- December 15, 2021
- Personal Injury
Wrongdoings of others can have severe consequences in certain situations. If you have ever experienced the negligence of someone else that’s left your life in worse shape than before, you have legal rights to act on.
Filing for personal injury in South Carolina is an option you have if you were wrongly injured in a preventable accident. Seeking the help of a trustworthy Greenwood personal injury lawyer can help you get full compensation and make up for any suffering you may have encountered.
What Is Considered Personal Injury in South Carolina?
Personal injury is an umbrella term that’s used to help those who have been harmed or injured by someone else’s negligence.
Accidents that are under the personal injury term can include:
- Car accidents
- Slip and fall
- Dog bites
- Defective products
- Medical negligence
- Nursing home abuse/neglect
- More
Sometimes personal injury cases can be challenging to prove without specific evidence that an experienced attorney can get. For a personal injury case to make strides on your behalf, there has to be proof the other party acted negligently knowingly.
It is tough to try and build a case around pure accidents, but an attorney is likely able to find a clue in the situation that will work for your case. However, it’s important to note that if your case brings to light that you share some of the blame for the accident, you might get as much as out of your settlement, and it can affect how the case ends.
Personal Injury Deadlines & Exceptions
Legal work has certain deadlines and exceptions to these types of cases, and it’s important to know what they are so you give your case the best fighting chance.
To file a personal injury claim in the state of South Carolina, an individual has three years from the date of the accident to report the accident and seek legal help.
If you are ever involved in an accident where you would like to file a lawsuit, it’s important to act quickly if you are able to, or at least once your health is in better condition.
Depending on the case, sometimes it can take up to a year or more for your case to make it to trial or for you to reach a settlement. The best legal work takes time, and the three-year deadline gives you plenty of time to report it and let your lawyer do their thing.
If you miss the three-year deadline, there’s a chance your case can get quickly dismissed.
There are also exceptions to the three-year deadline that can either result in the “clock” being paused or extended.
If the defendant is under the age of 18 at the time of the accident, they are considered to be under “legal disability,” which means you cannot file against them until they reach adult age. When that happens, you have a year to file the incident, unless it’s been over five years total in the waiting period.
Another cause for time pausing or extending occurs if the defendant flees the state and lives somewhere where the lawsuit can’t be filed or if they work to conceal their identity and not be found.
How to File a Personal Injury Claim in South Carolina
Personal injury claims start with finding the right lawyer to work with. Once you hire a lawyer and discuss your case and options, they will draft up the legal work and serve the papers to the defendant, who will likely hire their own attorney.
Your lawyer will gather all of the necessary evidence from the day of the evidence, the police report (if there is one), medical records, interview witnesses, and possibly visit the scene of the accident.
If you decide to file a personal injury case against a business or location, your attorney will need to have all evidence from that scene, which is why it’s important always to take photo proof of your accident if you are able to.
The defendant may decide to pay a settlement, but if they don’t, your case will then go to court, where the jury will decide how much you will receive.
Call Ayers Smithdeal & Bettis, P.C. Today
Hiring a personal injury attorney can help your case tremendously. Ayers Smithdeal & Bettis, P.C. is a law firm of trusted attorneys who can help you better understand South Carolina personal injury laws and what the best moves for your case are.
Call us today at 855-213-4405 or fill out our free evaluation form online to get started.
