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If you were seriously injured due to another person’s negligence, you may be burdened by medical bills, lost income, and other expenses. Fortunately, there may be legal options available to you if you or a loved one sustained a catastrophic injury in an accident in Rock Hill that was caused by someone else’s negligence. With a personal injury attorney by your side, you could seek the compensation you need.
A catastrophic injury could interfere with your work, leisure activities, and ability to enjoy life. Do not allow too much time to pass before you pursue your personal injury claim. Contact a Rock Hill catastrophic injury lawyer as soon as possible to discuss your situation.
Legal Options Following a Catastrophic Injury in Rock Hill
After suffering a catastrophic injury, you may be wondering how you are going to get through some of the most challenging times in your life. On top of dealing with the financial burden of your injuries, the financial and psychological trauma of what you have been through can be overwhelming.
Fortunately, with our legal advocate on your side, you can get a better idea of the legal options you have. You could use several options to recover compensation for your damages and hold the liable party accountable for their negligence. Some of these options include:
- Filing a claim with your insurance company
- Filing a claim with the liable parties’ insurance company
- Filing a lawsuit against the liable party
Our Rock Hill catastrophic injury attorney will closely evaluate the details of your case to determine if you should file an insurance claim, bring your case to court, or do both.
Each person’s injury is different. What is in the best interest of one party may not be in the best interest of another. For this reason, it is critical that you get a one-on-one consultation with our attorney who can offer you the legal guidance and support you need to make an informed decision about your case.
Common Events That Cause Catastrophic Injuries in Rock Hill
For our lawyer to recover the compensation you deserve, we will need to examine how your accident occurred. Catastrophic injuries can occur in many ways.
However, some events, incidents, and accidents commonly produce catastrophic injuries more frequently than others, such as:
- Car accidents
- Slip and fall accidents
- Truck accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Bicycle accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
- Work accidents
- Construction accidents
- Swimming pool accidents
- Trampoline accidents
- Defective product accidents
- Medical malpractice
- Birth injuries
These are only a few of the common incidents that produce catastrophic injuries in Rock Hill. If you suffered an injury in another type of accident not listed above, you may still have grounds for financial compensation. Consider your legal options when you reach out to our office to discuss your injuries further.
Statute of Limitations in a Rock Hill Catastrophic Injury Claim
The statute of limitations sets the filing deadline for injury claims. In accordance with South Carolina Code § 15-3-530, injured parties generally have three years from the accident date to file a catastrophic injury lawsuit.
Although three years may seem like a long time, it is in an injured party’s best interest to allow a catastrophic injury attorney in the Rock Hill area to get started as soon as possible. It can take time to gather evidence, locate witnesses, and obtain documents. Failure to meet the filing deadline could result in a dismissal of the claim and loss of the right to recover damages.
Negligence and Duty of Care in a Rock Hill Catastrophic Injury Case
Catastrophic injuries, such as severe burns, spinal cord injuries, and brain trauma, often occur as the result of a person or company’s negligence. A party is considered negligent if they fail to exercise due care, and another person suffers an injury as a result.
In these cases, the negligent party may be responsible for compensating the victim for the full extent of their losses. Anyone suffering from a permanent or life-altering injury should reach out to a knowledgeable attorney who understands negligence.
How the Catastrophic Injury Claims Process Works
Many Rock Hill injury victims hesitate to contact a lawyer for help. This is because they are overwhelmed by what they envisioned the catastrophic injury claims process to be like.
If this is your situation, consider speaking with an attorney who can address your concerns and questions. Once you know what to expect, you may feel more confident to move forward with a claim. Here is a general idea of how the process works for recovering compensation after a catastrophic injury:
- Investigating the cause of an accident or a victim’s injuries
- Establishing fault for the victim’s injuries
- Calculating the value of the victim’s claim
- Filing insurance claims
- Negotiating with the insurance company
- Filing a civil lawsuit against the liable party
- Advocating for total compensation at trial
It is worth noting that an attorney will handle each person’s case differently. If our lawyer can settle your case outside of court while recovering fair compensation, that would be ideal.
However, since insurance companies rarely provide total compensation to injury victims, bringing your case to court may be necessary if you hope to get the most out of your claim. Our Rock Hill catastrophic injury lawyer can help you determine how to best approach your case during your initial consultation.
What to Expect From the Insurance Company
Dealing with an insurance company is never easy. Insurance companies make money by paying out on fewer claims than they bring in via insurance premiums. Although the insurance company may have a financial obligation to you, that does not mean it is going to write you a check for your damages. The insurance company will lose money if it settles your claim.
For this reason, they employ teams of insurance adjusters to pick apart insurance claims, looking for opportunities to deny claimants the benefits they might otherwise deserve. Although the insurance company is not on your side, our Rock Hill attorney will be.
We are fully aware of how insurance companies operate and the various tactics they can use to avoid paying your compensation. Our attorney can handle the negotiations process so that you can focus on recovering from your injuries without having to worry about settling for less than your claim is worth. We protect our clients’ interest and rights as we seek financial awards for them.
How Rock Hill Catastrophic Injury Victims Can Recover Damages
When you have suffered a debilitating catastrophic injury, you may be anxious to find out how much your case is worth and how you will recover the compensation you deserve. After all, with everything you have been through, you may feel more confident once you know your efforts in pursuing your case are going to pay off.
With that in mind, Rock Hill catastrophic injury victims can receive compensation two main ways. They can either file a claim with an insurance company or sue the liable party.
Insurance Claims in a Catastrophic Injury Accident
South Carolina is a fault state for accidents and insurance purposes. When you are involved in an accident, you file a claim with the liable parties’ insurance provider as opposed to your own. It is important that this distinction as the compensation amount and the types of compensation you can recover will depend on the policyholder’s coverage.
If the liable party purchased only the minimum amount of coverage, do not be surprised if the insurance company only writes you a check for the minimum amount of coverage. Although your damages may be greater than this, the insurance company is only legally upheld to the highest limits of the policyholder’s policy. Many catastrophic injury victims are surprised to learn they cannot recover the compensation they need through an insurance supplement alone.
The insurance company is not going to settle your claim without putting up a fight. Even though they are not covering your damages in their entirety, the insurance company still wants to reduce their financial losses wherever possible.
It is more common than you might think for insurance companies to blame an injury victim, delay the processing of a victim’s claim, or look for other reasons to deny them the benefits and compensation they could recover. When you have our Rock Hill catastrophic injury attorney negotiating for you, you use the time to take care of yourself instead of worrying about being taken advantage of in your time of need.
Economic and Non-Economic Damages
Economic damages, such as lost wages and medical expenses, are often recoverable in a catastrophic injury claim based on negligence. Many individuals have to miss work or are no longer able to perform the duties of their job after an accident. Additionally, medical expenses stemming from treatment for a catastrophic injury could be extensive. Some catastrophic injuries have permanent or long-term effects, which warrant specialized care.
An injured individual may also be able to recover non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering and emotional distress. It could be more difficult to quantify non-economic damages, but there are methods that juries use to do so. Consultation with an experienced lawyer in Rock Hill could help an injured party identify all their losses and fight for fair compensation after a catastrophic accident.
Speak With a Rock Hill Catastrophic Injury Attorney As Soon As Possible
Physical and emotional recovery from a catastrophic injury can take time. If you were hurt in an accident, you deserve to focus on healing rather than trying to navigate the legal system on your own. Fortunately, a seasoned attorney may be able to keep your case moving forward while you focus on your health.
To discuss the merits of your claim and the potential compensation available to you, consider consulting with a Rock Hill catastrophic injury lawyer. Call Schiller & Hamilton today to schedule a case review with a compassionate attorney.