Sumter Car Wreck Lawyer
Driver error causes 98 percent of the car crashes in South Carolina. The Sumter car wreck lawyers at the Stanley Law Group hold tortfeasors (negligent drivers) responsible for the injuries they cause.
Car crashes often cause one or more kinds of head injuries. The violent motion of a car crash usually causes an sTBI (severe traumatic brain injury), because the brain violently slams against the skull. An mTBI (moderate traumatic brain injury) is basically a concussion. By themselves, these injuries aren’t too serious. However, the cumulative effect of mTBIs causes CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy), a degenerative disease that’s usually fatal.
If a car wreck-related mTBI was the straw that broke the camel’s back, the tortfeasor (negligent driver) is legally responsible for CTE losses, even though the victim had a pre-existing condition. This rule, the eggshell skull rule, applies to most other injuries as well.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, the third major kind of crash-related brain injury, is a physical brain injury. Extreme stress alters the brain’s chemical composition, causing depression, anger, and other PTSD symptoms.
How a Sumter Car Wreck Lawyer Establishes First-Party Liability
To obtain compensation, a lawyer must prove negligence, or a lack of care, by a preponderance of the evidence, or more likely than not.
Most South Carolina drivers have a duty of reasonable care. Drivers breach the duty of reasonable care if they drive:
- While Impaired: Substance abuse, usually alcohol abuse, is the most common driver impairment. Alcohol is a depressant that clouds judgment ability and adversely affects motor skills. Other kinds of driver impairment include drowsiness, a medical condition, and distraction.
- Aggressively: Excessive speed, the most common kind of aggressive driving, increases the risk of a wreck and the force in a collision. Speeding drivers do not have time to react to road hazards, like jaywalking pedestrians or stopped-short vehicles. Speed also multiplies the force in a collision. Other kinds of aggressive driving include making an illegal turn and tailgating.
Evidence in a car wreck claim usually includes the police accident report, witness statements, and medical bills. This evidence could be deceptive.
The police accident report is a good example. Even the most experienced first responder is not an accident reconstruction professional. Instead, responders must do the best they can with the limited evidence available at the time. Furthermore, if the victim sustained a catastrophic (life-threatening) or fatal injury, the report usually only features the tortfeasor’s side of the story.
Electronic evidence, such as surveillance camera footage, often fills in the gaps and helps a Sumter car wreck lawyer accurately reconstruct the collision.
Third-Party Liability
Tortfeasors are legally responsible for collisions. Third parties are often financially responsible for damages. These damages usually include compensation for economic losses, such as medical bills, and noneconomic losses, such as pain and suffering.
Dram shop liability is a good example. Commercial alcohol providers, like restaurants and bars, are financially responsible for alcohol-related crash injuries if they illegally sold alcohol to a customer who later caused a wreck.
Some illegal sales include underage sales, unlicensed sales, and most commonly, sales to individuals who were clearly intoxicated at the time of purchase. Evidence on this point often includes the customer’s physical symptoms, such as bloodshot eyes and slurred speech.
Count on a Detail-Oriented Sumter County Lawyer
Injury victims are entitled to substantial compensation. For a free consultation with an experienced Sumter car wreck lawyer, contact the Stanley Law Group. The sooner you reach out to us, the sooner we start working for you.
