Lump Sum Personal Injury Settlements vs. Structured Personal Injury Settlements

Most people assume that any settlement they receive from a personal injury lawsuit will come as a lump sum. While this is the most common form of settlement, you may have the option to accept a structured settlement instead, which pays out consistently over time rather than all at once. Structured settlements are usually offered when the settlements are extremely large, such as when a victim is left permanently disabled.

If you are offered a structured settlement rather than a lump sum settlement, should you take it? We go over the pros and cons of both options.

Lump Sum Settlements

Lump sum settlements, in which the accident victim receives all their compensation in a large one-time payment, are the most common type of settlement.

Pros:

• Lump sum settlements provide the most freedom. After satisfying any medical liens (which will be handled by the attorney), recipients can use the money at their complete discretion, whether that means paying off their mortgage, putting it toward a college fund for their child, or taking a much-needed vacation to shrug off the stress of the accident and injury. It’s your money and you can use it however you want.
• Have a large sum of money at the ready also means you are more able to meet any financial crises you might face in the future.

Cons:

• Many accident victims often find they are pressured by friends and family to share their settlement money after winning a large settlement. As your settlement is intended to compensate one person (you), not dozens of acquaintances, you may find it running out too fast if you agree too often. And once it’s gone, it’s gone for good.
• Many accident victims may also be unused to managing large sums of money on their own, which may necessitate hiring a financial advisor to figure out how to invest it properly.

Structured Settlements

In a structured settlement, victims receive a series of smaller payments over time through an annuity purchased by the insurance company.

Pros:

• Structured settlements are incredibly flexible, with recipients being able to choose both the size and frequency of their payments. For example, you could choose to receive a large payment once a year, a smaller payment once a month, or any number of other combinations.
• Structured payments can act as a source of guaranteed income.
• You don’t have to worry about losing your settlement to bad investments or about being pressured to give it away to friends and family.

Cons:

• Structured settlements are inflexible.

This may seem like a contradiction to the point previously made in the “pros” section, but once a structure is selected at the start, it cannot be changed later on. For example, if you decided to receive one large payment once a year, but you have an unexpected expense halfway through the year, you will not be able to get an advance on your payment.

Essentially, although it is your money, you do not have access to the majority of your settlement.

You may have seen commercials on television encouraging people in the exact situation described above to “sell” their structured settlement in exchange for an immediate lump sum payment. However, be cautious. These are often predatory lenders, which is why accident victims in South Carolina are protected by the Structured Settlement Protection Act.

This law will make it harder to sell your structured settlement annuity, but only to protect you from fraud. Before being able to sell your structured settlement annuity, the following must occur:

1. The sale must be court-approved.
2. The sale must be in the best interests of the accident victim, as well as their dependents (if applicable).
3. The accident victim must have any fees associated with the sale explained to them.
4. The purchaser of the annuity must advise the accident victim in writing to seek professional financial advice before going through with the sale.
5. The sale can be “called off” if the accident victim changes their mind within a set time frame.

Need Compensation After an Accident? Let Us Handle the Details

If you are injured and in need of compensation, the team at Joye Law Firm will not only fight to get you the maximum compensation possible for your injury, we can advise you on which type of settlement may be right for your needs after your accident.

For a free consultation, contact our South Carolina personal injury attorneys today.

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The Top Reasons Workers’ Comp Claims are Denied

Serious injuries can put your ability to work and earn a living at risk. So when you are injured while at work or performing work duties (even if those duties take you outside the office), your employer is legally responsible for compensating you through their workers’ compensation insurance. That compensation includes money for treatment costs and makes up part of the wages you miss out on while unable to work.

However, filing a workers’ compensation claim is a completely different process than submitting a medical bill to your health insurance, and there are many reasons why a claim could be denied. Unfortunately, many of these reasons are mere technicalities, which can make filing a claim a delicate process that requires a lot of care, attention to detail, and follow up. Without an experienced workers’ compensation attorney on your side at the start, it can be easy for an otherwise valid claim to be denied.

While working to appeal denied claims for our clients, we’ve seen the same reasons for denials over and over again, and have compiled the most common below.

The 5 Most Common Reasons Claims are Denied

You did not notify your employer of your injury within the required time.

You typically have 90 days after suffering an injury to report it to your employer in South Carolina. This can seem like a lot of time, but many injury victims don’t report their injuries right away, and instead try to work through the pain, because they either think the injury will get better on its own or they are afraid of consequences from their employer.

The longer you wait, the more suspicious the insurance company will be about when and how you were injured. Once those 90 days are up, it will be difficult or impossible to get compensation, even if it turns out you need surgery or another expensive treatment. That’s why it’s best to inform your employer immediately after an injury – on the day of, if you can.

You were not treated by an approved medical provider.

South Carolina law states that if you are being treated for a work-related injury, your employer has the right to select the doctor you see. If you see your own doctor, there is no guarantee your employer will agree to pay the bill or can be forced to pay the bill. Usually the only exception is if you needed immediate emergency treatment and there wasn’t time to get approval from your employer beforehand.

You did not get treatment at all.

Workers’ compensation provides money for medical expenses and two-thirds of your weekly wage until you are able to work again. However, your employer will likely refuse to compensate you for your lost wages if you can’t prove the injury that temporarily disabled you exists. For that, you’ll need a diagnosis from a medical doctor—and that means getting a full check-up and treatment.

You were under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the injury.

If your employer believes you were injured because you were drunk on the job, or believes you were under the influence of illegal drugs, they have the right to request you be tested. If your test comes up positive, your claim will generally be denied.

Your employer disputes your injury is work-related.

Although you don’t need to prove that you were injured because your employer was negligent in order to get workers’ compensation benefits – you can even still receive benefits if your injury was your own fault – you still need to be able to prove your injury was work-related.

If there were no witnesses to the injury, your employer may try to claim you were injured off-the-clock and that you’re passing it off as a work injury. This scenario is especially likely if you submit your claim just before or after a weekend or holiday. They may also try to argue your injury wasn’t work-related, even if it happened in the office. For example, they may argue this if someone was injured while goofing around on a coffee break, since they were not “working” at the time.

We Help Appeal Denied Worker’s Comp Claims

There are so many reasons and ways a workers’ compensation claim can be denied. If you are already dealing with the stress of trying to pay your living expenses until you can work again on top of the pain of injury, the frustration can be too much to handle.

Thankfully, even a denial isn’t final. We work with injured workers who have yet to file a claim as well as with workers who have already been denied in order to get their claims appealed.

Don’t give up or give in after a work injury – contact us today for a free consultation to learn how a South Carolina workers’ compensation attorney can help in your situation.

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Safety Groups Recommend 2020 Car Models for Teen Drivers

Consumer Reports (CR) and the Insurance institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) have put together a list of 18 recommended car models for parents looking to buy a reliable new car for their teenage drivers.

With 2021-model-year vehicles reaching dealer lots later than usual due to COVID-19’s impact on manufacturing, late 2020 could be an opportune time to make a deal with an auto retailer.

The IIHS says teen drivers have crash rates nearly four times those of drivers age 20 and older, underscoring the importance of teens driving safe vehicles.

Recommended 2020 Models for Teen Drivers

The 2020 vehicles recommended by CR and IIHS have each been named an IIHS Top Safety Pick or Top Safety Pick+, meaning they have good ratings in all six of the IIHS’s crashworthiness tests, advanced or superior ratings for front crash prevention, and acceptable- or good-rated headlights. The top picks range in price from about $21,000 to $37,000.

The two least expensive cars in each size category (based on Kelley Blue Book New Car Fair Purchase Prices) are:

• Small cars: Honda Insight, $22,000
  Mazda 3, $22,100
• Midsize cars: Subaru Legacy, $22,100
  Honda Accord, $23,300
• Small SUVs: Mazda CX-3, $20,700
  Subaru Forester, $23,900
• Midsize SUVs: Hyundai Santa Fe, $32,700
  Mazda CX-9, $32,700.

The entire list is available here.

Each pick went through Consumer Reports’ automotive testing and has:

• Vehicle-to-vehicle automated emergency braking as standard equipment
• Average or better reliability based on CR’s member surveys
• Average or better scores from CR’s emergency handling tests
• Dry braking distances of less than 140 feet from 60 mph in CR’s brake tests
• “Good” or “better” rating from CR for ease of use of their controls.

The list does not include:

• Sports cars or other vehicles with excessive horsepower, because these vehicles can tempt teens to test the limits
• Minicars or vehicles under 2,750 pounds
• The biggest, heaviest vehicles, including those in the large SUV class, because they can be hard to handle and often have increased braking distances
• Vehicles that had substantially higher than average insurance claim rates under medical payment or personal injury protection coverage in recent model years and haven’t been redesigned.

CR also has a list of the best used cars for teens, which are all under $20,000. Buying a used car for a teen driver is more common than buying a new vehicle.

IIHS research shows that many teenagers drive older vehicles or small cars, which provide less protection in a crash than larger vehicles and typically do not always have state-of-the-art safety features.

Teen auto accidents can lead to the teenager at the wheel, passengers and/or others on the road being injured or killed. The South Carolina car accident attorneys at Joye Law Firm work with families whose lives have been shattered by a serious teen driving accident caused by someone else’s negligence. We help families seek the compensation needed to put things back together.

Why Are Teen Drivers at Risk on the Road?

Few things make a parent more nervous than watching a newly licensed teen get behind the wheel alone and drive away from home.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says six teens aged 16 to 19 die every day from motor vehicle crash injuries. This helps to make motor vehicle crashes the leading cause of death for U.S. teens.

The number of crashes involving teenagers are disproportionately high, the IIHS says. Teen drivers are inexperienced and may not recognize dangerous traffic situations in time to respond safely and avoid an accident.

Based on police-reported crashes of all severities, the crash rate for 16- to 19-year-olds is nearly four times the rate for drivers 20 and older. The fatal crash rate per mile driven for 16- to 17-year-olds is about three times the rate for drivers 20 and older.

The fatality rate for all people potentially involved in a car accident – drivers, passengers, pedestrians, cyclists – increases by 51 percent when a teen driver has only teen passengers in their vehicle, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety says.

Teens face a higher risk of getting into car accidents because they are less experienced drivers and, in too many cases, because they make bad decisions.

The CDC cites:

• Speeding. Teens are more likely than older drivers to speed. The IIHS says excessive speed is a factor in just over a quarter of teens’ fatal crashes.
• Lack of seat belts. Teens and young adults often have the lowest seat belt use rates. At least 46% of teen drivers and passengers who died in passenger vehicle crashes in a recent year were not wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash. Research shows that seat belts reduce serious crash-related injuries and deaths by about half.
• Alcohol use. In 2017, 15% of drivers aged 16 to 20 involved in fatal motor vehicle crashes had a blood alcohol level of .08% or higher, which is considered driving under the influence (DUI) for an adult driver in South Carolina and every other U.S. state.
• Distracted driving. Drivers under the age of 20 have the highest proportion of distraction-related fatal crashes. In 2017, one of every 10 teen motor vehicle crash deaths involved distracted driving, the CDC says.
• Nighttime and weekend driving. Darkness contributes to car accidents, and drivers are more likely to be drinking on weekends. In 2017, 40% of motor vehicle crash deaths among teen drivers and passengers aged 13 to 19 occurred between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m., and 51% occurred on Friday, Saturday or Sunday.
• Drowsy driving. Teens may have part-time jobs and/or active social lives on top of school, causing them to not always get a full night’s sleep. Drowsy or fatigued driving is impaired driving that slows the reflexes and can be as deadly as driving under the influence of alcohol (which is a sedative). People who sleep 6 hours or less per day are more likely to fall asleep while driving, the CDC says.If you or your loved one has been injured in a car accident in South Carolina caused by another driver’s negligence or disregard for safety, contact Joye Law Firm to review your legal options. The consultation is free and will help you make better informed decisions after a collision.

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Study Says Digital Distractions in the Workplace Cause Injuries and Deaths

Could you be risking life and limb because you are digitally distracted in your workplace? Are you reading this blog post on a phone at work right now?

A survey of American workers recently reported by EHS Today found that 14 percent of respondents said at least one accident had occurred at their workplace because an employee was distracted by a cell phone. The risk of injury related to distraction is higher in industrial settings. Among survey respondents working in industrial settings, more than 1 in 4 reported accidents caused by someone being distracted by their cell phone. The rate falls to 11 percent in office settings.

Overall, half of digital distraction accidents reported in survey results caused an injury or death. Three quarters of digital distraction accidents in industrial settings and 59 percent in workplaces overall caused property damage.

We’ve known for years that distracted driving is a leading cause of car accidents and that cellphones caused a surge in fatal distracted driving accidents. As workers’ compensation lawyers, we’ve also seen distractions adding to the many ways to be injured in the workplace. Today, cellphone distraction poses a significant risk of workplace accidents.

“A strong majority of respondents say the problem of workplace digital distraction is serious enough that employers should address it,” the study by Screen Education, EMI Research Solutions and Stark Statistical Consulting says. “They say employers should address digital distraction by implementing policies that restrict the use of nonwork digital content during work hours.”

“What’s astonishing is that 47 percent of respondents said their employer actually had a policy that restricted smartphone use at work,” Michael Mercier, president of Screen Education, told EHS Today. “We’re seeing these problems despite the existence of smartphone restrictions.”

How Digital Distraction is Harmful in America’s Workplaces

The 2020 Digital Distraction & Workplace Safety Survey was based on a survey of 1,760 full-time workers across the U.S. in April. Respondents ranged from age 18 through 75 and older and held a wide range of jobs. The sample was balanced by gender, race and geographic region.

Respondents to the 2020 survey said the average employee at their workplace spends 2.5 hours each workday accessing digital content that is unrelated to their job. In the 2019 survey, workers said they themselves spent 1.4 hours each workday accessing digital content that is unrelated to their job. The report’s authors say the true amount is likely between the two figures because respondents underestimate their digital distraction during work.

“While this hurts productivity, it’s also a distraction that is putting employees at great risk for accidents – accidents that damage property and cause injury and death. And there is a higher rate of accidents in industrial settings, where heavy machinery, equipment and vehicles are used,” the 2020 report says.

The types of accidents cited were:

• Falling
• Walking into something
• Crashing a company vehicle
• Forklift accidents
• Heavy machinery accidents
• Standing still and being hit by something

The report provides some descriptions of accidents by employees and the settings in which the accidents occurred. They include:

Office Setting

• “Person was on their phone … elevator door was closing … their jacket got stuck and it kept going down which made … (their) collar choke them and leave a red mark.”​

Healthcare Setting

• “A patient fell because someone was listening to music and didn’t hear the alarm.”

​Forklift

• ​”Hi lo driver was paying attention to his phone. Ran into employee. She was … texting … the forklift bumped her pretty hard. She was hospitalized for a week.”

Industrial Setting

• “Someone was distracted by being on the phone when their arm was crushed by a press.”

Driving

• “Someone driving a company truck and they went to grab their phone and took their eyes off the road. They hit a utility pole.”

Nineteen percent of workers said they wished their employer would do something to help them address the digital distraction they experience during the workday. An even higher percentage of those who worked in an industrial setting – 27 percent – would welcome assistance.

Just over half of employees who were working from home due to closures related to the pandemic said they spent even more time than they used to during work hours socializing online with family and friends via social media, text, email and phone calls.

Occupational Injuries, Illness and Deaths in South Carolina

Statistics from the South Carolina Occupational Safety and Health Administration from 2018, the latest available, show 43,700 reported occupational injuries and illnesses across all industries in the state and 98 workplace fatalities.

Among 12,420 private industry injuries, those similar to injuries cited as occurring because of digital distraction include:

• 4,120 falls, slips and trips
• 2,220 injuries from being hit by a truck, cart, dolly, hand truck, etc.
• 720 machinery accidents
• 630 roadway motor vehicle accidents
• 450 struck against object or equipment.

Among the fatalities were:

• 47 transportation incidents
• 14 falls, slips and trips
• 9 contact with objects and equipment accidents.

The best way to avoid being injured in your workplace is to pay attention to your job activities and the actions of people, vehicles and machinery around you while you are on the job. Don’t give in to the temptation offered by social media and other digital content.

Most employers in South Carolina have workers’ compensation insurance to provide medical care and other benefits to those injured on the job. An injured worker can recover compensation for medical expenses and lost earnings, and disability benefits, regardless of who caused the workplace accident. Families of workers killed in workplace accidents may also be eligible to receive death benefits.

If your employer or the insurance company is disputing your right to workers’ compensation benefits, you should have a knowledgeable workers’ compensation lawyer review the details of the accident and explain your legal rights.

If you need assistance with a South Carolina workers’ compensation claim, our workers’ compensation lawyers at Joye Law Firm are ready to assist. We will first provide a free case review to discuss your options and, if we handle your case, then pursue maximum compensation for you. Contact us at 888-324-3100 or online to schedule your free meeting.

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How to Estimate a Car’s Value After an Accident

A car that has been damaged in a crash suffers from “diminished value” after the accident. Even after the vehicle is repaired, the presumption is that a previously wrecked vehicle will be somewhat less marketable and have less value when sold or traded.

“Diminished value” refers to the difference in your car’s market value before and after a collision. In South Carolina, a car owner may file a diminished value claim to recoup some of their loss. A successful diminished value claim pays the car owner the dollar amount difference between the car’s value before and after the crash.

The key to obtaining a proper insurance settlement for property damage in a car accident is to have some idea of how diminished value is determined. Most insurance companies work from a calculation known as the “17c Diminished Value Formula.” Some may walk a policyholder through their diminished car value calculator to justify a settlement offer the policyholder questions.

Regardless, each insurance company follows the same basic approach to determining the diminished value of a crashed motor vehicle, as summarized below.

Four Steps to Determining the Diminished Value of Your Crashed Vehicle

To determine the current value of a car for insurance purposes, most insurers will:

1. Consult the Kelley Blue Book and/or the National Association of Automobile Dealers’ Guides, or NADA Guides. These allow the user to enter a vehicle’s make, model and mileage to obtain an estimated sales value.
2. Apply a 10% loss cap, known as the base loss of value. This assumes that a vehicle in an accident could lose up to 10% of its sales value as estimated by NADA or Kelley Blue Book. So, if NADA or the Blue Book say the car is worth $15,000, the insurer has decided that, at maximum, the diminished value after an accident and repair could be $1,500. This is the “base loss value.”
3. Apply a damage multiplier. Now the insurer looks at the actual damage to the car and determines what it detracts from the vehicle’s worth by applying values for a range of damage:
   • 1.00: Severe structural damage
   • 0.75: Major damage
   • 0.50: Moderate damage
   • 0.25: Minor damage
   • 0.00: No structural damage or replaced panels.
     For a moderately damaged car with a base loss value of $1,500, you now have a damage-adjusted diminished value of $750 ($1,500 x 0.50).
4. Adjust for mileage. This is another calculation based on established multipliers for the vehicle’s miles driven:
   • 1.0: 0-19,999 miles
   • 0.8: 20,000-39,999 miles
   • 0.6: 40,000-59,999 miles
   • 0.4: 60,000-79,999 miles
   • 0.2: 80,000-99.999 miles
   • 0.0: 100,000+

A vehicle with a $750 adjusted diminished value and 85,000 miles on it has suffered a loss worth $150 under the 17c Diminished Value Formula ($750 x 0.2). This is generally how insurers determine diminished value after a car accident and what many insurers would allow you to claim for property damage to the vehicle.

The value of a crashed vehicle may be described by an insurer three ways:

• Immediate Diminished Value. This is the difference in the value from prior to the accident and immediately following the accident without repairs.
• Inherent Diminished Value. This is the loss that remains after the car has been fully repaired and restored to its original condition.
• Repair-Related Diminished Value. This is lost value caused by improper repair work, whether mechanical or body work. This is loss in addition to the inherent diminished value.

The final calculation at step 4 above yields the inherent diminished value. If problems with repairs are discovered, a repair-related diminished value would be assessed, and the vehicle would be further devalued.

Filing a Diminished Value Claim in South Carolina

If someone else caused the accident that damaged your vehicle, you may be entitled to compensation for the necessary repairs, which comes from auto liability insurance held by the at-fault party or from your own uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. You should be able to recover what you’ve lost from your vehicle’s value by filing a diminished value claim.

You may file your diminished claim (along with other claims from the accident) and await the insurer’s decision, which is likely to be based on the 17c Diminished Value Formula. You can also work to establish for yourself what a proper payment to you should be.

Again, you would begin with the Kelley Blue Book and/or NADA Guides to get a basic estimate of what your car was worth. You might research similar cars on the market in your area to see what they are selling for.

But you might also compile evidence such as mileage records, service history and affidavits from your regular mechanic to demonstrate that your car was worth more than its book value. If you had aftermarket components that increased its value, such as tires, rims or suspension, or a sound system, you would need to document their existence with receipts and photos.

It’s also possible to hire a diminished value expert to appraise your vehicle’s value after an accident.

You have the right to negotiate with any insurer and tell them what you believe you are owed. In South Carolina, if an insurance company refuses to pay your diminished value claim, you can file for auto insurance arbitration in civil court and, based on the evidence you provide, ask an arbitrator to force the insurer to pay an appropriate diminished value settlement.

Further, under certain circumstances, SC law may allow you to also pursue “punitive” damages against the at-fault party. These would be payments made to punish outrageous behavior like drunk driving.

How a Car Accident Attorney Can Help

Unfortunately, if you have been in an accident that resulted in significant damage to your vehicle, you have probably been injured as well. The South Carolina car accident attorneys of Joye Law Firm pursue personal injury and property damage cases to recover compensation for clients from across the state.

Contact us immediately after a car accident involving injuries, and we can advise you as to what types of compensation you may be entitled to seek. If you have a personal injury claim, we can handle all of the paperwork required by insurers and negotiate on your behalf for a proper settlement. We also take cases to court when necessary to obtain justice.

Call Joye Law Firm. If you have been in a car accident in Columbia, Myrtle Beach, North Charleston, Clinton or elsewhere in South Carolina, contact us at (877) 936-9707 or use this online contact form to set up a free case review.

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What Is a Class Action Lawsuit?

A class action lawsuit is one where many people who have been harmed by the same party in the same way file a compensation claim together as a group.

Class actions can be filed by victims of discrimination, false advertising, environmental disasters, invasion of privacy, and a number of other forms of negligence, but usually are filed against manufacturers of dangerous products for injuries their products caused.

Is Any Lawsuit Over a Product that Harmed Multiple People a Class Action Lawsuit?

No. Even if a defective or dangerous product has harmed many people, that does not automatically make a lawsuit against the manufacturer a class action lawsuit.

The lawsuit can’t become a class action until a judge decides the lawsuit should be treated as a class action. Cases that are expected to be given class action status but haven’t yet may be referred to as putative class actions.

Lawsuits against manufacturers for dangerous products usually start out being filing by just one person rather than everyone harmed filing together. This is because individual victims may not be aware of each other. Once a lawsuit is given class action status, the lawyer in charge may start reaching out to other victims to see if they’d like to join the lawsuit.

How Many People Does It Take to File a Class Action Lawsuit?

It only takes one person to file a class action lawsuit. In fact, in a class action lawsuit, only one person is actually filing the lawsuit – this is the lead plaintiff. However, hundreds or even thousands of other people can be listed as “class members.”

One of the requirements of a lawsuit becoming a class action is that the judge decides there is a large enough number of people who have also been harmed by the same product that it would be impractical and inefficient to try all their cases as separate lawsuits.

What Is the Difference Between a Lead Plaintiff and a Class Member?

The lead plaintiff is the one who originally filed the lawsuit and who is named in the lawsuit.  The lead plaintiff is bringing the case on behalf of all the class members.

Rather than the judge looking at everyone’s cases, they only look at the lead plaintiff. All the class members receive the same verdict as the lead plaintiff, and all class members share in the settlement with the lead plaintiff (this differs from mass torts, where each member is still tried and awarded individually).

For this reason, the lead plaintiff must be the best representative of the “class” of people injured, meaning the details of how the lead plaintiff was injured by the product and what their injuries are must be so similar to the other people in the lawsuit that reviewing one case is essentially reviewing them all.

Following this logic, other requirements of a lawsuit becoming a class action are that all class members’ injuries should have enough in common to be grouped together, and that the “class” should be clearly defined enough that it is easily determined who does and does not qualify as a member.

Am I Eligible for a Class Action Lawsuit?

If you or someone you love has been harmed by a defective or dangerous consumer product or medication, you may be eligible for compensation. Whether this is through a class action lawsuit, a mass tort action, or a personal injury claim depends on your injury.

If you think you have a claim, contact our experienced South Carolina product injury attorneys for a free case review.

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Safety Tips for Keeping Elderly Drivers Safe on the Road

A 2018 survey recorded over 45 million licensed drivers age 65 or older in the U.S. For perspective, that’s a 69% increase since 1999, and accounts for one in every five drivers on the road.

Why is this important? Older drivers face a higher risk than other age groups of serious injury or death when they’re involved in a crash. This is true regardless of who caused the crash.

On average, 20 older Americans are killed every day in crashes, while an additional 700 are injured. South Carolina ranks fifth in the nation for most seniors killed in motor vehicle accidents.

Older Driver Safety Awareness Week, which runs from Monday, December 7 to Friday, December 11 this year, is intended to raise awareness of how much more vulnerable our elderly loved ones are on the road, and what we can do to keep them safe.

Step 1: Have a Conversation With Your Loved One About Their Driving

If your older loved one has recently received a traffic ticket or had a minor close call on the road, now is a great time to bring up their driving. Even if they haven’t, it’s better to bring up the issue before it becomes one.

These conversations can be difficult to have, because for many Americans, driving is tied to personal independence and freedom. It may be impossible to go grocery shopping, run errands, visit the doctor or pharmacist, or any number of important tasks without access to a car or other method of transportation.

Your loved one may see any criticism of their ability to drive as an attack on their ability to take care of themselves, and see losing the ability to drive as the first step to being unable to live independently. They may not want to acknowledge any decline in their driving ability for this reason.

It is helpful to use “I” rather than “you” statements to keep conversations non-confrontational. For example, say “I’m concerned about your safety” rather than “you are no longer safe to drive.” Don’t be discouraged or put off by a negative reaction and always keep empathy for their situation at top of mind.

Step 2: Identify Potential Problems and Plan How to Solve Them

Many otherwise completely healthy older drivers begin experiencing new aches and pains, slowed reaction time, or worsening hearing and vision as they age. Any of these can have a negative impact on driving ability and ability to drive defensively, which could put your loved one in a situation where they are unable to avoid a crash.

While we can’t avoid many of the problems that come with aging, we can anticipate the most common problems and plan ahead for them by changing driving habits or through the use of adaptive equipment.

• If your loved one is experiencing worsening vision, suggest they only drive during daylight hours in clear weather conditions.
• If your loved one is experiencing increased anxiety in traffic, suggest shifting the time they run errands to avoid rush hours.
• If your loved one is having difficulty remembering how to get to places they visit often or finding their way to new places, suggest using a GPS system.
• If your loved one is having difficulty getting in and out of the car, suggest purchasing a swiveling or swing-out seat or a removeable support bar.
• If your loved one finds it difficult or painful to turn their head or twist their body to look behind them, suggest installing wider mirrors or a backup camera.

Even if your loved one isn’t experiencing any difficulties now, it’s important to establish a routine of regular checks to catch any problems before they become worse, such as through scheduling annual eye exams; checking mirrors, lights, and tires before every drive; and checking with their doctor that they aren’t taking any medications that could interfere with their ability to drive.

Step 3: Discuss Ways to Stay Active Without a Car

If it becomes necessary for your loved one to stop driving, it’s important to make sure they are able to stay active. Without access to transportation, elderly adults can experience social isolation and depression, which can contribute to worsening physical health.

Alternate transportation options include:

• Friends, family, and neighbors. If you live nearby, create a schedule or carpool to help your loved one get to the places they regularly go. If you don’t live close enough to do so, they might consider trading favors with neighbors – for example, taking in packages while they are at work in exchange for rides.
• Public transportation. In addition to bus routes scheduled by the city, some locations such as malls and places of worship also provide their own transportation options.
• Rideshare services. Services like Uber and Lyft are increasingly popular for their convenience. Through the app, users can schedule rides ahead of time or call one on-demand in most cities in the U.S., even those without conventional taxi services.
• Volunteer driver programs. These programs often offer complimentary trips for elderly and disabled people needing to go to the doctor, store, bank, or other locations.

If no easy transportation option is available, you might also discuss with your loved one relocating to a more walkable community or assisted living facility that encompasses all your loved one’s needs inside it or offers to bus residents to those it doesn’t provide.

If Your Elderly Loved One Has Been Injured in a Car Accident Through No Fault of Their Own, We Want to Help

When they are injured in auto accidents, whether as a driver or passenger, Americans aged 65 and older are far more likely to be severely injured or killed. And when they were injured because another driver was negligent, the other driver should be held responsible for their medical expenses and pain and suffering.

Contact our firm today for a free case review.

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How to Prove a TBI if the MRI Comes Back Normal

Many types of accidents can cause traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), including falls and car crashes. The most common and well-known form of a TBI is a concussion.

TBIs can range in severity from minor to severe, and even minor TBIs can have significant, detrimental impacts to health. The problem is that although you can point to a bruise on your skin, it’s not as easy to point to a bruise on your brain.

One way that doctors attempt to diagnose TBIs is through brain scans such as CT scans and MRIs. However, just because an MRI comes back normal doesn’t mean the victim did not suffer a TBI.

If you’ve suffered negative health effects after striking your head in a slip, fall, car accident, or other accident caused by someone else, don’t let the insurance company tell you your symptoms aren’t worth compensation. Our experienced traumatic brain injury attorneys know how to prove TBIs so you can get the treatment and recovery time you need.

How to Identify TBIs

TBIs are described in three levels of severity.

Minor TBIs are the least severe, but this in no way means they are not harmful. Any TBI is by definition a traumatic injury to the brain. “Minor” TBIs are also the most easily missed on CT scans and MRIs.

Symptoms of minor TBIs include:

• Loss of consciousness
• Headache
• Nausea or vomiting
• Disorientation, problems concentrating, or memory problems
• Drowsiness, sleeping more than usual, or difficulty sleeping
• Loss of balance and/or coordination
• Blurred vision or sensitivity to light, ringing in the ears or sensitivity to noise, loss of sense of smell, and/or a lingering bad taste in the mouth without cause
• Mood swings
• Depression, anxiety, or aggression

Symptoms of moderate to severe TBIs are generally the same as the symptoms of minor TBIs, but are usually more severe, more persistent, or become worse over time rather than getting better. Moderate to severe TBIs can also cause weakness in the extremities, seizures, and coma.

How We Can Prove TBIs Without Physical Scans

Many of the symptoms of TBIs are observable in victims’ behavior, even if they are not visible on a brain scan.

Witnesses are a key part of winning a brain injury claim. This includes witnesses to the accident, who can confirm if the victim lost consciousness, vomited, complained of a headache, or other symptoms at the scene, as well as witnesses to the victim’s behavior after the accident, who can confirm lingering symptoms such as loss of concentration, change in sleep patterns, and changes in personality. Juries can also see these behaviors demonstrated for themselves through videos of the victim in their day-to-day life.

Evidence showing the scene of the accident can also be helpful. This helps juries envision the accident for themselves to better understand what happened.

Let Us Get to Work on Your Case

Have you suffered persistent side effects after an accident caused by someone else? TBIs can cause lingering problems that affect quality of life, ability to work, and personal relationships. When you were injured due to someone else’s negligence, you deserve compensation.

Call our South Carolina brain injury lawyers today for a free consultation.

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How to Win a Defective Product Injury Case (And How You Might Lose)

People are injured by defective products every day in the U.S., from auto parts that malfunction and cause crashes, to electronics that start fires, to toys that pose choking hazards to the children that play with them.

When people are injured or even killed by dangerous products, the victims and their families can hold manufacturers liable. Retailers can also be held accountable when they sell products with dangerous defects that can be discovered through visual inspection, such as selling products that have expired and are no longer safe to use.

If you or someone you love has been injured, here’s what you need to know before pursuing a claim.

What You Need to Prove in a Product Injury Claim

Defective product claims can be extremely difficult to litigate and win, but generally when a consumer is injured by a dangerous product, they will need to prove the following:

• The product was designed in such a way that it poses an unintended hazard to users, OR
• The product was designed to be safe but a manufacturing mistake caused it to become dangerous, OR
• The product was incorrectly marketed, and failed to instruct users how to correctly use the product without putting themselves at risk of potential harm, AND
• The consumer suffered damages as a result of using the product

Reasons You Could Lose Your Product Injury Claim

There are several reasons why your product liability claim may not succeed in court. Some of the most common reasons are described below.

You weren’t injured.

In this situation, it doesn’t matter how defective a product was, or how close you came to injury. If you didn’t sustain any damages, you can’t be compensated. Even if your “near miss” caused significant emotional distress, you can’t claim damages for emotional distress unless you also suffered physical injuries.

However, damages can refer to either physical injuries or financial losses. For example, if a product with a faulty battery caused a fire that damaged your home, you could file a product liability claim even if no one was injured (in this situation, you still would not be able to get damages for emotional distress). Unless you suffered significant financial losses, it may not be worthwhile to pursue.

If you were nearly harmed by a defective product, make sure to report the product to the proper authorities. Your warning could get the product recalled and help protect others from future injury.

The danger was obvious.

Warnings on products need to be specific, easy to find and read (for example, printed on the product itself and not hidden in the user manual), and easy to understand.

However, manufacturers don’t need to disclose risks that are clear and obvious.

This doesn’t always mean you don’t have a case, however. What is clear and obvious to one person may not be clear and obvious to another. If you were harmed by a product that you believe didn’t state warnings clearly enough, contact our South Carolina product liability attorneys today for a free case review.

The dangerous aspect is part of the product’s intended use.

This defense is very similar to the defense above and applies to inherently dangerous products. For example, knives are intended to cut, so if you cut yourself using a knife, the manufacturer will argue that is a risk a consumer agrees to take on when using the product, and isn’t one the manufacturer can mitigate without compromising the design.

The product wasn’t being used as intended.

If a table collapsed after a consumer stood on it to reach something high up, and the consumer was injured, the manufacturer can argue tables are not intended to be stood on, so they don’t need to be designed to carry the weight of a human. That would mean it’s not a design defect that the table collapsed.

However, consumers are still protected for any use of a product that could be anticipated by the manufacturer, even if that use is not one of the “intended” uses. So, a consumer could make the argument that lots of people stand on tables when ladders are unavailable, so the manufacturer could have easily anticipated people who bought their product might do so. In that situation, the consumer might still be ruled to have contributed to their own injury, however.

The product was altered from the state in which it was sold.

When a product is altered or modified by the consumer, the manufacturer can typically no longer be held liable for injuries the modified product causes, since they don’t have any control over how safe the alterations are or how the alterations affect the design of the product.

This remains true even if you weren’t the one to modify it, and purchased it used from the person who did the modifying.

For example, people who like to modify their vehicles likely already know that doing so voids their warranty. In this case, it probably also means they can’t file a lawsuit against the manufacturer of the vehicle if a part breaks and causes the vehicle to crash. They may, however, be able to file a claim against the manufacturer of the aftermarket parts or accessories installed.

When You’ve Been Injured by a Defective Product, Get an Experienced Attorney on Your Side

There are many, many ways that a manufacturer and their legal team will try to claim they aren’t responsible for your injuries when you’ve been harmed by a dangerous product. When you are going up against a company worth millions or even billions of dollars, it can seem hopeless to take them on. That’s where we come in. Our legal team isn’t afraid to fight back against major corporations when they cause harm. Contact our team today for a free consultation to learn what we can do for you.

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Truck Accidents: 8 Reasons Why Truck Accidents Happen on South Carolina Roads

If you are driving along one of South Carolina’s interstates or other major highways, it is common to encounter large commercial trucks. Due to the immense size of semi-trucks, it is much more likely that those who are involved in accidents with these trucks will suffer serious injuries.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in a single recent year, 3,964 people were killed in wrecks that involved a large truck. Alarmingly, 67 of those deaths occurred in South Carolina. Further, 71 percent of the time, the person who is killed in a wreck involving a commercial truck is the driver or occupant of a vehicle that is not the large truck. Shockingly, another 95,000 Americans were injured in wrecks involving a large truck that same year.

Below, we will discuss eight of the most common factors that can contribute to commercial truck accidents:

1. Driver fatigue and hours-of-service rule violations.

There are many federal regulations that determine how long drivers are allowed to drive and how often they must take breaks. For instance, commercial truckers are restricted to driving an average maximum of 70 hours in a work week and they are required to take a 30-minute break during the first eight hours of a shift. Further, drivers are restricted to working only 11 hours a day total and these hours must be within a specific 14-hour workday. Finally, once a driver has worked 70 hours in the work week, they are required to rest for 34 hours before beginning another driving shift. All of these regulations are meant to reduce driver exhaustion. Unfortunately, some drivers are encouraged by their employer to violate these rules, often leading to driver fatigue. This fatigue, and the impairing impact that it has upon driving skill and attention, is one of the largest contributors to accidents that involve commercial trucks.

2. Pressure to meet unrealistic schedules.

Like all companies, commercial trucking companies strive to make a profit. This focus on making money can lead to pressure upon drivers to go further and drive faster, something that can lead to dangerous driving conditions. Due to the fact that truckers are paid by the mile, even independent drivers feel financial pressure to drive for long stretches – stretches that are sometimes unsafe. Notably, truckers like to say that “if the wheels aren’t turning, you aren’t earning.” This saying is certainly a reflection of the overall pressure truckers feel to push themselves to the limit when driving.

3. Prescription and over-the-counter drug abuse.

Over-the-counter and prescription medications are a danger for anyone who gets behind the wheel, due to the fact that they can cause drivers to feel sleepy, dizzy, or unfit to drive in other ways. Due to the sheer size of their vehicles and the time spent on busy roads at high speeds, these effects are especially dangerous for commercial truckers. Unfortunately, in an attempt to stay awake longer, some drivers abuse legal medications and using them as stimulants. Even though the consequences are often unintended, over-use of these legal medications can create extremely unsafe conditions. Further, the NHSTA reports that 2 percent of the commercial truck drivers who were involved in fatal accidents were legally drunk. Notably, the legal blood alcohol content for commercial drivers is half that of regular drivers.

4. Distracted driving.

Any situation where a driver has their eyes or mind off the road – whether it be due to texting, talking on the phone, eating, watching a movie or any other activity – is a dangerous one. According to Distraction,gov, in a single recent year, 3,154 people lost their lives in car accidents that involved distracted drivers. Further, 424,000 people were injured in accidents that involved distracted drivers. This is an epidemic which keeps getting worse each year.  Especially when facing long and often isolated hours on the road, it can be tempting for truckers to fall into the trap of electronic diversions. Alarmingly, some drivers have even been known to watch movies while behind the wheel. In addition, trucking tools, such as dispatching equipment and CB radios, can also quickly turn from helpful devices to dangerous distractions.

5. Maintenance issues or equipment failure.

Even more so than smaller vehicles, it is extremely important for large trucks to be maintained  properly and repaired attentively. If parts in a large truck are not in good condition, notably parts such as air brakes, accidents are much more likely to occur.

6. Improperly loaded cargo and unbalanced loads.

When it comes to loading commercial trucks with cargo, it is imperative that the loading is done carefully so that is correctly balanced. If a truck is loaded in an unbalanced way, it is much more likely to be involved in a rollover accident. Further, overloading a truck with cargo, a practice that is not only unsafe but also illegal, increases the likelihood that the trucks will become unbalanced. Overloaded trucks are also unable to stop as easily as properly-loaded trucks, making accidents much more likely.

7. Reckless driving, including speeding.

Due to their size and weight, commercial trucks require extra space to stop or avoid collisions, especially when they are traveling at high speeds. Thus, reckless decisions such as driving a truck above the speed limit, making dangerous or improper lane changes, or driving at a speed that is unsafe for the conditions can all make accidents more likely or more difficult to avoid.

8. Poor driver training.

Handling and operating a commercial truck is very different from driving a typical passenger vehicle. For instance, semi-trucks and other heavy trucks turn, handle, and stop differently. Thus, to safely drive a large truck, drivers need to undergo training and get practice behind the wheel. Unsurprisingly, improper or insufficient training can increase the likelihood of accidents. For example, 20 percent of commercial truck crashes occur when a driver is attempting to turn or negotiating a curve, according to the NHTSA. Comprehensive and thorough training of drivers helps truckers learn to properly make turns and handle curves, something that decreases the likelihood of accidents throughout their careers.

We are all dependent on the work that commercial truck drivers do and most of these drivers take pride in safely operating their vehicles.  However, like any profession, there are bad apples amongst truckers, and the harm they can do due to the size of their vehicles can be devastating.  When investigating a case involving a commercial truck accident, an experienced South Carolina truck accident attorney will work with experts to investigate a host of possible accident causes, including those that we have listed above. Attorneys may also inspect driver logs, examine so-called “black box” data recorders, investigate any involvement of either drugs or alcohol, and look into any possible violations of the federal and state trucking regulations.

If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident involving a large truck, it is imperative that you contact a knowledgeable truck accident lawyer as soon as possible to get an independent investigation started before critical evidence is permanently lost. At the Joye Law Firm, we have extensive experience representing persons who have been injured in trucking accidents, or families who have lost a loved one due to these accidents.  Experience matters in these cases and our track record speaks for itself as our firm procured dozens of verdicts and settlements in excess of $1 million in trucking accident cases. Contact us any time.

Sources:

• NHTSA – Truck Safety Facts
• Distraction.gov – Facts and Statistics
• (Firm page: https://www.joyelawfirm.com/accidents/truck-accident-lawyer/)

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Five Facts You Should Know About Workers’ Compensation in South Carolina

If you’ve recently suffered an on-the-job injury in South Carolina, you may be eligible to receive workers’ compensation benefits.  In South Carolina, workers’ compensation benefits pay for medical bills and a portion of the lost wages of an injured worker. So, what do you need to do to secure South Carolina workers’ compensation benefits? What happens if a claim is denied?

Here are five facts that explain how the workers’ compensation system works in our state:

1. Report Your Work Injury ASAP.

If your injury or illness is work-related, meaning it arose within the course and scope of your employment, you must report it to your employer within 90 days. Failure to do so may disqualify you for workers’ comp benefits.

While your initial instinct may to be to “tough it out” or ignore it, it is really important to be proactive in this situation. Follow your company’s reporting procedure to a “T,” and report your work accident as soon as possible.  Although it may seem like a minor at the time, additional symptoms may develop over time.  This is especially true for workers who do physically strenuous work.  A construction worker is not likely to report every ache and pain he feels to his supervisor (and if he did, he likely wouldn’t be employed long) but if your gut instinct tells you that your symptoms are more serious than usual, report it as soon as you can.  Many workers who believe they’ve just suffered a muscle strain injury, unfortunately, discover later that their injury is more serious, such as a herniated disc in your spine.  If you wait until the more serious injury is diagnosed, it could already be too late to meet the 90-day notice requirement.  Claims, where there is a large gap of time between when the incident occurred and when it was reported, are also more likely to be denied.

Not every employer has a formal procedure in place to report workplace accidents or injuries. If this is true of your company, be sure to report your accident, in writing, to your supervisor, manager and/or your human resources department as soon as possible.

When applying for worker’s compensation benefits, in most cases, you’ll have two years from the date of the accident to file a claim but this is a different time deadline from the 90-day notice requirement.

2. Workers’ Comp Covers Your Medical Treatment, But You Have to See the WC Doctor

Once your claim is accepted, your benefits should cover all of the necessary medical treatment arising from your injury. This may include things like emergency care, surgery, hospitalization, rehabilitation, assistive devices and medication.

However, you have to see the doctor that the workers’ compensation insurance company chooses for you.  You can seek permission to see a different doctor or to receive a second opinion but these requests are frequently denied by the WC insurance carrier.

Having no control over the direction of your medical treatment is one of the biggest frustrations for an injured worker in South Carolina.  There are many excellent doctors who provide treatment under the workers’ compensation system but there are also many doctors who are authorized by the insurance companies because the companies feel they can control these doctors’ recommended treatment to some extent.  Helping you deal with this frustration is where an experienced workers’ comp lawyer can help you.  If certain injuries you sustained are not being adequately treated, we can gather medical evidence to help us request that the commission order the carrier to provide additional treatment.  This often involves our setting up independent medical examinations for you with doctors of our choice.

3. If You Can’t Work, You May Qualify for Total or Partial Disability Benefits.

If your work injury leaves you completely unable to return to work for over seven days, you may qualify for total disability benefits. This will provide 66 and 2/3 percent of your average weekly wages, without exceeding the “maximum weekly compensation rate.” That rate is set each year by the South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Commission based on the average weekly gross earnings of South Carolina workers during the preceding year. In 2020, the Commission set the maximum weekly compensation rate at $866. 67.

If you’re able to return to work in some capacity, but your injury limits your work duties and your income is reduced, you could receive partial disability benefits, instead of full disability benefits from workers’ compensation. Partial disability benefits will make up 66 and 2/3 percent of the difference between your normal average weekly wage and your new, post-injury wage.  For example, if your pre-accident average weekly wage was $600 and you are only earning $300 due to restricted hours or duties after you are hurt, your partial disability benefit would be $200 (2/3rds of the $300 difference).

4. You Have the Right To A SC Workers’ Comp Commission Hearing

Sometimes, things don’t go the way you’d like them to, and you need to press your claim.  Maybe your employer is denying that your injury occurred at work.  Maybe the insurance carrier is refusing to pay you the full benefits that you’re owed under South Carolina law. Whatever the reason, if you have any dispute over your claim, you can request a hearing before the Commission.  In South Carolina, we have seven workers’ compensation commissioners and your initial hearing will be set before one of these judges.

However, this is the time where a lot can go wrong very quickly.  If you aren’t properly prepared to state your case or fail to provide the right evidence, the hearing may go south in a hurry. Remember, the insurance company isn’t looking to do you any favors, and they won’t take any pity on you just because you’re not clear on the “rules.” Their lawyer’s job is to limit your benefits to the greatest extent possible.

This is where an experienced South Carolina workers’ compensation attorney plays an important role. While you may not be familiar with the complicated rules related to the submission of evidence or the standard of proof needed to receive workers’ comp benefits, your attorney certainly will be.  An experienced workers’ comp lawyer will know exactly how to navigate the hearing, protect your rights and pursue the maximum benefits available under the law.

Choose your lawyer wisely, and remember that not all lawyers are the same.  The South Carolina workers’ compensation system is very complex. Attorneys that only “dabble” in workers’ comp, even if they are very talented in other areas, can easily get in over their heads quickly.  Find yourself an experienced attorney that successfully deals with these unique cases day in and day out.

The Joye Law Firm certainly satisfies these criteria.  Two of our lawyers have served as president of the South Carolina Injured Workers Advocates organization, the preeminent organization for injured workers in our state.  Combined, our workers’ compensation lawyers have over 125 years of experience protecting the rights of men and women who were injured on the job.

5. Most Workers’ Compensation Claims Settle Out of Court

The thought of having to go to court can be a little overwhelming. Don’t worry, most South Carolina workers’ compensation disputes are worked out without a formal hearing. In fact, the bulk of workers’ comp cases in South Carolina are resolved without the need for a hearing at all.  For example, our firm often resolves clients’ most serious claims at a mediation conference instead.  With that being the case, being fully prepared for mediation is just as important as being fully prepared for a hearing.  In many instances, we procure expert opinions to help us build the value of our clients’ claims prior to a mediation.  This can include everything from a vocational consultant who does an employability assessment (which is crucial when asserting a total disability claim); a nurse consultant who completes a future medical costs assessment; to independent doctors who address impairment ratings and conditions which may have been under-treated by the doctors authorized by the insurance company.

If you are asserting that you have been permanently disabled due to your work injuries, it is CRUCIAL that you hire an experienced lawyer to help you with your claim.  First, no permanent disability claim will be viable without having a supportive vocational assessment completed.  Second, it is crucial that the language of the settlement agreement in these cases be carefully crafted to protect your potential future entitlement to Social Security disability benefits.  Failing to include this protective language can cost you tens of thousands of dollars in future SSD payments.

OUR SOUTH CAROLINA WORKERS’ COMP ATTORNEYS CAN HELP YOU TODAY

If you’ve been hurt on the job, you deserve fair treatment under the law.  You also deserve quality legal representation to ensure that happens. Since 1968, the workers’ comp attorneys of Joye Law Firm have stood alongside injured workers throughout South Carolina. We can put that experience to work for you today. If you face any problems with your workers’ compensation claim, contact us now and receive a free, no-obligation consultation about your case.

 

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Is a Fatal Work Accident a Wrongful Death Claim or a Workers’ Compensation Claim?

Accidents and injuries occur for workers every day in the U.S. When they happen, workers can file a workers’ compensation claim to pay for their medical treatment, as well as compensate them for paychecks they miss until they’ve recovered enough to return to work. But what happens when an accident is fatal?

Can workers’ families get compensation for the loss of their loved ones after an on-the-job accident causes their death? If so, how?

While no one wants to contemplate their own mortality, it’s a question that every family should know the answer to, especially if one parent is the sole source of income for the family.

The answer is even more relevant for South Carolina residents. According to the most recent data collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2018 South Carolina had a fatal occupational injury rate of 4.6 deaths per 100,000 full-time workers, a rate higher than 70% of states in the country.

Should I file for workers’ compensation or wrongful death after my loved one dies on the job?

If you lost your spouse to a workplace accident, at a minimum you may be entitled to workers’ compensation death benefits. Depending on who or what caused the accident, you may also be entitled to file a wrongful death lawsuit.

If your loved one was eligible for workers’ compensation (which is almost all workers in South Carolina) you do not have the legal right to sue their employer. You can only get compensation from the employer for your loved one’s death through their workers’ compensation insurance.

However, if your loved one was killed while working due to the actions of a third party, you may be able to sue the third party for your loved one’s wrongful death.

Examples include:

• If your loved one was killed in a motor vehicle accident, you may be able to pursue compensation from the other driver.
• If your loved one was killed due to defective work equipment or tools, you could pursue compensation from the manufacturer.
• If your loved one was killed due to the negligence of a contractor, you can possibly pursue compensation from the contractor.
• If your loved one was killed due to hazardous property conditions, you can may be able to pursue compensation from the property owner (provided the property owner is not your loved one’s employer).

If you have questions about whether your loved one’s death is the fault of a third party, contact the experienced workers’ compensation attorneys at Joye Law Firm to discuss your claim.

What’s the difference between workers’ compensation and a wrongful death claim?

All employers in South Carolina with four or more employees (including part-time workers and family members) are legally required to provide workers’ compensation for their employees. Workers’ compensation provides benefits for on-the-job injuries, illnesses, and deaths regardless of who was at fault.

When a worker is killed, workers’ compensation death benefits for their loved ones include:

• Funeral expenses
• Medical expenses related to any treatment they received for their injury before their death
• 2/3rds of the deceased’s weekly wages

They do not, however, include benefits for non-economic damages such as pain and suffering.

A wrongful death claim in South Carolina requires the deceased’s family members to prove their death was the result of someone else’s negligence. Furthermore, the lawsuit must be filed by the executor of the deceased’s estate on the family’s behalf – they can’t file the lawsuit themselves.

Damages in a wrongful death claim may include:

• Funeral expenses
• Medical expenses related to any treatment they received for their injury before their death
• Lost income and benefits
• Loss of deceased’s care, companionship, and protection
• Loss of deceased’s experience, knowledge, and judgement
• Pain, suffering, and mental anguish caused by loss of the deceased

What are the most common fatal work injuries?

In descending order, the top five most common causes of workplace death are as follows:

1. Transportation accidents
2. Injuries caused by other people or animals
3. Falls, slips, and trips
4. Getting caught in running equipment or being struck by falling objects
5. Exposure to harmful substances or environments

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, transportation-related injuries account for 40% of all work-related fatal accidents.

What are the most dangerous industries to work in?

In descending order, the top 10 most dangerous job titles in the U.S. in 2018 were:

1. Logger
2. Fisher
3. Pilot
4. Roofer
5. Garbage Collector
6. Truck Driver
7. Agriculture Worker
8. Iron/Steel Worker
9. Construction Worker
10. Groundskeeper

Have You Lost a Loved One in a Work Accident? We Want to Help.

Nothing is more devastating than losing a loved one in a sudden accident. It can feel like your world is ending. When your loved one was also your primary source of income, it becomes a struggle to recover not only emotionally, but also financially. Some families never manage it.

We don’t want that to happen to you. You deserve compensation for your loss, and we’ll work hard to get it for you. Contact our South Carolina workplace injury attorneys today to learn how we can take over the logistics for you, so you can focus on the grieving process.

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How Is a Jury Chosen for a Personal Injury Case?

While we strive to settle most personal injury claims outside of court to ensure our clients get the compensation they need sooner, this isn’t always possible. When insurance companies simply refuse to cooperate, that’s when we go to trial.

The outcomes of civil trials, just like criminal trials, are typically determined by juries. Which means the jury selection process is possibly the most important part of any personal injury trial.

If you end up with a jury that is biased against people filing personal injury lawsuits, it could hurt your chances of getting the compensation you dearly need. Luckily, jury members are not decided at random. A skilled attorney can ensure the people who wind up on your jury are ready to be fair and thoughtful when listening to your injury claim.

What Happens During Jury Selection?

As many as 100 people could be called up for jury duty out of the “jury pool” of eligible jurors (U.S. citizens over the age of 18) living in the summoning county. However, all 100 people won’t be selected to serve on the jury. The number of jurors who will actually determine your settlement is typically 12 people.

Who is eligible to be called for jury duty in South Carolina? 

People cannot serve on a jury if they:

• Have been convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year
• Cannot read, write, speak, or understand English
• Have a physical or mental limitation that prevents them from serving
• Have less than a 6^th grade education
• Are employed by the county or court

People cannot be required to serve on a jury if they:

• Are over 65 years of age
• Are employed by the penitentiary
• Have legal custody of children under the age of 7 that they can’t find alternative care for while serving
• Have a “good and sufficient excuse,” such as a temporary physical disability

From the jury pool, potential jurors are whittled down through the jury selection process, which consists of the judge asking potential jurors questions to determine whether or not they are capable of being a fair and unbiased juror.

Unlike most other states, attorneys in South Carolina are not allowed to directly question jurors themselves, but they are allowed to submit a list of questions they would like the judge to ask the jurors and listen to the answers.

After all potentially biased jurors are removed, 20 of the remaining jurors are selected at random, and lawyers from both sides are each allowed to pick four jurors to remove, leaving the 12 who will serve on your case.

What Type of Questions Are Asked in Jury Selection?

Because questions during jury selection are supposed to root out potential biases, common questions include:

• Have you ever worked for an insurance company? Has any member of your family?
• Have you ever filed a personal injury claim? Has any member of your family?
• Do you personally know any of the parties involved in this lawsuit?

Answering “yes” to any of these questions is good reason to remove a juror, since they are unlikely to be impartial.

Jurors will also likely be asked questions related to the type of accident. For example, if you were injured in a car accident, they might be asked “are you familiar with the intersection where the accident happened?” or “do you think most people are good drivers, and why or why not?”

If you were injured by slipping in a restaurant, jurors might be asked “have you ever worked in a restaurant before?” or they might be asked “do you think someone injured in an accident always shares in the blame?”

Jurors might also be asked questions about their personal lives and tastes to see if these could indicate a bias in any way.

We Know How to Pick Juries

Because the jury selection process is so important, it’s absolutely vital to make sure your lawyer knows what they are doing if your case goes to trial. Personal injury lawyers without a lot of experience in the courtroom could hurt your chances of winning before the trial even starts, if they don’t know the right questions to ask during jury selection.

At Joye Injury Lawyers, we have over 50 years of experience helping injury victims get the compensation they deserve when they’ve been injured by someone else’s negligence, and we aren’t afraid to go to court when necessary. Contact our South Carolina personal injury lawyers today to learn more about what we can do for you.

The post How Is a Jury Chosen for a Personal Injury Case? appeared first on Joye Law Firm.

from Joye Law Firm https://www.joyelawfirm.com/2020/11/how-juries-are-chosen/
via https://www.joyelawfirm.com

If Another Resident Harms My Loved One in a Nursing Home, Who Is Liable?

When most people think of nursing home abuse, they are thinking about the caretakers in the facility abusing residents. While nursing home residents can suffer at the hands of negligent or abusive staff, a far more common source of abuse is other residents.

Resident-on-resident abuse can be so prevalent that many long-term care staff simply consider it part of the normal day-to-day of life in assisted living facilities. However, abuse of any kind should never be considered “normal.”

Nursing home and assisted living facility residents are more vulnerable to abuse because they are often either mentally or physically unable to protect themselves and can be too afraid of retaliation to speak up. That doesn’t mean no one should or can be held liable for the abuse your loved one suffers in a nursing home facility.

When nursing home residents abuse other residents, you can’t bring a lawsuit against the perpetrator, usually because the violence is typically the result of cognitive deficits and so the abusive resident can’t be held legally responsible for their actions.

However, the nursing home has a legal duty to protect their residents from abuse, violence, neglect, and harassment, even and especially from other residents. That means they can be held liable for failing to do so.

How Often Does Resident-on-Resident Abuse Occur?

In one study of 2,000 residents across 10 nursing homes, one in every five residents reported having aggressive encounters with other residents roughly once a month (every four weeks). These encounters included angry yelling, spitting, hitting, kicking, biting, scratching, and having objects thrown at them.

In another study of 249 nursing homes across 10 states, researchers spoke to nurse aides about the resident-on-resident abuse they witnessed over the prior three months.

• 97% observed residents yelling at each other
• 94% observed residents pushing, grabbing, or pinching each other
• 91% observed aggressive behavior between residents
• 77% observed residents exposing themselves to other residents
• 69% observed residents entering other residents’ rooms and stealing their belongings

What Happens When Residents Are Being Abused?

Nursing home abuse can have a serious impact on nursing home residents’ quality of life, not only emotionally, but mentally and physically as well.

• They can experience loneliness, anxiety, and depression.
• They can experience more rapid functional decline.
• They are more likely to suffer injuries such as falls, fractures, cuts, and bruises.

Signs of abuse include withdrawal from family and social settings, lack of interest in things they used to enjoy, increased anxiety, unexplained bruises, and sexually transmitted diseases.

What Contributes to Resident-on-Resident Abuse?

According to the National Center on Elder Abuse, there are several factors that contribute to increased resident-on-resident abuse in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. These include:

• Overcrowding
• Understaffing
• High number of residents with dementia
• Mingling of residents with psychiatric illness and cognitive impairment
• Lack of staff intervention

Studies suggest that the attitude of staff may be one of the biggest factors in resident-on-resident abuse. When staff treat abusive behavior between residents as “expected” and “normal,” they are less likely to do anything to stop it.

Protect Your Loved One From Further Abuse by Holding the Facility Liable

Nursing home staff should be aware of their residents’ behavior toward each other, so whether they knew and did nothing, or should have known but didn’t because they were negligent in monitoring their residents’ health and well-being, they can be held liable.

The South Carolina nursing home abuse attorneys at Joye Law Firm can help with cases of nursing home abuse, both when perpetrated by staff and when it’s caused by other residents. If you suspect your loved one is being abused, don’t let it go on any longer. Contact our team today for a free case review.

The post If Another Resident Harms My Loved One in a Nursing Home, Who Is Liable? appeared first on Joye Law Firm.

from Joye Law Firm https://www.joyelawfirm.com/2020/11/nursing-home-liability-resident-assault/
via https://www.joyelawfirm.com

The Difference Between a Workers’ Compensation and Personal Injury Claim in South Carolina

Annually in South Carolina, dozens of workers are injured on the job. Despite the fact that many of these accidents involve blue-collar workers such as construction workers, other professions like healthcare workers, manufacturing employees, and even office workers are also all at risk of a workplace injury.

When an accident on the job occurs and results in a worker injury, there can be two possible routes for recovering compensation depending upon the circumstances of the case.  In most instances, a worker can only recover workers’ compensation benefits for a work injury as workers’ comp is deemed to be an “exclusive remedy” under South Carolina law.  However, in those instances when the worker is injured due to the negligence of someone other than his employer or a co-employee, the worker can then pursue both a workers’ compensation and a personal injury claim. The following article discusses the differences of each claim type.

WORKERS’ COMPENSATION CLAIMS IN SOUTH CAROLINA

Almost all South Carolina employers are required by law to have workers’ compensation insurance. If a worker is injured on the job, this insurance is a no fault system that will pay for not only the injured party’s medical bills, but also a portion of their lost wages. A “no fault” insurance system means that a worker who is hurt on the job does not have to prove someone else was at fault to receive benefits. In exchange for no fault coverage, the worker gives up their right to file a civil lawsuit against their employer. Thus, the employer is given immunity, or liability protection.

When an employee is hurt on the job in South Carolina and they file a workers’ compensation claim, they have the right to be reimbursed for all of their necessary and reasonable medical bills incurred due to the injury, in addition to wage replacement at a rate of 66 ⅔ percent of their average weekly wage (this amount cannot go over $866.67 for the year 2020). Injured workers can also be reimbursed for gas mileage costs at 57.5 cents per mile for travelling to and from a doctor’s office. Benefits are paid following a week-long waiting period. It is required that the worker reports their injury to their employer within 90 days of the accident.

PERSONAL INJURY CLAIMS IN SOUTH CAROLINA

Personal injury claims and workers’ compensation claims are extremely different. First, workers hurt on the job that are covered by workers’ compensation insurance are unable to file a personal injury claim against their employers. However, these workers do have the right to file a personal injury claim against a third party (not their employer or a co-employee) and whose negligence caused their injury. For example, this third party could be the manufacturer of a defective and dangerous piece of equipment that caused a workplace accident or it could be an at-fault driver who caused a car wreck while the worker was in a work vehicle.

In a personal injury claim, the burden of proof falls on the claimant’s shoulders to prove that the other party was at fault.  The worker needs to prove that the third party committed an act of negligence. Further, they must prove that this act of negligence not only caused the worker’s accident and injuries, but also that they suffered damages due to this accident.

Unlike in a worker’s compensation claim, a personal injury claim makes it possible for a worker to receive compensation for intangible damages, such as their pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life, in addition to the compensation for medical expenses and lost wages. Further, in a personal injury claim, the worker is able to recover compensation for lost wages at 100 percent of their wages, as opposed to the 66 ⅔ percent of lost wages that they can recover in a workers’ compensation claim. Thus, while the worker is tasked with the burden of proof in a personal injury claim, this type of claim gives them a right to recover a more expansive scope of damages than are possible in a workers’ compensation claim. Finally, in a personal injury claim, you are given three years from the date of injury to file your claim, as opposed to 90 days notice requirement in a workers compensation claim.

CAN I FILE A WORKERS’ COMPENSATION CLAIM AND A THIRD PARTY LIABILITY CLAIM?

If you are classified as an independent contractor and not as an employee, and thus are not covered by workers’ compensation insurance, you have the right to file a lawsuit against the party offering you work if they were at fault in causing your accident. If you are an employee, and are covered by workers’ compensation insurance, you may be able to file both a workers’ compensation claim and a personal injury claim against a third party, but you do not have the right file a civil lawsuit against your employer.

If you believe that third-party negligence was the cause of your work accident injuries, you should contact an experienced personal injury attorney to discuss your case as soon as possible. It is important to keep in mind that both in filing both workers’ compensation and personal injury claims there are time limits that must be adhered to. It’s also important to know that there are procedures which must be followed to allow you to receive full compensation.  For example, if you improperly settle your third party claim without the written consent of the workers’ compensation insurance company, this can void your entitlement to workers’ comp benefits.  The sooner you reach out to an attorney about your claims, the more likely you are to recover full compensation.

CONTACT OUR LAW OFFICES TODAY

If you were hurt on the job and have questions about how to proceed, you should schedule a consultation with one of our highly experienced workplace injury attorneys at the Joye Law Firm today. We can help you to understand the various claim options, as well as guide you through the complicated process of deciding which claim type is best for you to pursue. In addition, we will gather evidence about your case on your behalf, prove that you deserve compensation due to damages you have suffered as a result of your accident, and negotiate with an insurance company to ensure that you are awarded your full settlement amount.  In many instances, we opt to have different lawyers handle a client’s workers’ compensation case and the third party liability claim based on what type of cases the lawyer focuses on.

Please contact us online or by phone today to schedule your free case consultation. We will work hard for you.

The post The Difference Between a Workers’ Compensation and Personal Injury Claim in South Carolina appeared first on Joye Law Firm.

from Joye Law Firm https://www.joyelawfirm.com/2020/10/workers-compensation-versus-personal-injury-claims/
via https://www.joyelawfirm.com