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Greenville Personal Injury Lawyer
After a serious injury, you deserve compensation for the suffering you’ve been put through. That can be overwhelming, so be sure you have a Greenville personal injury attorney on your side.
After a serious injury, you deserve compensation for the suffering you’ve experienced. Managing serious injuries can be overwhelming, so secure the legal support of a Greenville personal injury attorney as soon as possible.
An accident can happen at any time. Whether you are wandering around a store, visiting a friend, or simply driving down the road on your motorcycle, it only takes a moment to suffer a catastrophic injury. However, securing the compensation you need to effectively recover can certainly be a challenge.
You should not be expected to pay for your injury. Yet, fighting back against that isn’t easy. You’ll need to prove the at-fault individual should pay. When you’re already dealing with the impact of your injuries, along with the mounting medical expenses, that’s easier said than done.
That does not mean you have to fight alone. With a Greenville personal injury lawyer, you’ll have an experienced legal ally. At HawkLaw, P.A., we know a personal injury can be devastating, so get help with your claim today by reaching out to us. Call 888.HAWK.LAW or use our contact page today to schedule your free case review.*
Types Of Personal Injury Claims
First, what is a personal injury? Generally, it is any injury that someone else caused because of negligence or willful misconduct. This definition covers any suffering a person causes you, wherever you are, when the accident happens. Understanding the details of your claim can help you seek compensation, so your lawyer should cover these details.
Several different claim types fall under personal injury. The list below gives just a few examples of what you might experience:
Car Accidents
When another person causes a car crash or collision, you can be left with severe injuries, some of which may be permanent. You will need to focus on determining the cause of the motor vehicle accident and finding the at-fault driver if you weren’t in a single-car crash. (If you were in a single-car crash, it’s still possible that another party was at fault, so speak to your Greenville accident lawyer if this is your situation.) Motorcycle accidents and truck accidents also fall in this category, though these tend to have more serious injuries for accident victims than auto accidents.
Work-Related Injuries
Some work injuries aren’t covered by workers’ compensation, leaving you in a tough spot. You may need to sue your employer for the damages you have suffered, which may be intimidating without help.
Dog Attacks
Pets aren’t always man’s best friend. If you were attacked by an unprovoked dog, you will need to fight back and sue the owner for your suffering. They are liable for their dog’s actions, so do not hesitate to fight for your compensation.
Dangerous and Defective Products
In some cases, an injury may come from a product defect. Whether your toaster caught fire or your airbag didn’t deploy properly, you’re now injured and suffering. Fortunately, you’ll have a chance to fight back when a product injures you under product liability law.
Medical Malpractice
We trust doctors with our health, but sometimes, that trust is misplaced. When you are injured because your doctor was careless with your safety, reach out to a Greenville personal injury attorney for help in getting your compensation.
Wrongful Death
Wrongful death is a specific type of personal injury case in Greenville that occurs when the injury victim dies as a result of the accident. These cases tend to occur when the accident leads to catastrophic injuries. The loved ones of the victim can seek financial compensation from the at-fault party and their insurance company with the help of a South Carolina personal injury law firm.
Other Types of Cases
Personal injury law covers many different types of accidents. Some other legal issues that also fall in this category include dog bites, premises liability cases, pedestrian accidents, and nursing home abuse and neglect cases.
Your Injuries Are Serious
After your accident, you might not be thinking about a lawsuit. Instead, you are focused on your pain and the cost of your time at the hospital. Sadly, this situation can leave you struggling to overcome your accident.
A serious accident comes with serious injuries, and you’ll need to keep track of the injuries you’ve suffered. By doing so, you will have a better idea of their impact. You need to know how much they cost, how much of an impact they have had on your life, and how much pain you have suffered.
Your injuries will matter, so if you have not been keeping up with all of your medical details, it’s important to begin now. Personal injury cases involve various types of injuries. Your lawyer can help you use that information when you have suffered a severe injury, such as the following:
- Traumatic brain injury
- Back injury
- Whiplash
- Broken bone
- Burn injury
- Spine injury
- Spinal cord injury
South Carolina Law Affects Greenville Claims
Unfortunately, getting compensation for your injuries is not as simple as proving that you were injured. Instead, personal injury claims in Greenville must also focus on the South Carolina laws that could get your claim dismissed. If you don’t follow these, you may not receive the full compensation you deserve, so be ready to take action to protect your claim.
In South Carolina, most personal injury claims have a time limit of three years, which means you’ll need to move quickly to file your claim within three years of the accident. If you fail to do so, your claim will be dismissed, and you will be ineligible for compensation.
That means that if you don’t act quickly enough, you could be left holding the bill for the injuries someone else caused. Be sure that you’re paying attention to the time that’s passed, but also be sure you’re paying attention to all laws affecting your claim.
Negligence Laws And Your Claim
You may have acted in time to secure your claim, but that does not guarantee the full compensation you deserve. Instead, you’ll need to act in time and protect yourself from accusations of fault.
South Carolina recognizes comparative negligence, which means that you might be held partly responsible for the accident. If you’re found partly at fault, your compensation will be reduced by that amount. If you’re more than 50 percent at fault, your claim will be dismissed.
For example, let’s say you were on government property when you slipped and fell, but you were on the phone during the accident. You might be found responsible for 10 percent of the accident, which means you will receive 90 percent of your compensation. While you will still be able to recover some damages in this case, we’ll focus on maximizing the compensation available for your recovery.
Compensation Available For Greenville Residents
Once your Greenville, South Carolina lawyer has discussed what laws you’ll need to remember for your unique claim, you’ll need to know what that claim is worth. There are different types of compensation to pursue in a personal injury claim.
Economic Damages
First, you can seek to pursue economic damages. These damages cover the financial losses you have suffered, which can be calculated by adding up the expenses you’ve accumulated. Your lawyer will also find the future costs if, for example, you need to return to the hospital for treatment or other care. These damages include any of the following:
- Current and future medical costs
- Current and future lost wages
- Property damages
Non-Economic Damages
Your non-economic damages, however, aren’t so simple. These damages cover the emotional and mental losses you’ve suffered because of the accident, which can also impact your life. Unfortunately, they’re also intangible, which means you cannot effectively calculate these on your own. Instead, speak to your Greenville personal injury lawyer about the worth of the following damages, among others:
- Emotional trauma
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
Wrongful Death Damages
Wrongful death has some of the same types of damages as any other personal injury case, such as pain and suffering, but it has some unique categories as well. These include:
Cost of Medical Care
Before someone involved in an accident dies, medical teams often provide care to try to keep death from occurring. This care leaves behind costs for the victim’s family, and those costs should be part of the payment when seeking maximum compensation for the accident.
Funeral and Burial Costs
An unexpected funeral and burial can lead to thousands of dollars of costs that a family was not prepared to cover. Seeking legal services during this time can protect you from these unwanted costs during an already stressful time.
Loss of Companionship and Protection
When someone dies, the loss of companionship is felt deeply. Many verdicts in wrongful death cases cover payment for this emotional suffering, even though you may not be able to put a price tag on the loss of companionship. If the person had a protecting role in their family, such as in the loss of a parent, that also is part of the compensation.
Pain and Suffering
General pain and suffering of the surviving family members is another category in a wrongful death case. Again, putting a dollar value on this is not easy, which is why you will want to work with a qualified South Carolina law office that focuses on this practice area.
What Are Punitive Damages in Greenville, South Carolina?
Punitive damages are a special type of compensation used in personal injury cases. This is money paid to an injury victim in addition to the compensation. The goal of punitive damages is to punish the defendant if serious wrongdoing is part of the case.
In South Carolina, injury victims must have clear and convincing evidence that “willful, wanton, or reckless conduct” of the at-fault party occurred. Also, the legal team can ask for punitive damages, but they cannot state how much they believe they should be. The amount will be based on the Noneconomic Damage Awards Statute, which lists many factors that the court will consider. During your free case evaluation,* your lawyer may offer thoughts on how much this might be, but only the jury can put a dollar amount on it.
Why Choose HawkLaw For Your Personal Injury Case
HawkLaw has a long history of providing personal injury legal services to our clients in Greenville County. Our knowledgeable attorneys have a combined experience of more than 100 years practicing law. The attorney-client relationship is important to us, and in every case, we fight to win! You can rest assured when you work with HawkLaw, our legal team will advocate for you and stand by your side every step of the way.
Our clients choose HawkLaw for our understanding of the legal field, along with our dedication to pursuing a favorable outcome for injury victims. Our Greenville personal injury team is committed to helping you receive justice and the best outcome possible in your case.
Client Testimonials
Over the decades, HawkLaw has demonstrated its commitment and ability to fight for our clients. We also take pride in providing high levels of customer service to every claimant in every case. The testimonials we receive consistently provide us with positive feedback and support the fact we consistently and aggressively work hard for our clients to get them the results they deserve.
Results
The personal injury attorneys at HawkLaw have a proven success rate for our clients. Here are some examples of the results our legal team has gotten for our clients.
- $3,000,000* for a trucking accident case
- $200,000* for a drunk driving case
- $575,000* in a reckless driving case
- $155,000* in a workers’ compensation case
To date, our law firm has over $200 million recovered* for our clients. While every case is different, we will carefully go through the particulars of your case and calculate all your economic and non-economic damages to come up with a fair value of your claim for us to pursue.
What is the Statute of Limitations For a Personal Injury Claim in Greenville, South Carolina?
Pursuant to South Carolina code §15-3-20, in most cases you will only have three years from the date of the injury.
Representing Greenville Residents Since 2002
Dealing with a personal injury claim is difficult, and if you’re not careful, your claim could be dismissed. You are already dealing with enough after a vehicle accident or other injury-causing accident, and worrying about the legal side of things is stress you do not need. If you’re struggling to recover, you need a lawyer from HawkLaw, P.A. to help you fight back and get the full compensation you deserve.
If you need help and are unsure where to start, reach out to our Greenville personal injury attorneys. Our free consults* can help you understand what your claim needs and why our lawyers can help. We can help you get your bearings and start as soon as possible. We often work on a contingency fee basis for personal injury claims, which means you don’t pay unless we win.*
We proudly serve much of Upstate South Carolina, including Anderson, Columbia, Laurens, and Pickens from our Greenville law office.
Ready to get going on your claim? Reach out to a Greenville personal injury lawyer. Take advantage of our free consultations* by calling our firm at 888.HAWK.LAW or by filling out our online contact form below.
Disclaimer: None of the information presented on this page is a substitute for legal representation from a qualified law firm. It should not be taken as legal advice.
Frequent Asked Questions
To have a personal injury claim in South Carolina, you will have to be involved in a negligence-related accident. It can be challenging to know if you have a viable personal injury claim. HawkLaw will carefully assess the circumstances surrounding your accident and evaluate your claim.
Anyone who has been involved in a negligence-related accident in Greenville can file a personal injury claim to cover the medical bills, lost income, and other losses they have endured. If there was a wrongful death, the survivors of the victim may be able to file.
A negligent party is the individual who caused you injury or harm. Examples of negligent parties include reckless drivers, negligent doctors or other healthcare providers, careless property owners or employers, or manufacturers of defective products. HawkLaw will identify all negligent parties and aggressively pursue your case in accordance with the South Carolina code of negligence.
To prove your personal injury claim, you will need to establish three points:
-The defendant owed you a duty of care,
-The defendant’s breach of that duty by negligence or omission, and
-You suffered damages due to the defendant’s breach of duty.
If you are unsure, consider contacting our knowledgeable personal injury attorneys at HawkLaw.
In short, it depends. Some cases will go to trial while others will not. It is common for a Greenville personal injury claim to be settled prior to going to trial, although every case is different. HawkLaw’s South Carolina trial lawyers have years of experience and will negotiate to obtain a fair settlement. If a settlement cannot be reached, we will take your case to court.
Being that every case is different, it is hard to provide an exact time frame of how long a case will take. Several factors will apply, including the complexity of the claim, the defendant’s willingness to settle, or the severity of your injuries. It can take some time to fully know the extent of your injuries. We want as much information as possible about your long-term injuries or permanent disabilities to fully evaluate the worth of your claim.
Visit Our Office
Greenville, SC 29615
John Hawkins is the Founder and CEO of HawkLaw He has been licensed to practice law in South Carolina since his graduation with honors in 1994 from the University of South Carolina School of Law, where he was on the Law Review and Order of Wig and Robe.
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$3,000,000*SettlementTrucking Accident
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$1,005,000*SettlementCar Accident
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$575,000*SettlementPersonal Injury
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