South Carolina Law - Personal Injury

Knowledgeable attorneys tell you what you need to know about SC laws

The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), which is part of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has the following to say about unintentional injuries:

  • Unintentional injuries are the fifth-leading cause of death nationwide
  • 65 percent of injury deaths are reported as unintentional
  • The top three causes of fatal, unintentional injuries are motor vehicle crashes, falls, and poisonings
  • Accidental suffocation is the leading cause of unintentional injury deaths among infants

All this means that the occurrence of accidents is a constant possibility.  With this possibility comes the potential for civil lawsuits.

How we can help

How can an SC attorney defend you if you are served with a personal injury lawsuit?  Young Clement Rivers, LLP is a Charleston law firm whose staff has been doing just that for 175 years.  The following are some of our methods of defense:

  • Maintain that the suit falls outside the statute of limitations.  For most personal injury lawsuits in the state, the victim has three years from the date the harm was discovered to pursue their claim.  If that time period has passed, we can maintain that he or she waived the opportunity to sue you.
  • Prove that the plaintiff is more than 50 percent responsible for their own injuries.  The law in SC follows one of comparative negligence.  This means that if the plaintiffs can be shown to be equally, or more than equally, responsible for the harm that they suffered, it is much less likely that they will be entitled to financial recovery.
  • Deny that you had a duty to protect the plaintiff.  Plaintiffs only have a viable personal injury case if you had a duty to protect them from harm.  For example, if they were illegally on your property, or there was not a reasonable expectation for them to be there, they probably do not have a sustainable case against you for accidental injuries they suffered while on your property.
  • Show that you did not cause their injury.  If plaintiffs had an injury or condition before the accident occurred, it is entirely possible for their pain to be attributed to factors that have nothing to do with you.  If so, then a court could find you do not have to pay them compensation for the accident.

Contact us today

Young Clement Rivers, LLP has the highly qualified and seasoned South Carolina advocates that you need.  To speak to a lawyer in SC today, call 843-577-4000.