Bodily Injury and Personal Injury
April 22, 2024 – Paul Hammack
If you suffered a bodily injury in an accident, then you experienced physical or emotional harm for which you may file a personal injury lawsuit. If your loved one passed away from an accident-related bodily injury, you may file a wrongful death lawsuit. Our firm can help you with both types of cases.
Seeking Compensation for a Bodily Injury
Per the South Carolina Department of Insurance (SCDOI), your bodily injury could entitle you to both economic and non-economic damages.
How do I Qualify for Economic Damages?
Economic damages include whatever financial losses you suffered that can be traced back to the bodily injury. Such losses may include:
- Lost income: You missed out on days’ or weeks’ worth of pay when your accident injuries prevented you from working.
- Lost earning capacity: Your ability to earn a living has been permanently hindered by your accident injuries.
- Medical expenses: This can refer both to emergency treatment (e.g., a trip to urgent care) and long-term treatment (e.g., home nursing or pain medication).
- Repair costs: You had to fix or replace your car. While waiting for it to be repaired, you spent additional money on transportation (e.g., a rental car).
How do I Qualify for Non-Economic Damages?
To recover non-economic damages, you need to have sustained physical or mental harm – in other words, a bodily injury. Common examples of non-economic damages include:
- Disfigurement: You have significant scarring that you cannot cover up, which affects your ability to use the scarred area, and so on.
- Disability: The injuries caused brain damage or cost you the use of any body part.
- Lost quality of life: The injuries prevent you from living the kind of life you want. You may need help with certain activities or have to give up hobbies.
- Pain and suffering: The physical and psychological consequences of the accident have taken a heavy toll on you.
What Damages are Available After a Wrongful Death?
If you lost a loved one in a preventable accident, please accept our condolences for your loss. Our firm wants to make this difficult time easier by fighting on your behalf for the compensation you need. This could include damages like those described above, as well as:
- Loss of companionship: Your loved one was an irreplaceable source of comfort, affection, and guidance.
- Funeral expenses: You had to pay out of pocket to fulfill your loved one’s last wishes.
- Loss of financial support: Without your loved one around to contribute income, it is much more difficult for you to pay bills and make ends meet.
Our Office Can Help After a Bodily Injury
Filing a lawsuit comes with many challenges, especially if you have just sustained a serious bodily injury or lost a loved one in an unexpected accident. Our law firm can make the process easier by:
- Providing responsive care: Your wellbeing comes first. We always make ourselves available to address your concerns and help you make decisions.
- Investigating the accident: We will visit the scene, track down witnesses, request documentary evidence, and more.
- Communicating with other parties: You do not have to speak directly with the liable party or anyone representing them.
- Negotiating for compensation: Armed with all available evidence, we can meet with the insurance company and fight for a fair settlement.
- Going to court: While we do our utmost to get our clients a fast settlement, we do not hesitate to go to trial when necessary.
- Working for a contingency fee: If we cannot get compensation for you, then we do not charge you attorney’s fees.
To protect your right to sue, get started as quickly as possible. Per S.C. Ann § 15-3-530, the statute of limitations for filing a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit is three years. You must begin your case within that time period, or it is not valid.
How do Bodily Injuries Happen?
You have the right to sue after:
Motor vehicle accidents, if you were hit by a car, truck, motorcycle, or other vehicle
- Slip and fall accidents, if you slipped or tripped on someone else’s property
- Workplace accidents, if you sustained an injury while on the job
- Dog bites, if someone else’s animal attacked you
- Medical malpractice, if a doctor failed to provide you with competent care
- Product liability, if you were injured or sickened by a faulty product that should never have been put on the market
In a lawsuit, what kind of accident you (or your loved one) suffered matters less than your ability to prove that another party’s recklessness or negligence caused the accident and subsequent injury.
Call Today for a Free Consultation
At Hammack Law Firm, we are dedicated to seeking financial compensation for every single client. To get help with filing a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit after a devastating bodily injury, call us at (864) 326-3333(864) 326-3333. We will get you started with a free case review.