Myrtle Beach Personal Injury Lawyer
Injuries can change your life in the blink of an eye. Whether you were involved in a car crash, a slip and fall, or an accident at the beach or in the ocean, our lawyers can help you get compensation.
Our injury attorneys represent victims in all sorts of accident cases. We can work to help you get compensation from insurance companies and, if necessary, we can file your case in court and fight the case all the way to trial to get a jury verdict in your favor.
For a free review of your case, contact Burriss Ridgeway Injury Lawyers’ personal injury lawyers today at (803) 451-4000.
Types of Accident Cases We Handle in Myrtle Beach, SC
Our personal injury attorneys represent victims of many different types of accidents. While some of these accidents and injuries listed below might be rarer than others, these are some of the most common cases that come to our lawyers:
Auto Accidents
Auto accidents of all kinds – car accidents, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents – can lead to serious injuries. Car accidents are one of the leading causes of death and serious injury for most age categories, especially for teens. If you were hurt in a car accident, it is important to take your case to a lawyer for help.
Especially if you are from out of state and were in Myrtle Beach on vacation, you might not be familiar with how insurance and car accident cases work in South Carolina. First, most victims attempt to get coverage by filing a claim with the at-fault driver’s insurance. If you have first-party benefits on your insurance policy – especially if your insurance is from another state that uses a no-fault system – then those might be able to cover some of your damages. However, accepting a payout from the at-fault driver’s insurance usually functions as a settlement and blocks you from claiming additional damages.
Often, insurance companies will pay far less than you could be entitled to, and it is best to review any insurance offers with your attorney and negotiate for higher damages when possible. If the insurance company refuses to pay your damages in full, we can take the case to court.
Slip and Falls
Whether a slippery surface is the fault of a spill, improper maintenance, or the weather, a property owner is often liable for slips and trips on their property. Our lawyers can help you file lawsuits against local businesses, hotels, stores, rental property and Airbnb owners, and other property owners whose negligence caused your injury.
In many cases, homeowners insurance and business liability insurance will be available to cover your injuries, meaning the damages ultimately come from insurance rather than the defendant’s pocket. This often allows you to get compensation that the defendant would otherwise be unable to afford. It also means that victims once again face the difficulty of trying to get full damages from stingy insurance companies. Still, our lawyers can help you understand what your case should be worth and fight to get the full compensation you deserve.
Ultimately, even these simple cases can lead to incredibly severe injuries. Slip and fall accidents might seem mundane, but many victims face back and neck injuries or traumatic brain injuries. Some of these injuries can lead to serious disabilities that can affect you for the rest of your life, and they can all be held against the defendant.
Work Injuries
Injuries at work can leave you unable to return and make a living wage. When this happens, you could be entitled to a claim through Workers’ Compensation, but this insurance often pays less for injuries than a lawsuit would since no damages are paid for pain and suffering.
Most workers are covered by Workers’ Compensation. This includes seasonal and temporary workers – of which there are many in Myrtle Beach. Regardless, a lawsuit might be better in many work injury cases.
Workers’ Compensation prevents lawsuits against your employer. Still, it does not restrict lawsuits against other parties, such as the operator of a car or boat that crashed into you, a manufacturer who produced a dangerous or defective piece of safety gear, or even a vendor that brought in dangerous merchandise. In these and other cases that fall into narrow exceptions, we can help you determine who to file your lawsuit against and what grounds you have to sue for higher damages.
Determining Fault in an Injury Case in Myrtle Beach, SC
Victims can sue various parties for injuries. In some injury cases, the party to sue is somewhat clear: you sue the driver who hit you in a car crash, the property owner in a slip and fall, etc. However, many other accident cases also involve a party who, through their negligence, might be responsible for your injuries.
To find the at-fault party, you must first determine whether the suspected defendant owed you a legal duty. For example, a property owner owes customers the duty to keep the place free of hidden dangers that could injure them. In a more complex case, a golf course might have a duty to provide you with a golf cart that is in proper working order and free of dangers.
Second, you must point to a breach of that duty that ultimately caused your injury. In the slip and fall example, failing to wipe up a spill in a grocery store can easily lead to a slip and fall. In our other example, a golf cart that has not been properly maintained could lead to an unreasonably jerky ride, throwing a rider from the cart.
Third, this breach must be the actual cause of the injury. If there was some interceding defendant, they might be at fault instead of the other suspected defendant.
Lastly, you must suffer damages to be entitled to compensation for your injury case. If there was no harm, then you cannot sue. Keep in mind that emotional distress, pain and suffering, and other intangible effects do certainly count as harm and entitle you to damages alongside any economic harms like medical bills and lost wages.
For a Free Case Evaluation, Call Our Myrtle Beach, SC Injury Attorneys Today
Reach out to the personal injury attorneys at Burriss Ridgeway Injury Lawyers today at (803) 451-4000 for a free review of your injury case.
