Florence, SC Personal Injury Lawyer

Nobody starts their day thinking they are going to get hurt. However, people get hurt in accidents every day, and, as a result, victims end up with hefty medical bills that need to be paid and severe injuries that can take a lot of time to fully recover from – if a full recovery is even possible. These circumstances can feel incredibly distressing and unfair for victims of these accidents.

Fortunately, there are options available to you. You can take liable parties to court and hold them accountable for your injuries and the hardship they have caused. When you are filing a personal injury lawsuit, you need experienced legal help.

To get a free review of your case from our personal injury lawyers, contact Rice, Murtha & Psoras by calling (803) 219-4906.

Personal Injury Claims We Handle in Florence, SC

The scope of things that fall under the umbrella of “personal injury law” is vast. Pretty much any injury that happened because someone else was negligent can result in a personal injury claim. However, you do need to prove that the defendant was negligent in court in order to get damages. Some of the claims our personal injury lawyers can help you with include:

Motor Vehicle Accidents

Many personal injury lawsuits are the result of car crashes, bus accidents, truck accidents, and other motor vehicle incidents. Car crashes often lead to serious injuries like broken bones, traumatic brain injuries, internal bleeding, and other serious conditions.

If you were hit by a car when you were just going about your day as a pedestrian, your injuries are likely much worse, so the damages you can seek may be potentially greater than if you were hit by a car when operating your own.

Premises Liability

When you get hurt on someone else’s property, you can hold them accountable for your injuries in a premises liability personal injury lawsuit. Under the law, property owners have to keep their property safe for people who may enter it. If they fail to do so, they can be held liable in court.

Note, though, that under S.C. Code Ann. § 27-3-30, premises being used for recreational activities like hunting, fishing, hiking, and other enumerated activities do not always have a duty of care to warn people of potential hazards under some circumstances. While not at all impossible, it may be more complicated to pursue premises liability claims stemming from those circumstances, so you should talk with us about your particular situation if you believe that applies.

Medical Malpractice

We trust medical professionals to make decisions about our health. Unfortunately, doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals can be negligent just like anyone else. If a medical professional messes up a surgery, fails to diagnose or misdiagnoses a condition, gives you the wrong medication, or does another negligent act, you can sue them for the injuries they caused you.

While similar in many ways, medical malpractice lawsuits can play out differently than other personal injury cases, particularly because they rely a great deal on expert testimony from medical professionals. Our lawyers will ensure that you have good expert advocates for your case in a medical malpractice lawsuit.

Wrongful Death

Sadly, the grim reality is that many accidents that can cause serious injury can also result in loss of life. When a loved one dies because another party was negligent, you or someone else can file a wrongful death lawsuit to try and get some closure and financial compensation for the loss.

How Long Do I Have to File My Personal Injury Claim in Florence, SC?

You cannot wait forever to file your personal injury claim in South Carolina. Laws called statutes of limitations set time limits for how long plaintiffs have to file lawsuits for certain things. For most personal injury cases, you must file your claim within three years of getting hurt pursuant to S.C. Code Ann. § 15-3-530. Once that time is up, you will not be able to file a claim or get damages from a trial.

Three years can feel like a long time, but when you take into account the time it takes to recover from injuries and get everything set up to file your claim, it is really no time at all. Therefore, you should get in touch with an attorney as soon as you can to ensure your case gets filed on time.

What Compensation is Available in Florence, SC Personal Injury Claims?

If you successfully prove that the defendant was liable for your injuries, you can get financial compensation in the form of damages. Damages are how courts try to get plaintiffs back to how they were before they got injured in an accident. Of course, for many things, literally turning back time is impossible, so damages are pretty much always awarded as financial compensation.

Compensatory Damages

Compensatory damages are the primary damages most plaintiffs seek in personal injury cases. They are meant to compensate you for what the defendant has done that caused your injuries. Examples of things you can seek compensatory damages for include medical bills, property damages, and lost opportunities to earn income. You can also seek compensatory damages for less tangible things like pain and suffering, mental anguish, or emotional distress.

Punitive Damages

In some cases, you may also seek punitive damages when the defendant has acted especially badly. Per S.C. Code Ann. § 15-32-520(D), plaintiffs must prove that the defendant’s conduct was “willful, wanton, or reckless,” going beyond mere negligence. This is not the case in every lawsuit, so you should discuss with our attorneys whether seeking punitive damages is the right move for your claim.

Our Florence, SC Personal Injury Lawyers can Help You

Rice, Murtha & Psoras has personal injury lawyers who can help you when you call (803) 219-4906.