Greer Personal Injury Lawyer

Part of the Spartanburg metro area, Greer is a city rich with history and recreational opportunities, including parks and sports teams. But you don’t have to be an athlete to suffer an injury in Greer.

Car accidents, golf cart or ATV collisions, hazardous property conditions, dog bites, and other situations can leave you in pain, struggling with medical bills, out of work, and dealing with property damage estimates. If another party’s negligence has caused your injuries, you need help seeking restitution—but you can’t always rely on the insurance company to give you the settlement you deserve.

Talk to a Greer Personal Injury Attorney Today

An accident might occur in only seconds, but its effects can last weeks, months, or even years. Injured people often find themselves overwhelmed by medical bills, losing time at work, physical or emotional pain, property damage, and other losses.

You need compensation for your injuries, but the at-fault party and their insurance company may be uninterested in taking responsibility. Or, the insurance company might make you an offer that undervalues your damages.

An experienced Greer personal injury attorney can help you navigate these challenges. We’ll examine the details of your accident or injury, search for additional evidence, and build a strong case to show the other party was all or mostly at fault for your injuries.

Additionally, we’ll review your damages and accurately calculate how much your settlement should be to ensure the insurance company’s offer is acceptable.

What if You’re Not Sure You Have a Case or Don’t Know Who Was at Fault?

In these situations, you need qualified legal advice. The CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm offers free consultations for anyone with questions or concerns about a possible personal injury matter.

We’ll learn about how your injury occurred and help you determine who the liable parties are (there could be more than one), then lay out your options for seeking compensation. If we take your case, there are no upfront fees—you won’t pay us anything until we win or settle your case.

How Does Modified Comparative Negligence Affect Your Claim?

South Carolina relies on modified comparative negligence statutes for claims where the injured party has at least some fault. It’s easy to imagine there is only one responsible party in an accident, but in reality, it’s possible for two or more parties to contribute to the incident.

Comparative negligence allows a party who is partially responsible to recover some of their damages so long as they are less than 51 percent to blame. The specific percentage of fault assigned to you, however, is crucial because that amount will be deducted from your settlement.

If you have $30,000 in damages, and you’re 10 percent at fault, you might receive $27,000.

But what if the claims adjuster decides you’re 20 or 25 percent at fault? Your settlement could quickly shrink to $24,000 or $22,500.

Because a higher share of fault on your part means cost savings for the insurance company, the claims adjuster’s estimate of your contributions may be elevated.

This is one reason why engaging the services of an experienced personal injury attorney is essential. We’ll use the available evidence to demonstrate that you had little or no fault and work to convince the claims adjuster that a lower percentage is more reasonable.

What Kind of Evidence Do You Need in a Car Accident Case?

We’ll look for evidence that shows the other driver was at fault, or at least primarily at fault. Some common types of evidence include:

• Photo evidence. We suggest taking pictures of the accident scene right after the collision, as long as you can do so safely. Photograph your vehicle from all angles, and take close-ups of any visible damage. Next, move on to the other vehicle, the street (especially any debris or tire marks), and the surrounding area. Also, please photograph your injuries, such as bruises, lacerations, etc.
• Video evidence. This is becoming more common in car accident cases. Not only are we sometimes able to recover video from traffic or security cameras, but in residential areas, an accident might be caught on a doorbell camera. The downside to the popularity of doorbell cameras is that the videos they capture are often deleted regularly to free up space for more videos. As a result, we’re more likely to recover a video of your accident if we contact the camera’s owner quickly after a crash, so please consult a lawyer as soon as possible.
• Witness testimony. We’ll ask if you know of any witnesses to the collision, such as a passenger or someone who stopped to help afterward. If not, we’ll see if any are mentioned in the police report. Sometimes, there aren’t any witnesses, but we will canvas the neighborhood and talk to local residents or workers to learn if any were missed.
• The police report. This will usually be completed within 1-2 weeks of the accident, and you can request a copy from the law enforcement agency that responded. If your accident took place inside the city limits of Greer, you can request a report here. Remember that while a police report is an influential piece of evidence in your case, it’s not unassailable. The report contains the responding officer’s opinion of what happened and who was at fault based on the available evidence, but this evidence is sometimes thin. If we find additional evidence to the contrary, we can challenge the police report.
• Electronic data. Most modern cars are outfitted with event data recorders or EDRS, devices that record a number of data points related to any significant event (like a car crash). By looking at data from both vehicles, we can find out how fast each car was going, what direction it was headed, and what efforts the drivers made to avoid the collision—braking, turning the wheel, etc.

What if the Other Driver’s Insurance Company Makes You an Offer?

It’s common for the injured person to assume their problems are over when the insurance company makes an offer. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case.

If the insurer makes you an offer—especially if they do so quickly—they might be undervaluing your claim. For this reason, it’s critical that you ask an attorney to review the offer before you sign anything.

There are several frequent issues that we see with insurance company offers:

• The offer is too low because the insurance adjuster has inflated your share of fault in the accident and reduced your settlement offer accordingly. In some cases, they might assign some percentage of fault when you did not contribute to the collision at all.
• The offer is too low because the insurance adjuster has undervalued your damages. This one is easy for the average layperson to overlook. The adjuster may only address damages you’ve requested, such as existing medical bills or vehicle repair costs, leaving other damages ( such as lost income or pain and suffering) unaddressed. At the same time, the adjuster could also undervalue what specific damages are worth. They might refuse to pay for certain medical treatments, undervalue your pain and suffering, etc.
• The offer may be undervalued for both of the above reasons.

An experienced car accident lawyer will accurately calculate an estimate of your damages and how much fault (if any) you had in the collision. Then, we’ll negotiate with the insurance company to ensure you receive the best settlement possible.

What Happens When an Uninsured or Underinsured Driver Hits You?

Fortunately, South Carolina requires that motorists carry uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage (UM/UI) in at least the same amount as the minimum liability insurance—$25,000 per person for bodily injury liability ($50,000 per accident) and $25,000 in property damage liability.

If you have car insurance, you should have at least this much coverage from your own insurance company. However, purchasing more than the minimum can provide extra coverage if your accident is more serious.

What if Your Damages Exceed Both the At-Fault Driver’s Insurance and Your UM/UI Coverage?

This could happen if your accident is very severe, especially if you suffered life-altering injuries or will need medical care for the rest of your life. When you and the other driver only have minimal coverage, it may not be possible to recover all your damages from the insurance companies.

However, we’ll look at other options to obtain the rest of your compensation.

One possibility is to sue the at-fault driver directly and attempt to hold them personally responsible for your injuries. The difficulty with this option is that the other driver may not have any money or assets we can seize.

If that’s the case, we won’t advise you to go through the time commitment and stress of a lawsuit when there is no clear path to recovery.

In some limited situations, we can sue a third party who contributed to the collision. For instance, if a drunk driver hits you, you may be able to pursue a claim against an establishment (like a bar or restaurant) that overserved them.

However, it would be necessary to prove the bar or restaurant server knew or should have known that the person was already intoxicated or under the age of 21. You could also have a third-party claim if a defective car component contributed to the crash or your injuries.

If none of those situations apply, you may not be able to recover any damages beyond what the two insurance companies will pay. For this reason, we encourage you to buy as much UM/UI coverage as you can fit into your budget.

How Is Liability Determined in Boating Accidents in South Carolina?

South Carolina is home to over 2,800 miles of coastline, thousands of miles of rivers, and numerous lakes. Boating and other water activities are popular pastimes, but if safety regulations are ignored, you could suffer a serious injury.

In 2019, the state saw 146 recreational boating accidents and 14 fatalities.

If a boat operator causes an accident due to reckless boating or otherwise negligent behavior, they may be at fault. However, there are multiple other parties who are sometimes liable in a boating accident, and comparative negligence could still be an issue.

A knowledgeable personal injury attorney will help you learn more about the accident and who may be responsible.

Potentially liable parties may include:

• The owner. Even if they are not driving the boat, the owner could be negligent if they fail to keep it in good working order, and a malfunction due to disrepair causes the accident. Or, if they allow someone unqualified to operate the boat and that person causes an accident, both the operator and the owner might share liability. Additionally, owners have a responsibility to ensure there are enough life jackets for everyone on board—if they don’t, and the lack of flotation devices becomes a problem following an accident, the owner might be negligent.
• The boat operator. This person might be driving your boat or another watercraft that hit you. As discussed earlier, a boater who acts carelessly while operating a boat could be at fault. For instance, exceeding idle speeds in certain areas is prohibited for safety reasons. If the boat operator was going too fast in one of these areas and struck a person, another vessel, or a solid object like a pier, they might be responsible for the crash. Boating under the influence is another potential cause of operator errors.
• The boat manufacturer. Occasionally, we see cases where the malfunction or mechanical failure caused the accident, but the problem wasn’t a lack of maintenance. If the boat or one of its components has a defect that originated with production, you may have a defective product claim against the manufacturer.
• A mechanic or service company. Sometimes, even when you think you’ve arranged for proper maintenance, a service worker makes a mistake that later causes an accident. If this occurs, and we can find evidence the service company was at fault, they could be liable.
• A passenger. In most cases, passengers are not at fault, but there are some exceptions. If a passenger tries to take control of the boat or accidentally sends someone overboard while horsing around, they may be liable.

Will Boat Insurance Cover Your Damages?

This depends on the situation. If the boat owner is liable and they have liability insurance on their boat, then we may be able to pursue compensation from the insurance policy.

When you are the boat owner, your liability policy will usually cover injuries and property damage you caused to others. If another boater was responsible, we may file a claim with their insurance policy.

What about your own damages? If you purchased comprehensive collision coverage on the boat, this should cover your repair costs even if you were at fault.

As with car insurance, a Medical Payments policy will pay for your injuries in a boating accident, regardless of fault. However, if you don’t have these types of coverage, you may not be able to recover your damages.

When other companies, like a manufacturer or service provider, are at fault, they typically have business liability insurance that may apply.

A passenger who caused your injuries probably won’t have any relevant insurance coverage, but if they have assets available, we might be able to sue them personally.

What Are Some Other Types of Personal Injury Situations?

Unfortunately, you can get hurt in almost any situation. If you have reason to believe another party’s actions caused your injury, the best thing to do is have your case evaluated by an experienced personal injury lawyer. No matter how your injury occurred, we may be able to recover damages if there is evidence of the other party’s negligence.

Here are some common categories of personal injury cases:

• Premises liability. This refers to situations where you are injured on someone else’s property due to the owner’s negligence. We will need to show that the owner knew or should have known about a hazard on the property and failed to either fix it or warn you about it. Examples include slip-and-fall accidents, falling objects, and negligent security (failing to offer a reasonably safe environment for guests).
• Dog bites. South Carolina’s strict liability laws allow a dog bite victim to seek compensation from the dog’s owner in most circumstances, except when the injured party provoked the dog. Your attorney will work to show the dog bite was not your fault so you can get the settlement you need.
• Pedestrian and bicycle accidents. Unfortunately, South Carolina ranks at number four in the nation for pedestrian deaths, with 190 in 2021 alone. Pedestrians and bicyclists who are hit by cars are often at a disadvantage because they are likely to suffer much more severe injuries than the car’s occupants. While you’re dealing with serious injuries, the driver could be telling the police that you were at fault. An experienced personal injury attorney will gather evidence to show the driver’s negligence was responsible for your injuries.
• Medical malpractice. In a medical negligence case, it’s necessary to demonstrate that the healthcare provider failed to offer the same standard of care as other “reasonably prudent” providers in the same specialty. For this reason, a medical malpractice lawsuit must be filed with an “Affidavit of Expert,” in which a provider in the same field explains at least one act of negligence on the provider’s part.
• Defective products. Sometimes, a defective product is merely an annoyance that prompts you to seek a refund. But in other cases, a defective product can cause serious injury or even death. Examples include defective drugs and medical devices, cars or car components, electrical appliances that cause fires or electrical shocks, toys that are toxic or pose a choking hazard, safety equipment that doesn’t work as stated and many more.
• Golf cart and ATV accidents. These small vehicles are a handy way to get around in situations where a car isn’t appropriate, but don’t let the size and speed fool you—many people suffer injuries while using golf carts or ATVs. As with boating collisions, there is a long list of potentially liable parties that your attorney will help you identify.
• Workplace injuries. These should be handled by Worker’s Compensation, a no-fault system for covering an injured worker’s medical costs and some of their lost income. While you can’t be rejected due to fault, there are numerous other reasons the insurance company could decline your Worker’s Compensation claim. If your claim has been denied, please contact us to review the situation. In some cases, we may be able to appeal the denial and obtain the benefits you need. Additionally, we’ll evaluate your case to determine if you have grounds for a third-party lawsuit (a claim against someone other than your employer, such as the manufacturer of a defective chainsaw).

How Can You Learn More From a Greer Personal Injury Law Firm?

Many people struggle with questions or concerns about their accident or injury. Was someone else at fault? Is there a way to recover damages? How can you prove fault? Should you file an insurance claim, or do you need a lawyer?

The CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm is here to help you get the necessary answers; we’ll review your case, answer your questions, and explain the options for recovering your damages. There is no obligation, and if we take your case, you won’t owe us anything until we win or settle it.

Attorney Ali Awad founded the CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm, which is now one of the fastest-growing law firms in the country, with a 99.5 percent success rate. Mr. Awad and his legal team have over twenty years of combined experience and have recovered millions of dollars in compensation for injured people and their families.

When he’s not busy negotiating with insurance companies or standing up for clients in court, you can find Mr. Awad delivering no-nonsense legal advice to more than a million followers on social media. Call him today at (833) 254-2923.