South Carolina Car Accident Lawyer

South Carolina's roads and highways see over 100,000 traffic collisions every year, with an alarmingly high percentage resulting in serious injuries or even death.

If someone else's negligence injured you, you can hold the responsible party liable for your damages under South Carolina's personal injury laws. However, the legal aftermath of a car accident can get incredibly messy and complicated, especially for crashes that involve permanent injuries or disputed fault.

 Without knowing how to navigate the claims process and deal with insurance companies, car accident victims who attempt to handle the situation without legal help may walk away with much less than they deserve.  Reach out to a South Carolina car accident lawyer.

At Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA, our team of skilled, experienced lawyers understands the nuances of South Carolina's car accident laws inside and out. We can guide you through every step of the claims process, protecting your rights and placing you in the strongest position to recover fair compensation for all your damages.

Why You Should Trust Us To With Your South Carolina Car Accident Claim 

At Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA, our attorneys have successfully handled thousands of car accident cases across South Carolina, including extremely complicated situations involving head-on collisions, multi-car pile-ups, or fatalities.

We've seen firsthand the many difficult, potentially life-changing challenges victims and their families suffer after a severe car accident. Along with the pain and disruption of getting injured, there's also the significant financial burden of medical bills, lost income, and other losses. Getting adequate compensation can make the difference between moving on with your life or dealing with these physical and financial consequences on your own.

That's why we work closely with a network of medical professionals, accident reconstructionists, financial planners, and other expert witnesses who help us build persuasive cases. 

Whether it's investigating the crash to establish liability, accurately evaluating the full extent of your damages, or negotiating with insurers, we have the skills and resources to secure the most favorable outcome for our clients.

If somebody crashed into you or you already started the claims process, contact us for a free consultation to learn how we can protect your best interests during this difficult time.

Investigating Fault After a South Carolina Car Accident

Under South Carolina law, recovering compensation after a car accident depends heavily on establishing the underlying causes, especially negligence or traffic violations. Insurance companies also blame the victim to minimize payouts and protect their bottom line.

These tactics add significant stress to the claims process and are one of many reasons having legal representation typically results in better settlement offers than going it alone. In cases involving disputed or unclear fault, Dolman Law Group's attorneys use a range of proven methods and resources to investigate the accident and determine liability, including:

Reviewing the Police Report

South Carolina drivers must call the police after any collision that causes bodily harm. The police report created by responding officers is one of the most important pieces of evidence for car accident claims, especially if police issued citations for traffic violations like speeding or failing to yield.

These reports also describe the accident scene, record statements from the involved parties, give the officer's initial assessment of who they think caused the crash, and provide contact information for witnesses. Our attorneys do take the time to track down anyone who saw the accident or the events leading up to it and record their testimony to corroborate our client's version of events. 

Analyzing Video Footage

Depending on where the accident happened, traffic cameras, the surveillance systems of nearby businesses, dash cams, or even bystanders recording on their phones may have captured the events before and during the crash. Our attorneys locate and analyze any available footage to piece together how the collision unfolded.

Consulting Forensic Experts

In the most complex cases, our attorneys will turn to accident reconstructionists who can provide their professional opinion of what caused the crash. These forensic experts prepare a report by analyzing any physical evidence available, such as skid marks left behind on the road and the location of the damage on each car.

They also review data from each vehicle's black box, which automatically kicks in during an accident to preserve crucial information like the car's speed or any braking maneuvers. Accident reconstructions have specialized knowledge and expertise, making their testimony a form of evidence. 

 

What Compensation Can You Get After a South Carolina Car Accident?

The ripple effects of being in a car accident can affect your health, financial stability, and overall quality of life for a long time. South Carolina courts recognize these hardships and provide a path to help victims recover compensation for damages suffered in a collision that wasn't their fault. Depending on the details of your specific case, the types of expenses and losses you can pursue as part of a car accident claim include:

Economic Damages

Economic damages compensate for accident-related losses with a clear monetary value that can be calculated and verified. This form of damages is ideally meant to restore your financial position to where it would have been if you didn't get injured due to the at-fault party's negligence.

Some of these tangible losses are:

• Medical bills: The expenses from hospital stays, prescription medications, physical therapy, and other necessary costs to treating the victim's injuries, including any ongoing and future expenses.
• Lost income: Getting hurt in a car accident can also temporarily or permanently affect the victim's livelihood. Economic damages can cover the time they couldn't work while recovering or provide compensation for having a reduced earning capacity due to becoming disabled. 
• Property Damage and other out-of-pocket costs: A car accident claim can reimburse you for repairing or replacing your damaged vehicle and other direct, quantifiable costs resulting from the accident. For example, the cost of hiring a cleaning service because you're too injured to keep up with housework. 

Non-Economic Damages

Also known as general damages, this compensation refers to the subjective, intangible physical, emotional, and psychological losses that result from an accident. Some of the most significant consequences of the at-fault party's negligence, you can recover compensation for them through your claim. Recovering non-economic damages does depend on being able to substantiate them.

Dolman Law Group's attorneys use a wide range of strategies to help our clients tell their stories in a compelling way and demonstrate the intangible costs of being in an accident, such as: 

• Pain and suffering, both during the accident itself and in the aftermath. 
• Emotional distress, including anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
• Loss of enjoyment due to no longer being able to participate in activities they once loved.
• Loss of consortium for injuries that affected the victim's relationship with their spouse.

Wrongful Death 

In tragic cases where the car accident caused the victim's death, South Carolina laws allow their closest relatives to pursue compensation for Wrongful Death damages from the at-fault driver.

These are some of the most complex and emotionally-charged car accident claims we handle at the Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA, and our goal is always to provide empathetic support while helping surviving family members navigate the legal system.

Wrongful death damages typically cover:

• Funeral and burial expenses: Compensation for the family's significant financial burden from laying their loved one to rest.
• Loss of financial support: If the deceased was one of the household's primary breadwinners, you can recover compensation for the expected future income they would have contributed.
• Loss of companionship: Compensation for the profound loss of their loved one's love, guidance, and care.

Benefits of Hiring a Lawyer After a South Carolina Car Accident

A car accident is often incredibly stressful and chaotic, especially while trying to recover from serious injuries. Most people in these situations are overwhelmed by the prospect of dealing with insurance companies, filling out mountains of paperwork, and keeping up with the legal process.

An experienced car accident lawyer who understands the system can help you avoid mistakes, maximize the value of your case and ensure you're not left bearing the burden of someone else's negligence. Some of the key benefits of having legal representation after a car accident include: 

Investigate the accident

Establishing liability is one of the most critical aspects of any successful car accident claim in South Carolina. A dispute about which driver broke traffic laws makes it a confusing process. A skilled lawyer can gather, preserve, and analyze critical evidence to prove fault and build a solid case in your favor. 

Handle Communications With Insurers

Insurance companies are vested in minimizing payouts as much as possible, often by denying liability or undermining the claimant's injuries. When representatives from the at-fault party's insurer request recorded statements from car accident victims, their goal is to elicit any information that can harm the claim.

Having a lawyer handle all these communications can protect you from inadvertently saying something that can be twisted out of context to negatively affect your case.

Demonstrate the full extent of your damages

Calculating the actual cost of a car accident that caused severe injuries goes beyond just adding up straightforward costs like hospital bills and vehicle repairs.

Dolman Law Group's attorneys work to ensure your economic and non-economic damages are documented as persuasively as possible, including using expert testimony to forecast the accident's potential long-term impact.

We're also passionate about substantiating the intangible consequences victims and their families experience after an accident, like pain and suffering, which are just as real and deserve compensation. We use many strategies to help clients prove their non-economic damages, such as encouraging them to keep a journal throughout their recovery. 

Negotiate a Settlement With Insurers 

Most South Carolina car accidents will be resolved by the claimant accepting a settlement offer from the at-fault party's insurance company rather than letting the case advance to a formal court trial. However, the negotiation process typically begins with an offer significantly less than the victim's damages.

Many people in this stressful situation will accept a lowball offer, either due to being intimidated by the legal process or simply not knowing what they're entitled to recover.

Our experienced car accident lawyers can play a pivotal role in helping you level the playing field, respond with well-prepared counteroffers, and use their negotiation skills to maximize the value of your claim.

How We Make a Difference for South Carolina Car Accident Victims

The physical and financial strain of being in a car accident can disrupt lives for months or even years after the incident. Getting the compensation you need to rebuild your life involves navigating a complicated legal process, but you don't have to do it alone.

We've walked this path with countless car accident victims at Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA. We are proud of our solid track record of securing favorable settlements and verdicts. From handling all the legal paperwork to demonstrating the full extent of your damages, our team will work tirelessly to strengthen your case. We also hope to create peace of mind by answering your questions, keeping you informed about the progress of your case, and providing empathetic support every step of the way.

Our high-quality legal services are available on a contingency basis, with no upfront costs or hourly fees, so you shouldn't let financial concerns prevent you from hiring an experienced car accident lawyer to represent your interests. Contact Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA, today at 833-552-7274 (833-55-CRASH) for a free consultation to discuss your case and explore your legal options. 

The Dolman Law Group works with local counsel in any jurisdiction outside Florida for the purpose of filing lawsuits in jurisdictions wherein we are not licensed. Thus, we will follow each State's ethical rules to ensure a local attorney is involved.