Free Consultation | Columbia/Sumter(803) 973-0304 | Charleston(843) 388-3368 | Summerville (By appointment only)(843) 388-3368
Free Consultation | Columbia/Sumter(803) 973-0304 | Charleston(843) 388-3368 | Summerville (By appointment only)(843) 388-3368
Dayson Shalabi Burkett Law Firm, LLC can help you with your car accident case. Contact us anytime for a free consultation.
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South Carolina has some of the most dangerous roads in the country. However, no one in this state anticipates getting into a car accident until it happens.
And when an accident occurs, having questions is understandable:
If you have any or all of these questions, a car accident lawyer in South Carolina can answer them and provide legal guidance during this difficult time.
As a team of Columbia car accident lawyers, we often help our clients understand what to do after traumatic events. After this stressful and scary situation, there are three primary things to focus on.
Your health and safety are the most critical factors during the aftermath of a car accident, including being more important than speaking with any accident lawyer in Charleston, SC, right away. Completing this step often also strengthens your car accident settlement.
If you sustained injuries in a car accident, seek an attorney quickly. Insurance companies have been through this hundreds of thousands of times; they have the experience that you don’t, and you need an auto accident lawyer in Columbia, SC, who will fight them for you to get you the compensation you are entitled to and deserve.
Plus, a car accident lawyer in South Carolina can prove beneficial in helping you form your car accident case. Having the most robust case could mean the difference between a victory or defeat in court. A Columbia car accident lawyer can help you form a strong claim.
The other party may also be quicker to offer a substantial settlement when learning you have professional legal representation. A lawyer in South Carolina can also assist you with obtaining car accident settlements.
When an accident happens, the at-fault driver’s insurance company starts working immediately. Quite possibly, they may offer you a few hundred dollars within a day or two to “make you go away,” especially before you hire a Charleston car accident lawyer. This situation is unfortunate because it often takes a week for someone to realize their injuries from the accident are more severe than they initially thought.
The insurance company aims to pay as little as possible to keep their profits high. Our Columbia car accident lawyers stand up to insurance companies. Dayson Shalabi Burkett Law Firm, LLC, regularly negotiates on forr clients during their car accident cases throughout the Columbia, South Carolina area.
No matter the size of an insurance company you’re up against, Dayson Shalabi Burkett Law Firm, LLC is a team of South Carolina car accident lawyers ready to represent you.
As auto accident lawyers working throughout Columbia and Charleston, SC, we often receive questions about car accident laws. We also get lots of questions about how the claims process works. Let our team of experienced car accident lawyers in South Carolina answer our most frequently asked questions.
According to annual figures, about 150,000 car accidents happen yearly in South Carolina. This state often ranks higher than the nation’s average figures for yearly accidents. Using data from 2021, South Carolina drivers suffer fatal injuries at an accident rate of 1.97.
In most cases, especially when a collision is severe, these people contact car accident lawyers in Columbia, SC.
Unfortunately, South Carolina often places above the national average regarding car accidents. The previously mentioned fatal car crash rate of 1.97 sadly puts South Carolina in the state with the most traffic fatalities per 1,000,000 miles drivers traveled. That said, this data comes from a 2020 study.
However, as most Charleston car accident lawyers know, it’s common to see South Carolina often placed highly on national accident-related lists.
According to a 2021 study by Insurify, Charleston is the city with the most at-fault car accidents in South Carolina. In Charleston, 15.76% of drivers have prior at-fault car accidents on their records. This figure is 1.06 times higher than South Carolina’s average. As South Carolina car accident lawyers, we help clients in popular cities such as Columbia, Mount Pleasant, and Myrtle Beach during these challenging times
No. South Carolina is an at-fault accident state, meaning that the driver at fault for an accident is liable for the damages it causes. A no-fault state allows each involved party to receive necessary medical treatment. That’s because no-fault states only focus on medical treatment-related matters, meaning one driver can hold another liable for vehicle and property damage.
Schedule a consultation with a Columbia car accident lawyer to learn more about this topic.
Understanding South Carolina’s compensation laws for car accidents is vital. In this state, you must be 50% or less responsible for the crash that happened. If a South Carolina judge or jury finds you responsible for 51% or more of a car accident, you can not seek damages or attempt to obtain compensation for this incident.
A car accident lawyer in South Carolina can provide a more in-depth understanding of this state’s compensation laws and how they pertain to your case.
There’s a reason why you’ll often hear about statutes of limitations while speaking with a car accident lawyer in Charleston. A statute of limitations is how long you have to report a crime. In South Carolina, the statute of limitations for motor vehicle accidents is three years. This statute means you must file a personal injury claim no longer than three years after your car accident.
You won’t be legally able to file a claim after three years pass. Therefore, it is critical to seek a car accident lawyer in South Carolina long before the three-year mark to help ensure you do not miss the statute of limitations for your case.
However, there are specific scenarios where you are limited to a two-year statute of limitations. This is typically for government entities and non-profit organizations (which include hospitals). Contacting an auto accident lawyer in Columbia, SC, can help you learn more about how statutes of limitations pertain to your case.
As our Charleston car accident lawyers know, determining fault is vital after a vehicle collision. Considering the damage caused by typical car accidents, it typically takes several parties in South Carolina to assess fault.
First, as often legally required, law enforcement should arrive at the scene of your accident. Police officers can use security camera footage, eyewitness accounts, driver’s statements, and other sources of information to determine fault in their investigations.
A police officer may find you at fault for a car accident, but the officer may be wrong. It is important to remember that just because an officer finds you at fault, you should still consult with an auto accident lawyer in Columbia, SC, if you believe the responding police officer is mistaken.
Insurance company representatives for each driver will also want to check out this accident scene. Understandably, each side participating in this activity seeks evidence and information favorable to their respective client.
If you and a car accident lawyer in SC go to court, a judge or jury will conduct a trial-related investigation to determine who’s at fault after a collision.
The average settlement in a Columbia, SC, car accident case can vary. Additionally, it’s nearly impossible to accurately determine a precise average due to many different factors that come into play in a car accident. If your accident resulted in minor injuries, an average of $1,000 to $10,000 is possible. Motor vehicle accidents leading to more severe injuries or death can yield settlements anywhere from $25,000 to six or seven-figure totals.
Therefore, our team of SC car accident lawyers must evaluate every claim on a case-by-case basis. Venue and jurisdiction, aggravating factors such as a DUI or hit and run, the amount of insurance the at-fault driver has, and the extent of your injuries are all critical factors in determining an accident settlement value for your case.
You can obtain more accurate settlement-related information by speaking with a car accident lawyer in South Carolina.
A “good” settlement figure is only possible to know after a legal professional hears the details of your case, including injuries, pain, suffering, and vehicle-related damage.
As with determining a post-accident settlement, there’s no way any car accident lawyer in Columbia, SC, or beyond can know how long it will take to settle your car accident claim. Some people or companies want to avoid legal issues and may quickly offer an attractive settlement.
Should the other party not provide a settlement worth accepting, matters go to court by us filing a lawsuit against the at-fault driver. We only file lawsuits on behalf of our clients if our clients do not want to accept the insurance company’s “highest” offer.
The court process typically involves car accident lawyers in South Carolina representing each driver. If that happens, expect your case to take longer to resolve. Sometimes, drivers, companies, and insurance businesses can resolve an accident in several weeks. When neither party budges, the aftermath of a car accident may take one to two years to resolve, even when all parties have representation from auto accident lawyers in Columbia, SC.
Dayson Shalabi Burkett Law Firm, LLC, is an experienced personal injury law firm. We ensure that our Columbia and Charleston car accident lawyers get big-firm results while maintaining a small-firm level of attention to each client we serve. After working with and helping many of South Carolina’s hard-working people, our car accident attorneys know exactly what they’re going through.
If a negligent driver caused an accident that injured you or a loved one, call our South Carolina car accident lawyers at Dayson Shalabi Burkett Law Firm, LLC, at 803-973-0304 or in Charleston at 843-388-3368 for help today!