Spartanburg Personal Injury Lawyers

Every day, there are numerous people who are involved in accidents that result in personal injuries. From a broken arm as a result of a slip and fall to a spinal cord injury as a result of a car accident, injuries can be painful, debilitating, and expensive.

While injuries may be common, those who are injured often lack the information or legal know-how relevant to recovering compensation for their harm. Many who are injured may assume that they will have to cover their costs out of pocket–even if this means going into significant amounts of debt–or may have no idea that they may have a personal injury cause of action.

At the Nowell Law Firm, our South Carolina personal injury lawyers are here to help you understand the basics of a personal injury claim and your right to recovery, as well as build your claim and recover the settlement you deserve. Call us today to tell us more about your accident and learn whether or not you may have a case.

Our Personal Injury Practice Areas 

There is a wide range of accidents and injury types that may warrant the filing of a personal injury claim. Over the years, our lawyers have worked on a variety of personal injury cases. Please reach out to us if any of the below practice areas are relevant to your situation:

• Car accidents;
• Large truck and commercial vehicle accidents;
• Bicycle accidents;
• Bus accidents;
• Motorcycle accidents;
• Pedestrian accidents;
• Workplace accidents;
• Slip and fall accidents;
• Premises liability accidents;
• Defective product accidents;
• Medical malpractice; and
• Wrongful death.

If you have been injured in an accident type that you don’t believe falls into one of the categories above, please call our law firm. We are happy to discuss your case with you free of charge. 

When to Hire a Personal Injury Attorney

Let’s say you were sitting a stop sign, waiting to go, when a car came up behind you and bumped into your car. You didn’t experience any whiplash or another type of injury, and neither did the other driver. Both of your cars seemed to be OK.

You quickly collected their contact and insurance information, took some pictures and went on about your life. You never felt pain from the incident and your car was fine. The insurance company offered what you believed to be a fair settlement, and it didn’t seem like you could do much better by hiring an attorney.

On the other hand, let’s say you were sitting at a stop sign, waiting to go, when a car smashed into the back of your car. There was substantial damage to your vehicle, and your airbags went off. You got injured and now suffer from pain in your back and neck.

Though you have proof from your doctor that you were injured, the other driver’s insurance company only offered you a meager settlement that barely covered your medical bills. In a case like this, it would definitely make sense to hire an attorney.

If you were in any sort of accident and you suffered an injury, then you should at least call a personal injury attorney to see what kind of case you have. You have nothing to lose except a little bit of your time to run everything by an experienced attorney.

The Elements of a Personal Injury Claim 

While being involved in a serious accident and suffering an injury can be tragic, not all accidents warrant a personal injury claim. A cause of action for a personal injury claim exists only when the accident would not have occurred but for the negligence or intentional actions of another party. To be more specific, the four elements of a personal injury claim are:

• Duty of care. The first thing that you must prove is that the defendant (against whom you are filing a claim) owed you a duty of care, as well as the specifics of the duty of care owed. For example, a surgeon will owe you a different duty of care than a property owner, who would owe you a different duty of care than a driver, etc.

• Breach of duty of care. The second thing that you must prove is that the duty of care owed to you was breached. This is the part of the personal injury claims process where you will assert the negligence–the failure to act with a reasonable degree of care–of the defendant. 

• It’s not enough to just prove negligence; you must also prove that the defendant’s negligence was the proximate cause of your damages. This means proving that your accident and injuries would not have occurred but for the negligence.

• Finally, you must prove that you suffered actual damages as a result of your accident. The types of damages that are recoverable in a personal injury claim will be discussed in more detail below.

Damages Recoverable 

Filing a personal injury claim will likely be the only way that you can recover compensation for the full value of losses that you have suffered as a result of your accident. Damages that are recoverable in a personal injury claim include:

• Medical expenses, past and future;
• Lost wages, past and future;
• Property damage costs;
• Non-economic losses, such as compensation for pain, suffering, and emotional distress.

There are no caps on personal injury damages in the state of South Carolina, with two exceptions:

• Noneconomic damages in medical malpractice claims are capped at $350,000 (in cases involving a single healthcare provider or institution; and
• Punitive damages in the state are capped at three times the amount of compensatory damages awarded or $500,000, whichever is greater. 

The Personal Injury Statute of Limitations 

If you are injured due to another’s negligence, it is wise to seek medical care, file a report, inform your insurance company, and hire a lawyer as soon as possible. Typically, the earlier that you start the personal injury claims process, the better chances you have of a successful case outcome. This is because evidence is often lost when too much time passes between the date of the accident and the date of the investigation, and proving negligence and causation becomes more difficult.

In all cases, if you are pursuing a personal injury lawsuit, you must do so within three years from the date of your accident, which is the statute of limitations in South Carolina, per S.C. Code Section 15-3-530. If you wait longer than three years, you will most likely forfeit your right to recovery. 

What You Need to Do Before Calling a Personal Injury Attorney

Prior to calling a personal injury attorney, you should collect all the records from your case, including your medical records, the allegedly at-fault party’s information (if you have it), photos of your accident, witness statements and anything else that is relevant to your case.

Your personal injury attorney will be as thorough as possible and ask you many questions about what happened to ensure they get a firm grasp on the situation. They will also guide you through the legal process so that you understand it every step of the way.

Remember that if an insurance company does reach out to you, you should not give them any details about what happened because it could be used against you.

After an accident occurs or you start to feel pain from your accident, it’s critical to go to the doctor as soon as possible to get checked out. If you wait, it could potentially hurt your case because the insurance company might claim your injury was caused by something else.

Coping with the Physical and Emotional Impact of a Personal Injury

Follow Your Doctor’s Orders

You’ll heal much faster from your personal injury if you follow your doctor’s orders, which means you always show up for appointments, do the tests they recommend and receive the recommended treatments. Remember to be in touch with your doctor if you feel new physical pain so they can provide treatment right away.

Find a Therapist

If your personal injury has caused you great emotional distress, then you can get in touch with a psychotherapist for help. You may do talk therapy, take medicine or a combination of both depending on your mental health. If you’re worried about cost, therapy should be covered by your insurance. You could also seek out sliding scale clinics that will charge you based on how much you make.

Connect With Friends and Family

Your friends and family are there for you in your time of need. Now, you can turn to them when you need someone to talk to about what you’re experiencing or ask for help with your physical issues.

Stay Busy

Your personal injury and the emotional challenges you’re going through may make you want to curl up in bed all day. However, this could only make things worse. Stay busy by partaking in your favorite hobbies, going to work (if you can) and seeing your loved ones. Doing what you enjoy and hanging out with friends and family is likely going to make you feel a lot better.

Practice Self-Care

During this time, it’s important to emphasize self-care, whatever that looks like to you. Perhaps you like getting facials or going for a mani/pedi. Maybe you love long walks in nature. You could also do yoga or meditation or go soak in a hot tub. As long as it’s physically safe, figure out a self-care routine you can partake in right now.

Why You Need to Work with a Skilled South Carolina Personal Injury Lawyer 

Working with a skilled personal injury lawyer can be a major advantage. Your attorney will handle all elements of your claim, including opening an investigation into your case, hiring experts to build your claim, calculating the value of your damages, identifying the liable party, issuing a demand letter, negotiating your settlement, and more. An attorney with trial experience will also be able to represent you in court.  For these and many other reasons, working with a lawyer is often a decision that can significantly increase the amount of compensation a claimant receives.

At the Nowell Law Firm, our South Carolina personal injury lawyers are ready to start working on your case today. We offer free consultations for all those who have been injured and have questions, and can meet at a time and location that’s convenient for you. Please call our law firm today at (864) 707-1785, visit our law office in person, or send us a confidential message today to get started.