In the mid-2010s, many media organizations and government units began replacing the phrase “car accident” with “car crash.” The latter phrase better describes these incidents. The A-word implies the incident was inevitable and unavoidable. But driver error causes over 98 percent of the vehicle collisions in South Carolina. This error is usually aggressive driving,…
Alcohol-related crash victims have multiple legal options, and they need them. Alcohol is a factor in about a third of the fatal car accidents in South Carolina. This proportion has increased since pandemic lockdowns began in 2020. During these lockdowns, vehicle traffic and traffic enforcement both dropped to practically nothing in many areas. Therefore,…
We have heard this question much more frequently in recent years, since South Carolina’s violent crime rate has increased so much in such a short period of time. For example, the murder rate, which had declined recently, hit a thirty-year high in 2021. Criminal courts punish these offenders. However, in most cases, criminal courts…
As more legal options become available, over the last decade, the total insurance company payout for dog bite settlements has increased almost 50 percent. As outlined below, South Carolina law is especially complex when it comes to legal options in dog bite claims. Lawmakers have tried to find a middle ground between pet owners,…
Playgrounds aren’t always fun and games. Every year, emergency room doctors treat about 200,000 children who were injured at playgrounds. Most of these injuries are falls. Serious fall injuries are especially common on older playgrounds which don’t have the proper rubber or other protective surfaces. A few less common types of playground injuries are…
Few details were available about a four-car collision that seriously injured three people in four vehicles. Crews responded to the call in the area of River Oaks Drive and World Tour Boulevard. Firefighters had to extricate at least one victim from a vehicle before other emergency responders rushed them to a nearby hospital. Car…
Speed is always a critical factor in car crashes. This element is even more critical in pedestrian accident claims. The pedestrian fatality rate is less than 10 percent if the tortfeasor’s (negligent driver’s) vehicle was traveling slower than 15mph at the moment of impact. That fatality rate catapults to over 90 percent if the…
South Carolina recently was at the top of a list no one wanted to be on. The Palmetto State has one of the highest violent crime rates in the country. Sexual assault may be one of the worst of these violent crimes, because this offense affects victims in so many different ways. Criminal courts…
Nursing home understaffing is usually the root cause of nursing home negligence. Overworked employees are stressed-out employees who often act out in ways that harm nursing home residents. Furthermore, employees at understaffed nursing homes frequently take shortcuts or try to perform jobs they aren’t qualified to perform. These problems are widespread. Over 90 percent…
Some combination of a violent collision and smoke inhalation killed four people in a Ford truck that smacked into an illegally-parked dump truck. The wreck happened on I-85 South between University City Boulevard and West W.T. Harris Boulevard. According to investigators, the victims were riding in a Ford truck that hit an improperly parked…