South Carolina Truck Accident Attorney

A South Carolina Truck Accident Attorney Can Manage Your Case While You Recover

Corporate irresponsibility and greed have held too much control over a victim’s future for decades. The Goldwater Law Firm will not stand by while the injured are denied fair compensation for their losses and the responsible party pays nothing. We treat every client with empathy, dedication, and respect, especially when they’re feeling scared, angry, and facing the most challenging time of their lives.

When we connect you with a South Carolina truck crash lawyer, you won’t have to worry about managing your case. Your only priority should be to get better. Our law firm partners allow you to do that. They will perform these tasks while you’re in recovery:

• Keeping you informed on the status of your case
• Building and presenting a comprehensive evidence file
• Promptly answering your questions via email or phone calls
• Leading settlement negotiations with the insurance company
• Dealing with all correspondence
• Representing you throughout all legal proceedings
• Naming all liable parties in your case

Every law firm’s payment policy varies. Some may ask for an upfront payment, retainer, or even an hourly rate. However, many personal injury lawyers are paid on contingency. That means they will not charge you a dime out of pocket. Instead, they will take their payment if and when they secure compensation on your behalf. The initial step is usually a free case evaluation.

Recovering Damages With a South Carolina Truck Accident Lawyer

As one of the country’s most widely recognized law firms, we believe your and your family’s needs are our priority. This belief inspires our law firm partners to go the extra mile for their clients, helping ensure they receive justice for what they’ve endured.

The forms of compensation injured clients can receive will depend on the circumstances of their case. However, by and large, they’re typically entitled to pursue the following:

Economic Damages

These losses came with a price tag, some of which include:

• Past and future medical expenses, which may account for assistive medical technology, medicine, surgeries, physical therapy, blood and imaging tests, and ongoing appointments
• Loss of income if you weren’t able to take home your standard pay in addition to other benefits, opportunities, and bonuses while you were recovering
• Reduced earning capacity if you can’t go back to work in the same capacity for the foreseeable future or altogether
• Property damage if you need to repair or replace your vehicle

Wage statements, medical bills and records, and vehicle repair invoices and receipts can all substantiate your truck accident claim for compensation for these damages.

Non-Economic Damages

On top of the financial burden of an 18-wheeler truck accident, suffering from such injuries as burns, broken bones, traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, and soft tissue injuries may also cause victims emotional and physical turmoil.

The injuries you sustained in the crash may entitle you to compensation for your pain and suffering, mental anguish, scarring and disfigurement, and diminished quality of life. A South Carolina truck accident attorney can assess the effects of these damages on your well-being so they can determine a fair amount to go after for you.

Wrongful Death Damages

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) affirms that large trucks made up 8.5% of vehicles involved in deadly crashes in South Carolina in 2022. If your loved one didn’t survive their truck accident injuries, you could qualify to file a wrongful death case. You may request coverage for these damages:

• Loss of services
• Funeral and burial costs
• Loss of companionship
• Final medical bills
• Loss of wages and benefits

Your South Carolina wrongful death attorney can determine who is eligible to benefit from compensation when filing the case. Reach out to The Goldwater Law Firm today to explore your legal options further.

Identifying the Liable Parties in a South Carolina Truck Accident Case

Truck accident cases are known for being complicated since multiple parties tend to be involved. When you hire a commercial truck accident lawyer, they can review and compile different forms of evidence to piece together the who and what behind the crash. They may look at the following documentation and information:

• Traffic camera footage
• Dashcam video
• Black box data
• Truck maintenance records
• Relevant photographs
• The police report
• Eyewitness accounts
• Driver logs
• Your medical records

We work with an extensive network of industry experts and specialists, such as physicians, drug experts, and accident reconstruction specialists, to gain more insight into what causes these crashes and their effects on the victims.

Parties who typically carry responsibility in truck accidents include:

The Truck Driver

Driver error is typically the most common cause of truck accidents. It may manifest as:

• Impaired driving
• Failing to adhere to the hours of service regulations
• Distracted driving
• Fatigued driving
• Poor turning
• Failing to yield the right of way
• Running a red light
• Failing to merge or change lanes properly
• Speeding or driving too fast for conditions

Despite the truck driver causing the collision, they oftentimes wouldn’t be the ones you would sue for compensation. Although these individuals can be private contractors, they usually work for a trucking company. Because of a principle called vicarious liability, their employer would be responsible for them should they have caused a crash.

The Trucking Company

Even though the trucking company probably didn’t directly cause an accident, there are instances where their negligence could have led to it if they:

• Didn’t properly vet their drivers
• Cut corners when implementing safety regulations
• Urged their drivers to ignore the hours of service so that they could make more deliveries
• Failed to maintain the truck properly
• Inadequately trained their drivers

Reviewing backend documentation, like driver logs and employee driving history, will enable your South Carolina commercial truck accident lawyer to determine if and how the trucking company contributed to the collision.

Other Parties

The responsible parties for a truck accident case aren’t just limited to the truck driver and the trucking company. It also could have been any of the following:

• The truck manufacturer if they designed, produced, or distributed a defective vehicle component
• A city government agency, if it didn’t maintain the conditions of the road
• The cargo company may be liable if the employees improperly load cargo onto the truck
• The maintenance crew, if they failed to replace worn and damaged parts
• Another road user, like a driver, motorcyclist, or pedestrian

Your South Carolina 18-wheeler truck accident lawyer’s investigation may show that multiple parties contributed to what happened. In that case, they can go after each party based on their portion of the blame so that you can get the maximum compensation for your case.

Starting Your South Carolina Truck Accident Case Soon Is Vital

Getting right to work on building your truck accident case is crucial for pursuing compensation from the other party. Every state enforces a statute of limitations, the legal deadline for filing a lawsuit.

In South Carolina, most people generally have three years to sue for personal injury or wrongful death, per S.C. Ann. Code § 15-3-530. The only difference between the two is that the clock starts ticking for personal injury on the day of the crash, but for wrongful death, it begins the day the decedent passed away from the related accident. In some cases, exceptions apply, but they’re not common.

Holding off on your lawsuit could lead to negative consequences. As such, if you don’t adhere to the deadline, the judge could deny your case, which would release all liable parties from the responsibility of covering your losses. The best way to avoid this unfortunate outcome is to get with a South Carolina truck accident attorney today. They know how to meet tight deadlines and can help ensure you file suit on time.