Greenville, SC Personal Injury Lawyer

People file lawsuits for many reasons, but none are more common than personal injury claims. When another person negligently injures you, our attorneys can help you get justice.

Most of the cases our team handles result from an accident of some type. Fortunately, we have experience in a wide range of legal claims that we can help you with. Many of the claims we file are for damages from a car accident. However, we can also help with complex bus and truck accident claims. If you were injured at a water park while trying to beat the heat, we can help sue the park and the negligent employee. If your injuries were deliberately inflicted, you can also file a civil claim whether the person was charged with a crime.

Contact Rice, Murtha & Psoras today at (803) 219-4906 to receive your free case assessment with our personal injury lawyers.

Areas of Practice Our Personal Injury Lawyer Handle in Greenville, SC

Personal injury law refers to the injuries people sustain at the hands of hands of others. As such, numerous reasons exist for filing a personal injury lawsuit. Many people are sued because they negligently injured another person. Others are held liable for intentionally causing the plaintiff’s injuries. However your injuries were sustained, our personal injury lawyers can help as we have decades of collected experience in various practice areas. We know what evidence will be critical in certain types of claims and who the likely defendants should be. The following are cases we often litigate in Greenville:

Car Accidents

Car accidents are one of the most common reasons clients contact our team. They happen every day. While some are minor and only result in property damage, others can be catastrophic and life-altering. For instance, your case might settle quickly if you suffered slight injuries in a fender bender. More serious cases will usually take longer to resolve since more evidence needs to be collected.

Regardless of the severity, most car accident claims follow the same process. Our team will gather evidence, file a complaint in court, and negotiate with the negligent driver’s insurance company. Most cases tend to settle, but if yours does not, we will be ready to argue the case in a trial.

Bus Accidents

Our skilled attorneys also specialize in Greenville bus accidents. These lawsuits add a layer of complexity often not found in typical vehicle claims because several defendants are usually involved. In most cases, we will sue the bus driver. Some drivers get distracted by passengers or their phones. Other drivers are speeding and cannot avoid a collision. Our team can get evidence, like surveillance footage from the bus, to confirm their negligence.

We will likely name the bus company the driver works for as a defendant, as well. Vicarious liability allows us to hold employers accountable for their employees’ negligent, on-duty conduct. If the bus driver was working, like making drop-offs along their route, the bus company could also be sued.

However, different rules come into play depending on whether the bus company is a public or private one. If it is a private company, like Megabus, we can proceed like any other vehicle claim. If it is a public bus company, like the Greenlink or Greenville Area Paratransit, we will need to file a lawsuit against the city. In these cases, you will usually have less time to file your claim. You will also need to give the city notice of your lawsuit before filing. Our team can determine who to sue in your case and ensure the requirements are met depending on the circumstances.

Truck Accidents

Many of the same issues concerning bus accidents arise in truck accident claims. Truck drivers are commonly sued for failing to operate with the required level of care. However, the principle of vicarious liability discussed above also applies to trucking companies. Thus, when you file your claim, it will usually be against both the driver and the trucking company.

In rarer cases, we might need to sue a truck manufacturer or designer. Sometimes, one of the complex systems on a commercial truck fails, leading to an accident. Our team can gather evidence to determine if the truck defect occurred during the manufacturing process or was baked into the vehicle’s design.

Bicycle Accidents

A bicycle accident can leave a victim with significant and expensive injuries. Thus, you will want a legal team that understands the extent of these accidents. Many bike victims need medical treatment long into the future. For example, you might need compensation for surgeries and potential years of physical therapy. Our team can help you calculate these damages, as well as the psychological damages you are suffering from, like anxiety about riding again.

Many cases are between the bicyclist and the negligent driver. Sometimes, we need to track the driver down because they fled the scene of the accident. In other cases, we might file a claim against a repair shop, like if they failed to repair your brakes or gears properly.

Pedestrian Accidents

Our team also fights for pedestrians in court. Like bicycle accidents, a negligent driver is usually responsible. Unfortunately, pedestrians are too often the victims of hit-and-run accidents. If this happens to you, our team can investigate to discover the driver’s identity, including working with law enforcement.

Some pedestrians are injured while out walking on their own. However, someone could still be to blame. State and local municipalities are responsible for the upkeep of sidewalks, parks, and other public walkways. If they neglect their duties to maintain these areas regularly, they should be held accountable. For example, if you trip in a water drain hole that is missing a lid, we would file a claim against the city water department and possibly the city government, as well.

Amusement and Water Park Accidents

Greenville stays fairly warm throughout the year, so it is not surprising that many accidents happen at amusement and water parks in the area. However, not all amusement park rides are as safe as advertised. Some visitors might be injured on a malfunctioning ride or a poorly built funhouse. If so, the park’s owner can be sued. For example, we would file a claim against Frankie’s of Greenville if you were injured on one of their rides.

Serious accidents can also happen at water parks in Greenville, like Otter Creek Waterpark and Discovery Island. Water park premises are incredibly difficult to make safe. In other cases, patrons are injured because the park failed to have the appropriate amount of lifeguards on duty at the time.

County fairs are also common during the spring and summer. Most people are aware of the dangers of fair rides. Many fair rides are serviced just enough to operate and often by staff not trained to work on them. You would want to start your case as soon as possible if you were injured at the fair since they like to move on quickly. Our team is skilled in these cases and will help you get justice against the negligent worker and the park.

School Accidents

There are a few types of claims that involve schools, which present their own unique issue. In some cases, your child might have been injured on the school bus. Or perhaps your child was injured in a slip and fall accident on campus. When an accident happens under a school’s watch, we will usually file a claim against the county school district and the school itself.

In some cases, we need to file a claim against an individual for what happened at the school. For example, a student might get punched during a fight they had nothing to do with, or a teacher might assault a student. Many times, the school can also be held accountable for failing to prevent incidents of these kinds.

Medical Malpractice

Medical malpractice claims are arguably one of the most complex cases in personal injury law. The causes involved in these claims are often difficult to understand without the help of legal counsel. In most malpractice cases, we will need an expert medical witness to explain how the defendant doctor in the case acted negligently. This requires showing that the doctor who injured you deviated from the standard of care a similarly trained and experienced doctor in the same field would have.

Your doctor might not be the only healthcare provider that acted negligently in your case. When our lawyers investigate your claim, we will determine if nurses or other specialists contributed to your injuries. For example, your surgeon could have harmed you during the procedure, but you were further injured when a nurse administered the wrong medication.

Slip and Fall Accidents

Slip and fall accidents can happen virtually anywhere. Property owners have a duty to ensure their premises are safe so these accidents do not happen.

As mentioned, they are common in places like water and amusement parks. However, many more occur in common places people frequent every day. You could slip at your local convenience store on a spill that should have been cleaned. Other times, victims suffer serious injuries in a restaurant because the staff did not regularly clean the area.

If your slip and fall accident happened in a public location, we can help determine who was responsible for the premises.

Product Liability Cases

Product liability lawsuits are another highly complex area of personal injury law that our team has extensive experience handling. The cases are difficult because it might be obvious how the accident happened, like an appliance overheating or exploding, but not so clear where the defect that caused it occurred.

Some products are defective because of the way they are designed. It does not matter how it was made, as each one has the inherent problem found in the design. Other products injure people because they are manufactured negligently. If the product was designed and manufactured by the same company, we would file a claim against them. If it was designed by one company and manufactured by another, we would sue the one responsible for the defect.

Workplace Accidents

Some accidents happen at the worst times, like at work. If you were injured on the job, our team can help you explore options for recovering compensation. If you are covered by Workers’ Compensation insurance from your employer, we can help prepare your claim. This can help get you coverage without having to prove fault beforehand.

However, you will usually need to file a lawsuit to obtain the full range of damages you are entitled to, such as pain and suffering. If your injuries were caused by a third party you did not work with, like a subcontractor on a construction site, you can sue them individually. We could also sue your employer if they were grossly negligent, such as ignoring critical safety measures at your workplace.

Assault and Abuse Cases

Not all lawsuits are filed because of negligence. Some personal injuries are caused intentionally by other people. We often file claims in civil court for offenses also charged as crimes. For instance, you might have been assaulted while at a concert. It is worth mentioning that you can be assaulted without actually being touched as long as you believe contact to be imminent, like a raised fist. If they make contact, it is an assault and battery.

You might also need to file a claim for abuse. Nursing homes are common defendants in abuse claims, which can involve many parties. Suppose your loved one was financially, physically, or emotionally abused while in a nursing home, the institution is usually liable. However, nursing home staff or outside predators could have contributed to the abuse.

Wrongful Death Accidents

Wrongful death cases are some of the most sensitive and challenging in personal injury law. It can be difficult to contemplate legal action after losing a loved one, but it is often the best way to get justice from the person responsible. A person can be sued for wrongful death regardless of whether the death was the result of an accident or deliberately caused in a crime. Further, there is no requirement that the defendant be prosecuted for a crime before filing a claim for damages in civil court.

The law in wrongful death cases is complex, making it difficult for family members to determine if they have a right to file a claim. Our lawyers can review your relationship with the deceased and whether you are entitled to damages. You can get damages for the losses your loved one could have claimed if they had survived, as well as your own losses.

Our Greenville, SC Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help

For a free case review with our personal injury attorneys, call Rice, Murtha & Psoras at (803) 219-4906.