Category: Car Accidents

If you are injured in a car accident, it is important to know what the driver’s basic duty of care is in South Carolina. The driver has a duty to use reasonable care while driving and must avoid causing injury to others. If the driver fails to meet this duty, they may be held liable for any injuries that occur as a result. If you have been injured in a car accident, contact an experienced South Carolina car accident attorney to learn more about your rights.

How is the Driver’s Duty of Care Determined?

South Carolina drivers are required to take all precautions to drive in a safe manner. If the driver is in a foreseeable danger zone, they must use reasonable care to avoid harming others.

In order for a victim to recover damages from an accident, they must prove that the defendant breached their duty of care. If a driver is found to have breached their duty of care, they can be held liable for any damages that resulted from the accident.

When determining a driver’s duty of care, there are a few factors that are considered:

• The driver’s speed

• How well they were paying attention to the road

• Whether they were following the rules of the road

If you have been injured in a car accident and are looking into filing a lawsuit against the negligent party, it is important to understand your legal options as well as how liability works.

What Are the Consequences for Violating This Duty of Care?

If the driver violates their duty of care, they may be held liable for any injuries that occur as a result. This can include monetary damages, such as medical expenses and lost wages, as well as pain and suffering. It is important to contact an attorney right away if you have been injured in a car accident, so they can help you understand your rights and options.

How Can Drivers Avoid Violating Their Duty of Care While Driving in South Carolina?

First and foremost, drivers should be aware of the laws that apply to them while driving in South Carolina. Secondly, drivers should always use caution when driving, especially in busy areas or around other vehicles. Finally, drivers should make sure they are well-rested before hitting the road. If you follow these tips, you can help avoid violating your duty of care while driving in South Carolina.

What Should You Do if You Are Involved in an Accident Caused By a Driver Who Violated Their Duty of Care?

There are many different things you can do if you are involved in an accident caused by a driver who violated their duty of care. A good first step is to make sure that the other party or parties experience no harm as a result of this injury. You should also take steps to ensure your own safety after the incident. It’s best not to leave the scene of an accident, even if it appears that there is no damage.

If you find yourself in a car accident, take these steps to ensure your life and rights are protected:

• Check yourself and passengers for injuries

• Call the police

• Seek medical attention right away

• Take pictures and record details about what happened

• Document your expenses related to the incident

• Do not sign anything or give any statements until you have talked with an attorney

Contact an Experienced Personal Injury Lawyer to Discuss Your Options

In addition to the steps listed above, it is important to contact an experienced personal injury lawyer as soon as possible. They will be able to help you understand your rights and begin the process of filing a claim.

If you have been injured in an accident caused by someone else’s negligence, don’t hesitate to reach out for help. An experienced personal injury lawyer can explain your rights and options to you. Contact us today for a free consultation.

While parking lots are often some of the slowest driving that we will do all day, it can also be some of the most potentially injurious driving as well. Parking lots are infamous locations for every type of minor fender bender, paint-swap, and hit-and-run imaginable. Every South Carolina personal injury attorney in the state has seen parking lot injuries. 

One of the main reasons that South Carolina parking lots become the site of so many accidents, is that there is always so much going on. There are tons of pedestrians, other vehicles going about their business, and multiple directions of travel factoring in. In addition to all of that, there are islands, landscaping, and carts that can all present a potential hazard. 

Causes of Parking Lot Accidents

Just as the cause of nearly every type of motor vehicle accident, the main cause of most parking lot accidents is negligence in one of its many forms. In some cases, the negligence is due to an act someone performed that they shouldn’t have, such as driving while intoxicated or speeding.

In other cases, it may be negligence by inaction, which means someone failed to do something they should have done. Popular examples of this type of negligence are distracted driving, failing to use a turn signal, and failing to reduce speed to avoid a collision. 

Reducing Parking Lot Accidents

There are steps that can be taken to reduce the number of accidents that occur in parking lots in South Carolina. Speed bumps, stop signs, and crosswalks can all help, but the main thing is that drivers need to pay attention to their surroundings. Distracted driving in parking lots can lead to damage to property and to injuries to other people.

Steps to Take After Getting Injured in a Parking Lot Accident

If you’re ever involved in an accident in a parking lot, it’s important to keep a clear mind so you can keep the details in order. The first thing you should do is contact emergency services and inform them of the accident. Next, you’ll want to take pictures and document the scene of the accident. Also be sure to get the contact information, driver’s license number, and insurance information from the other driver. Additionally, make sure to seek medical attention so that any injuries are well documented.

Compensation for Your Injuries

If you have been involved in an accident in a parking lot that resulted in you sustaining injuries, you may be able to collect monetary compensation for your injuries and damages. Generally, this is best accomplished by working with an experienced personal injury attorney. 

The damages that can be sustained include both economic and non-economic damages. Examples of economic injuries would be your vehicle repair cost, the cost of repairing or replacing personal property damaged in the accident, and your medical bills resulting from the physical injuries. Non-economic injuries could include anguish, pain, and suffering, as well as other potential psychological or emotional damages. 

If you are involved in a parking lot car crash contact our office today for a free consultation.

Some people might think that road rage only includes extremely violent behavior when behind the wheel, like shooting at another car or ramming a car or pedestrian with one’s vehicle, but road rage can include many different types of aggressive driving. When a driver engages in dangerous conduct because of anger, impatience, or other uncontrolled emotion, the risk of a collision skyrockets.

A South Carolina personal injury attorney can help you try to hold the at-fault driver accountable if you got hurt because of road rage. If your close relative died because of a road rage incident, we might be able to pursue additional money damages for the legal beneficiaries. We can also answer your questions about why road rage causes so many accidents.

What Kind of Actions Can Be Examples of Road Rage? 

Driving can be stressful. We have all tapped the horn at someone who did not go forward within a reasonable amount of time after the light turned green or who clogged up traffic by going well under the speed limit in the “fast lane.” If those brief incidents do not escalate or involve extreme, out-of-control emotions, they are not examples of rod rage.

Here are some things that can be road rage:

• Driving dangerously close behind a vehicle, as if to “bully” it into driving faster. When it is safe to do so, the better course of action is to change lanes and get past the slow car.
•  Yelling or screaming curses and threats that people in other vehicles can hear.
• Using your headlights on high beam when right behind another car.
• Slamming on the brakes when someone tailgates you, also called brake-checking.
• Cutting off by pulling in front of them sharply right after passing them.
• Frequent lane changes without justification.
• Any other unsafe driving maneuvers intended to express anger or intimidate another person.

There are many other actions that can constitute road rage.

Why is Road Rage So Dangerous?

An aggressive driver creates a heightened risk of harm to himself, people in other vehicles, and pedestrians for these reasons: 

• The road-raging driver is out of control emotionally and making poor decisions. While focused on his anger, he is less likely to think clearly or notice facts that would otherwise indicate peril
• Road rage often involves high speeds for the conditions. It is more challenging to control a speeding car than one that is traveling at an appropriate speed 
• If the aggressive driving involves cars traveling at unsafe proximity to each other because of tailgating or brake-checking, the vehicles are at high risk of a collision because there is not enough time or distance to stop to prevent an accident
• The extreme emotions that tend to accompany road rage can become “contagious,” with the driver who perceives himself as the victim of road rage might strike back and escalate the violence, by pulling a weapon or approaching and confronting the other driver at a stoplight

What started as mere inattention by one driver irritating another driver could quickly become a dangerous road rage incident. A South Carolina personal injury attorney can fight for you to go after all the compensation you deserve if you suffered harm because of road rage. If you’ve been affected by a road rage incident get in touch with our office for a free consultation.