Auto Accident Attorney in Columbia, SC – See and Attorney FIRST

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One big challenge I often have as an auto accident attorney In Columbia, SC, is seeing someone lose because they failed to simply talk to an injury lawyer FIRST.

I just met with a lady who was in a car accident and sustained injuries.  Unfortunately, the insurance adjuster had gotten to her before she contacted me and gotten her to sign a release for a nominal amount of money.  I am not going to be able to help this lady even though she has some injuries which are going to require more medical treatment which is worth a lot more than the settlement amount, because she has already released her claim.  It is vital that an injured party discuss their case with a personal injury attorney before signing legal documents.

Workers Compensation Case Settled

I just fielded a call from a former workers’ compensation client whose case I settled several months ago.  We settled her case on a Form 16 basis, as opposed to a full release, or “clincher”.  This means that she can re-open her case within a year as long as the treating physician states that she has had a change of condition.  The insurance company paid for her to go back to the doctor, but it’s unclear at this point if the doctor believes she has had a change of condition.  This is the kind of thing a workers’ compensation attorney deals with, and points out the difference between on the job injuries, and, for example, car accident claims.

Personal injury lawyer discusses possible wrongful death claim

“Two killed in Wellford wreck”

http://www.greenvilleonline.com/article/20100621/NEWS/306210048/Two-killed-in-Wellford-wreck

This is one of those tragic occurrences that we personal injury lawyers see all too often.  A wrongful death attorney would want to first of all establish liability, i.e. who was at fault in the accident.  We would possible hire an investigator to supplement the work done by local law enforcement.  Since this is a two-car accident, we would want to know which of the 2 vehicles contributed more to the accident.  It’s important to preserve the evidence while it is still fresh and talk to as many witnesses as possible while their memories are clear.

Accident lawyer discusses car wreck in Greenville County

“Car hits median on I-385”

http://www.greenvilleonline.com/article/20100621/NEWS01/100621009/Car-hits-median-on-I-385

Obviously, we don’t know a lot about this accident at this point.  The first thing an accident lawyer would need to know is are there any injuries?  Was there another vehicle involved, or is this just a one-car accident?  If there were injuries, are they found in another car, or only in the car that hit the median?  Injury attorneys like myself get called into cases at varying stages, and we have to obtain all the facts that currently exist.  Even if it’s a one car wreck, there might be something to investigate against the local entity responsible for the barricade.

Accident Investigation

“Were Benajamin’s lights on?

First of all, let me say that as in accident lawyer, I cannot understand why the City of Columbia has not relinquished control of this investigation.  Certainly there is at least the appearance of a conflict of interest when you have the Mayor of the city involved in an accident like this.  What would it hurt for the City to just turn it over to the Highway Patrol and let them take the lead?  I don’t understand that. 

The other thing this article points out is the amount of evidence an injury attorney has to sort through in a case like this:  surveillance videos, eyewitness statements, even the “black box” on the Mercedes.  There’s a lot that goes into a case like this, and the sooner a competent personal injury lawyer can get started on it, the better.

Mayor-elect Accident

“Mayor-elect Benjamin in wreck”

It is impossible to tell from the description of the accident who was at fault here.  It was a good idea for an outside agency to be called in to investigate the accident, to avoid the appearance of bias on the part of city police. 

A personal injury lawyer investigating this case would want to gather all his facts before going further.  We would want to know who had the right of way at the intersection, how fast the cars were going, and anything else that could affect liability.  Regardless of who is at fault in this one, it’s good to hear Mr. Benjamin was not injured, and we all hope that the lady in the other car makes a recovery from her injuries. 

Since Mr. Benjamin was not hurt, an accident attorney would probably only get involved on the part of the other driver, and then only if it turns out that Mr. Benjamin was at fault, which is unknown at this point.

Accident Health Insurance

A potential client just called me and asked if his health insurance company, who had paid some of his bills arising out an auto accident, could get paid back by the auto insurance company.  This is what we call health care subrogation, and appears in most policies. 

One of the things that we accident lawyers do is handle subrogation interests that we have been placed on notice of at the time of settlement.  We attempt to negotiate the subrogation interests to a reduced amount for our clients, so they will end up with more money in their pockets.  As an auto accident attorney in Columbia, SC, we would be happy to discuss your particular situation with you.

Fatal Accident

“Teenager shot during apparent target practice accident”

 This tragic accident has the possible makings of a successful negligence claim which would most likely be covered by the at-fault teen’s parents’ homeowners insurance policy. 

A lot of people mistakenly think that homeowners’ insurance only covers accidents which occur at the home.  However, such policies generally follow the insured, or in this case resident family members of the insured, and can cover negligent conduct that occurs away from the home. 

There are exclusions to the policy that would need to be checked out to determine if coverage would apply.

Teen Dies in Wreck

“Restaurant manager charged with serving teen alcohol before fatal wreck”

 If this is true, it would possibly lead to a Dram Shop case against the restaurant where the alcohol was sold to the teen.  Especially if the underage drinker went out and harmed a third-party, an excellent claim could be made against the restaurant if the allegations are true.  This all stems from the policy of passing the costs of tragedies onto the place where they began.  It is well-known that teens are not responsible with alcohol, and if it is illegally sold to them, there should be consequences.

Assault

I just fielded a call from a former client who was assaulted recently by an acquaintance.  She’s already reported it to the police, and wanted to retain me to pursue a civil claim against her assailant.  Unfortunately, I declined to get involved. 

These kinds of cases typically do not have insurance coverage available, because they involve intentional acts which are usually excluded under liability policies.  Therefore, we could end up spending a lot of time and money putting a case together and taking it to trial, and end up with a basically worthless personal judgment against the other party. 

I recommended that she take this up on her own in magistrate’s court, which doesn’t require an attorney.