Personal Injury Lawyer
A personal injury lawyer helps you and your family recover compensation for a serious injury. If you were hurt in an accident and need compensation for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, or other damages, our attorneys can help.
Through insurance claims and lawsuits, we can often achieve a fair award. And if the case settles early, you may be able to get the damages you need much sooner, through rigorous negotiations.
For a free case review, call Burriss Ridgeway Injury Lawyers’ personal injury attorneys at (803) 451-4000 today.
How Do I Claim Damages After an Injury?
If you were hurt in an accident, you deserve compensation. But how do you actually start the process?
Get Medical Care and Collect Basic Evidence
First and foremost, you should get medical care for your injuries. This creates records – which we will need to prove the injuries – and it gets you on the path to recovery.
We can ask for your medical records for you, but there may be other evidence you can collect in the immediate aftermath of the accident:
- Names and contact info of any witnesses
- Photos of the accident scene, damage (especially in auto accidents), and injuries
- Details about where the accident happened.
Call a Lawyer
Do not try to take care of your case on your own. Our personal injury attorneys can represent you and take care of everything for you while you focus on recovery. This takes the guesswork out of your next steps.
Insurance Claims
In many cases, there is insurance you can file a claim with to get compensation. Typically, the at-fault party’s insurance covers accidents, usually through one of these common policies:
- Auto liability insurance
- Business liability insurance
- Homeowners’/renters’ insurance.
However, insurance companies tend to make low-dollar offers first, hoping victims will settle and end the case early. It is often best to reject these and negotiate for higher damages.
Lawsuits
If the insurance company or defendant (if there is no insurance) refuses to settle, we can put additional pressure on them with a lawsuit. If they have to answer in court – and spend extra money on their defense attorneys to bring the case to trial – then they will often cave sooner.
Moreover, if the defense refuses to pay a fair value, we can take the case to trial where a judge and jury can decide in your favor.
Elements of an Injury Case
By law, most claims have a list of elements that need to be met for you to win a claim. While some injury claims are based on intentional acts of violence, most are based on mistakes that constitute “negligence.”
Negligence claims have four elements:
- Duty – You have to show the defendant owed you a legal duty, often based on the relationship between you (e.g., property owner and guest) or an explicit law (e.g., speed limits).
- Breach – You must show the defendant breached or violated that duty, often by failing to use adequate skill or by failing to pay enough attention.
- Causation – The breach of duty must be what caused your accident. If the accident would have happened regardless of what the defendant did or had an alternative cause, then you cannot hold this defendant liable.
- Damages – All injury cases must have some damages you suffered. Actual physical injuries qualify.
FAQs for Personal Injury Cases in Lugoff, SC
Where Do I File My Claim?
For injuries that took place in Lugoff, you would typically file in the county where the accident happened, which would be Kershaw County.
How Long Do I Have to Sue for Injuries?
South Carolina law typically gives you 3 years to file an injury case under our current statute of limitations for personal injuries. This just requires the case to be filed by that deadline; it can take longer to get through court.
How Long Does an Injury Case Take?
Multiple factors affect how long your case takes:
- The complexity of facts and legal issues
- How expensive your damages are
- What insurance is available to cover you
- How obvious the defendant’s fault is
- What evidence you have
- The defendant’s willingness to settle.
Some cases can settle within weeks of your claim, but the insurance company might still drag out approval and final payment. Many cases reach settlement before a year is out.
If you go to trial, it often takes more than a year. In any case, always use a lawyer to negotiate your claim; do not accept the earliest offer.
Do I Need a Lawyer?
While you can technically handle your case on your own, you might not know how to file, how much your case is worth, and when you should settle or fight at trial. You also should never try to handle a trial on your own.
In any case, allowing our lawyers to handle your case for you brings decades of experience to your side and allows you to focus on recovery while we worry about fighting your case. The other side will likely have a lawyer, so you should, too.
When Should I Call a Lawyer?
You should call a lawyer before you talk to anyone from insurance or any representatives from the defendant. If you can, call us within the first few days or weeks after your injury, and we can discuss your next steps.
If you wait too long, evidence might be lost, witnesses might forget what happened, and you might run out of time to file.
What Damages Can I Claim?
In a personal injury case, you can claim economic and non-economic damages to compensate you for your injuries. Economic damages pay for things with monetary values, like medical bills and lost wages. Non-economic damages cover intangible harms, like pain and suffering.
Talk to a lawyer about what your damages are worth; do not trust the defense or their insurance company to get the value right.
Call Our Personal Injury Attorneys in Lugoff, SC Today
Call (803) 451-4000 for a free case evaluation from the personal injury lawyers at Burriss Ridgeway Injury Lawyers.
