Rock Hill, SC Car Accident Lawyer

Car accidents happen every day, and in many cases, people are badly hurt. Victims of car crashes often end up with serious injuries – some of which may be permanent – that are very expensive to treat. The prospect of paying for injuries someone else caused, both financially and emotionally, can be upsetting and frustrating for victims of these accidents.

Luckily, we can help. You can sue those who wronged you after a car accident for financial compensation, and our lawyers are able to handle these cases effectively to give you the best shot at getting you damages in your claim.

Call Rice, Murtha & Psoras by dialing (803) 219-4906 and get a free case review from our car accident lawyers.

Injuries from Car Accidents in Rock Hill, SC

Car accidents can lead to very serious injuries. While you may not initially think that exactly how you were hurt is important to the success of your case, detailing your injuries with our car accident lawyers is critical to both fleshing out your legal argument and determining what you seek in damages.

Head Injuries

It is very common for people’s heads to get knocked around in car crashes. Head injuries from car accidents can be minor, like cuts, scrapes, and bruising, or they can be something much more serious, like a traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Many cuts and scrapes are not serious, but there is always the potential of permanent disfigurement if a particularly nasty cut lands across the face in a car crash. Traumatic brain injuries are much more severe head injuries that can have much more serious consequences. Even “mild” TBIs – better known as concussions – can cause memory loss, mood swings, and sensitivity to light and sound. More severe traumatic brain injuries can result in significant loss of cognitive function, partial or full paralysis, or even death.

Neck Injuries

Neck injuries are also common in car crashes. In less high-impact accidents, people often experience soreness or pain from the neck being jolted around. This can be a sign of “whiplash,” which can cause significant pain and discomfort for a while after a car crash. If a car crash is serious enough to break the neck or damage the spinal column or cord, a car crash neck injury could result in something more serious, like paralysis.

Body Injuries

The torso is also often hurt in car accidents because it is the area most likely to bear the brunt of an oncoming vehicle. Broken ribs, bruising, internal bleeding, and other nasty injuries can happen if you get hit by a car.

Limb Injuries

Arms and legs are often broken in car crashes. They can also get cut by broken glass or other debris. In the most severe cases, they may be damaged to the point that they need to be amputated or removed because of the forces imparted by the car crash.

Burn Injuries

Most cars run on gasoline, so there is always the chance that the contents of a car’s gas tank will ignite in a crash and cause serious burn injuries to victims. Burn injuries are possible even in accidents involving electric vehicles, as damaged batteries or circuitry can cause electrical fires, which may be very difficult to put out.

Damages from Car Accidents in Rock Hill, SC

When you file your claim, you have to ask for damages from the defendant. In law, “damages” are the way that courts try to get plaintiffs back to a similar situation to before they were hurt in an accident. Damages take the form of financial compensation, so if the thing you are being compensated for is not a financial injury, payments are used as a substitute for literally undoing the effects of an accident – as that is not possible.

Economic Damages

You seek economic damage from things that have a paper trail denoting their value. This includes medical bills, damage to your vehicle, and lost opportunities to earn income. You can show the value of your economic damages by submitting evidence of medical records, payment records, repair invoices, and other information showing their value.

Non-Economic Damages

Non-economic damages are different from economic damages because they will not have a bill or receipt showing their worth. This category covers things like mental anguish, emotional distress, and pain and suffering. So, while you may get economic damages for the cost of surgery, you can get non-economic damages for the pain you experienced during and after the surgery.

While you may not be able to submit a piece of paper into evidence showing the value of something like pain and suffering, you can still prove its worth in court through witness testimony, personal testimony, video footage, photos, and other evidence that shows the jury the value of these things in your case.

Punitive Damages

Economic and non-economic damages make up what are known as “compensatory damages.” As the name suggests, they compensate you for the harm the defendant caused. However, there is another type of damage you can seek called “punitive damages,” which are awarded when the defendant’s conduct is especially egregious. To get punitive damages, there are a couple of things you need to do in your claim that is laid out in S.C. Code Ann, § 15-32-520. First, you need to request punitive damages in the initial filing of your claim. Second, you need to prove that the defendant’s conduct went above regular negligence. For example, if you can show that a defendant intentionally tried to ride your car off the road, that probably warrants punitive damages.

Going after punitive damages is not the correct move for every case, so you should talk with our attorneys about whether it is right for you. Additionally, do not worry about not seeking these damages if it does not make sense for your claim, as many plaintiffs get all the compensation they need through compensatory damages.

Get Assistance from Our Rock Hill, SC Car Accident Lawyers Today

Call Rice, Murtha & Psoras’s car accident lawyers at (803) 219-4906 and get a free case review.