South Carolina Personal Injury Lawyer

Personal Injury Attorney in South Carolina

Whenever one party’s actions cause any type of harm to another party, it can form the foundation of a personal injury lawsuit. Success with this civil case requires proof that the defendant directly caused your damages through negligence or illegal misconduct, and this may be more challenging than you expect. A South Carolina personal injury lawyer can be an invaluable asset for your impending civil suit.

Experienced Personal Injury Counsel in South Carolina

The Tatum Law Firm, PLLC, has more than 20 years of professional experience representing all types of complex personal injury claims on behalf of clients. Attorney Brian Tatum and his team take time to learn each client’s unique story, identifying their greatest challenges and most important opportunities when it comes to recovering from their injuries. If you need a personal injury lawyer in South Carolina, we are ready to assist with your case.

The right attorney can have a tremendous positive influence on your experience with a personal injury claim and significantly improve your chance of maximizing your recovery. You may be entitled to more compensation than you initially expected and will need seasoned legal counsel on your side to maximize the results of your case. A South Carolina personal injury lawyer can handle the procedural aspects of your claim so you can focus on recovery with confidence.

Ultimately, you have the greatest chance of success with any type of personal injury suit if you have legal counsel you can trust on your side. When you choose the Tatum Law Firm, PLLC, to represent you, you will have a dedicated personal injury lawyer ready to assist with every phase of your case, from gathering the evidence you need to prove fault for your damages to uncovering the full extent of the compensation you can claim in South Carolina.

Types of Personal Injury Cases We Represent in South Carolina

When you have experienced a personal injury of any kind and are seeking legal representation to help recover, it is vital that you find an attorney who has proven experience in handling cases similar to yours. The Tatum Law Firm, PLLC, has a strong professional record of successful claims, and we have earned a reputation as a leading choice for personal injury counsel.

Experience is one of the most important considerations to make when choosing a South Carolina personal injury lawyer to represent you. The Tatum Law Firm, PLLC, has experience with many types of personal injury claims, and we are confident in our ability to address the unique issues you currently face as you seek compensation for your damages.

Our firm is ready to assist you with a wide range of personal injury cases, including:

• Motor Vehicle Accident Claims: Car, truck, and motorcycle accidents can cause tremendous damages, and your recovery from any such accident is likely to require an auto insurance claim followed by a personal injury suit. We can help prove fault for your accident, navigate the insurance claim filing process, and secure maximum compensation for your damages with a personal injury suit if necessary.
• Premises Liability Claims: If you have suffered a slip and fall on someone else’s property, the property owner is likely responsible for the resulting damages. The state’s premises liability laws require all property owners to address foreseeable safety issues as soon as they appear and take steps to prevent injuries to lawful visitors. If they fail in this responsibility, they face liability for the resulting damages.
• Workplace Injury Claims: If you were hurt while working, your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance is likely to be your first channel of recovery, but you could have grounds for further legal recourse if a specific party bears fault for the injury you suffered. Our team can help you navigate all the various recovery options you may have after an injury at your workplace.
• Product Liability Claims: When you have suffered an injury from a defective or unreasonably dangerous consumer product, you likely have grounds for a civil claim against the manufacturer. To succeed with this type of case, you must prove the product was defective, failed to perform as advertised, or pose an unreasonable safety risk through the normal intended use of the product.
• Catastrophic Injury Claims: Traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, severe burns, and all other personal injuries that result in permanent disability and/or disfigurement qualify as catastrophic, and the plaintiff in such a case may be entitled to substantial compensation to reflect the severity of the harm they suffered.

Whatever type of personal injury case you must file, our firm can assist you through all stages of the claim filing process, from gathering the evidence you need to establish liability to proving the full extent of your damages. Remember that it is possible for multiple parties to share fault for a personal injury, including the plaintiff. Our team can address any such issues present in your case.

Proving liability is an essential first step in any personal injury case. You must identify the party or parties bearing fault for your damages and prove exactly how they caused the damages. Depending on how your personal injury happened, it could involve various forms of evidence, such as physical evidence from the scene of an accident to eyewitness testimony, and even input from various expert witnesses.

Once you have determined fault for your personal injury, you are ready to start uncovering all the damages you can seek from the defendant. The average client is unlikely to reveal the full scope of their claimable losses on their own. The Tatum Law Firm, PLLC, approaches every personal injury claim we accept in the state with the goal of helping our clients recover as fully as state law allows.

Claiming Compensation for Your South Carolina Personal Injury Case

The main objective of your personal injury claim is to prove the full extent of the damages you suffered from the defendant’s negligence or illegal misconduct. You may be entitled to more compensation than you initially realize, and a seasoned personal injury lawyer can be invaluable for the help they can provide in proving the full scope of your claimable losses.

Economic damages will be the most straightforward component of your personal injury case. These include the direct financial losses you suffered because of the defendant’s actions, such as:

• Property Damage: If your personal property was damaged or destroyed by the defendant, for example, your home, vehicle, or other property, they are responsible for all associated repair and replacement costs. Some of these losses may be recovered through insurance, depending on how the injury occurred. For example, the defendant’s auto insurance may pay for some vehicle repair costs after a car accident.
• Medical Expenses: The majority of personal injury claims involve physical harm. If a defendant caused physical injuries with their actions, they are liable for all resulting medical expenses. This includes both immediate and future medical treatment costs arising from the accident, and your South Carolina personal injury lawyer can ensure all medical expenses are appropriately reflected in your case.
• Lost Wages: If the plaintiff in a personal injury case was unable to work following their injury, the defendant who caused the injury is liable for the income they were unable to earn during their recovery period.
• Lost Future Income: Unfortunately, some personal injuries leave victims permanently disabled. They may be unable to return to work or may only be able to handle lower-paying work due to their disability. If this applies to your situation, your personal injury lawyer can help hold the defendant accountable for the future income you are no longer able to earn.

Economic damages are generally proven with the appropriate documentation. You may be able to assess immediately recognizable damages on your own, but you will need a seasoned attorney’s help to calculate the full range of long-term economic damages you can seek from the defendant. You may be surprised to discover that you can seek far more economic damages than you initially expected, but your recovery does not end there.

Claiming Pain and Suffering Compensation for a Personal Injury in SC

The South Carolina personal injury law only limits pain and suffering compensation for plaintiffs in medical malpractice cases. In all other personal injury claims, plaintiffs may seek as much compensation as they believe to be appropriate to reflect the severity of the harm they suffered because of the defendant’s actions.

This may sound difficult to translate into monetary terms, but your personal injury lawyer can provide valuable direction with this aspect of your claim.

Most attorneys use two methods for calculating appropriate pain and suffering compensation for their personal injury clients. The first is the multiplier method, most often used for clients who have suffered significant long-term or permanent harm from a defendant’s actions. The attorney adds up the total of the client’s economic damages and then multiplies this amount by a factor between one and five.

The second method is the per diem method, which focuses on the time it takes a plaintiff to fully recover from their injury. This is more suitable for a client who is expected to make a complete recovery in the short term and assesses pain and suffering based on recovery time. The attorney determines a suitable amount of daily compensation to reflect their client’s pain and suffering and then multiplies this amount by the number of days it takes the client to recover.

Ultimately, pain and suffering compensation could form the bulk of your total recovery from a personal injury. When you have an experienced South Carolina personal injury lawyer representing you, you are not only more likely to succeed in proving fault for your damages but also more likely to maximize the compensation you receive for those damages, and that includes maximizing your pain and suffering compensation.

What to Expect From Your Personal Injury Lawyer in South Carolina

The right attorney can have a significant positive impact on the outcome of your impending personal injury case. The Tatum Law Firm, PLLC, aims to help each client recover as fully as possible as quickly as possible, and our team excels at resolving complex personal injury cases efficiently. You have a limited time in which to file your case, and the more time your attorney has to build your case, the more likely you are to succeed.

When you hire our firm to represent you, we can begin by helping you gather the evidence needed to firmly prove fault for your damages. We can help you identify each party that may bear fault for your personal injury and gather all evidence required to firmly prove that their negligence or intentional misconduct directly caused your claimed damages. Our goal is to create a detailed initial complaint that compels the defendant to seek a swift settlement.

We know how to uncover all the various channels of compensation that may be available to you after your injury, and we are often able to exceed our clients’ expectations when it comes to the total compensation we can secure on their behalf. Our firm generally aims to settle personal injury cases outside of court whenever possible, but we are fully prepared to represent you in litigation if necessary.

It is understandable for any victim of a personal injury to have lots of pressing legal questions they cannot answer alone, and facing any type of civil court proceedings can be very daunting. However, with the right attorney on your side, you can approach this difficult process with confidence. The Tatum Law Firm, PLLC, is ready to provide the full extent of our resources, skills, and experience in helping you recover from your personal injury.

South Carolina Personal Injury FAQs

Q: What Is the Statute of Limitations for a Personal Injury Claim?

A: The statute of limitations is the time limit in which you must file your personal injury case. In South Carolina, the time limit for most personal injury cases is three years from the date the injury occurred. If you do not file your case with the court within this time limit, you lose your chance to claim compensation from the defendant. It is always advisable for a plaintiff to file their case as soon as possible after an injury with the help of an experienced attorney.

Q: What Happens if a Plaintiff Shares Fault With a Defendant for Causing an Injury?

A: The state enforces a modified comparative fault rule that applies to any civil claim for damages in which the plaintiff shares fault with the defendant. The plaintiff’s fault threshold for recovery is 51% in the state, meaning the plaintiff must prove they are 50% or less at fault to recover any compensation. Whatever percentage of fault is assigned to them is deducted from their case award, and they keep the remainder.

Q: Will a Defendant Go to Jail for Causing a Personal Injury?

A: Most of the personal injury claims pertain to acts of negligence. Defendants in these claims face liability for the damages they caused, but they will only face criminal prosecution if they break the law. If a defendant has broken the law in causing a personal injury, they face not only civil liability for the victim’s damages but also criminal prosecution, and their penalties for conviction can increase significantly to reflect the harm done.

Q: Will I Win More Compensation if I Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer?

A: Hiring a personal injury attorney to assist you with your personal injury case is one of the most effective ways you can increase your final case award. You may be aware of the immediate economic losses you can seek from the defendant who injured you, but accurately calculating the full long-term economic impact of the personal injury can be very difficult without an attorney. They can also help maximize the pain and suffering compensation you win from the defendant.

Q: What Does It Cost to Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer?

A: The Tatum Law Firm, PLLC, does not charge personal injury clients upfront or ongoing attorneys’ fees. If you choose our team to represent you, you will only pay a fee if and when we win your case, and the fee you pay will be a percentage of the final case award we recover on your behalf. There is no fee if we cannot obtain a case award, so there is no financial risk in choosing our team as your legal counsel.

Experienced South Carolina Personal Injury Law Firm

After a personal injury, you need a compassionate and skilled attorney to navigate South Carolina’s complex laws. At the Tatum Law Firm, we know that protecting our clients is not about being the biggest firm but about having the strongest strategy.

The Tatum Law Firm, PLLC, has years of professional experience resolving all types of personal injury claims, and we can put this experience to work for you in your impending case. You have a limited time in which to file your claim with the court, so it is vital that you reach out to our firm as soon as possible for assistance. Contact us today and schedule your free consultation with a South Carolina personal injury lawyer.