Uneven Sidewalks And Premises Liability

Part of the appeal of South Carolina as a tourist destination is that the weather is almost always suitable for going outdoors.  Of course, the great outdoors has plenty of hazards, even in a place like South Carolina, where you usually do not have to worry about extremes of temperature.  If you swim in a lake or river, or even wade by the water’s edge, there is a chance that you will cross paths with an alligator.  South Carolina is known for its ATV enthusiasts, but if you ride your ATV in traffic, you are at risk of a collision with a car, and there have even been instances of collisions at designated ATV parks.  One would imagine that the preferred recreational activity of the risk averse would simply be to walk on the sidewalks of South Carolina’s touristic cities, but even then, you might trip on an uneven surface.  If you got injured in an accidental fall on a sidewalk on public or private property in South Carolina, contact a Columbia premises liability lawyer.

Sidewalks Can Be Dangerous Even If You Don’t Slip and Fall

In 2020, a plaintiff filed a lawsuit arising from an injury he sustained while walking on a sidewalk on King Street in Charleston.  The lawsuit says that, in 2018, the man stepped on an uneven part of the sidewalk and “rolled his ankle.”  The news report about the lawsuit did not say whether he fell or injured any other parts of his body.  It also did not say what long-term health effects he suffered after he reached maximum medical improvement after undergoing treatment for his acute injury.  Likewise, it did not indicate whether the plaintiff was in the workforce at the time of the accident and, if he was, how long he had to remain out of work because of the accident.  The defendants he named in the lawsuit were the City of Charleston and the South Carolina Department of Transportation.  In 2022, the lawsuit resulted in a settlement, in which the state’s insurance reserve fund paid the defendant $95,000.

Premises Liability Lawsuits With Public Sector Defendants

If you get injured in a preventable accident on private property, you have the right to file a premises liability lawsuit against a city, county, or government agency.  As with lawsuits against private sector defendants, most premises liability lawsuits against public sector entities result in settlements.  The state of South Carolina keeps a fund specifically for paying insurance claims filed by people injured on public property, much as businesses often pay premises liability claims from their commercial liability insurance.  The cases only go to trial if enormous amounts of money are at stake or if the defendant denies responsibility for the accident.

Let Us Help You Today

The personal injury lawyers at the Stanley Law Group can help you pursue a complaint related to a preventable accident that occurred on public property.  Contact The Stanley Law Group in Columbia, South Carolina or call (803)799-4700 for a free initial consultation.

Source:

live5news.com/2022/09/13/man-receives-near-6-figure-payout-after-rolling-ankle-charleston-sidewalk/