You’re a safe driver and you’ve taught your family to be great drivers, too. That’s awesome. But try as we might, sometimes avoiding a car accident in South Carolina is just, well, unavoidable. All it takes is one careless or distracted driver to lead to high medical bills and serious injury. While that sounds scary, you don’t have to worry with an experienced personal injury attorney on your side. Here are a few important South Carolina Car Accident Laws that The Clardy Law Firm want you to keep in mind.
There’s A Time Limit
When was your car accident? If you wait too long, you won’t be able to get compensation for your damages and injuries. According to South Carolina Car Accident Laws, there is a statute of limitations of 3 years. That means that you have exactly 3 years from the date of the accident to recover compensation.
We understand that the time limit imposed by South Carolina Car Accident Laws can be difficult. In some cases, especially those that involve life-threatening injury or brain trauma, it can be hard to meet all the deadlines while trying to focus on your recovery. That’s what we’re here for. 3 years can seem like a lot of time to prepare your claim and get recovery but, between going to the doctor, healing, physical therapy, life readjustment, and more, serious injury can severely hinder how much time you really have. It’s easy to set your claim aside to the backburner but with the time limit you have because of South Carolina car accident laws, you need to get your claim done ASAP.
Don’t play the blame game
South Carolina car accident laws require fault be placed for auto insurance compensation. That means that the person responsible (at fault) for your car accident is also responsible for your expenses.
Unfortunately, South Carolina recognized modified comparative negligence. This means that if you were even partly at fault for the accident, your compensation will be decreased by the amount of fault you’re held responsible for. If the court finds that you’re 20% at fault for the car accident that caused your injuries, you’ll only be able to receive up to 80% of the given compensation. While 20% might not seem like much, when you have hundreds or thousands of dollars in medical bills and expenses, it could make a huge difference.
How a personal injury lawyer can help
Because of modified comparative negligence, it’s a good idea to seek help. A personal injury attorney who can help you prove that the other driver was at fault. This will help ensure you get the fullest value of compensation to cover your injuries and damages.
Because of South Carolina car accident laws, dealing with a car accident claim can quickly become overwhelming. Certain laws may prevent you from collecting compensation or make it difficult to prove that you weren’t at fault for the accident that caused you injury. If you have any questions or are looking for an experienced car accident attorney to help you with your case, don’t hesitate to call The Clardy Law Firm. Our attorneys are standing by to schedule a free consultation with you to find out just how much compensation your case is really worth.
