40% of Fatal Car Crashes Between Christmas and New Years are Caused by Drunk Drivers

As the song goes, there’s no place like home for the holidays. But when everyone is traveling and celebrating with friends and family they may have not seen for a long time, there are more cars on the road, and everyone is drinking more than they usually do. This translates to a dramatic increase in the number of drunk driving accidents during the winter holidays.

No one should have their holiday ruined and their life destroyed over someone else’s reckless decision to drink and drive. That’s why we urge everyone to make smart choices this year by never driving after drinking alcohol and always having an alternate option for getting to and from home when attending holiday parties.

New Year’s Eve is the Deadliest Day of the Year for Alcohol-Related Crashes

According to data collected by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), an average of 70 people are killed on New Year’s Day alone every year in crashes where at least one person involved was over the legal limit (BAC of 0.08% or higher). When comparing alcohol-related crashes to non-alcohol-related crashes, January 1 has nearly twice as many drunk driving deaths than any other day of the year.

When you stretch that out to the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day, there’s an average of 300 drunk driving deaths, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. That’s 300 deaths in just one week, every year, due to drunk drivers.

Don’t Drink and Drive—It’s Not Worth the Risk

When you drink and drive, you aren’t putting only your life at risk, you are also putting the lives of everyone who shares the road with you at risk: other drivers, their passengers, and pedestrians alike.

What many drivers don’t know, however, is that even one drink, even if it doesn’t put you over the legal limit, can impair you enough to increase your risk of an accident.

While you’re not legally intoxicated until you have a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.08%, at just 0.02%, which you can reach after only one drink, you will have a harder time multitasking, tracking moving objects, and have impaired judgement.

If you’re caught drinking and driving, you’re not just risking a DUI citation. If you injure someone, you could face criminal charges AND civil charges filed by the injured victim or their family for the cost of their medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.

How to Celebrate the New Year Safely if You are Drinking

• Always have an alternate method home. Even if you drive yourself to the festivities, don’t hesitate to stay the night or find another method home if you decide to drink. Your car can always be picked up the following morning, but injuries or deaths can’t be undone.
• If you plan to drink alcohol, pace yourself. Your level of intoxication is based not only on how much you have to drink, but also how fast you drink. If you have several drinks at the start of the night and then stop, you may still be impaired at the end of the night. Instead, have a drink of water in-between every drink of alcohol, and make sure to eat food as well, as drinking on an empty stomach can make you intoxicated faster.
• If you are enjoying mixed drinks, use juice instead of soda. Carbonation helps alcohol get absorbed into the blood faster, which means you may get drunk faster.
• Use the buddy system. You and a friend or family member can help hold each other accountable for how much and how fast you are drinking, and make the recommendation to switch to water or another non-alcoholic drink when necessary.
• Enjoy something that only looks One major factor that often leads to binge drinking over the holidays and at social events is peer pressure. Even as adults, it can feel awkward to be the only one not drinking at a party. Thankfully, there are many mocktails and mixers such as juice or club soda that you can drink or simply hold without inviting awkward questions or unwelcome but well-intentioned offers to grab you something to drink.
• Remember that there is no difference between “drunk” and “too drunk to drive.” Once you begin to feel buzzed, you are already too impaired to safely drive.

Injured by a Drunk Driver? Call Joye Law Firm.

The dangers of drunk driving are well known, which is why there is no excuse to ever drink and drive. So, when you or someone you love are hurt by a drunk driver, you should not hesitate to hold them accountable for that harm and demand compensation for your medical bills and pain and suffering.

At Joye Law firm, we’ve helped many families across South Carolina get the help they need after drunk driving crashes that weren’t their fault. We want to help you, too. Call our firm today for a free consultation to learn more and speak with a lawyer.

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Major Red Flags to Look Out for When Visiting Your Loved One in a Nursing Home

Many families move their elderly or disabled loved ones into nursing homes or other assisted living facilities when they can no longer live independently. Nursing homes are supposed to provide better-quality care than residents can get at home from family, but unfortunately, that doesn’t always happen. Sometimes residents are neglected or abused by staff, or other residents.

This is both morally wrong and illegal. Nursing home residents have the legal right to be free from abuse, and when they are harmed because of neglect or abuse, they and their families also have the right to get compensation for their neglect/abuse-related medical expenses, their pain and suffering, the cost to move them to a new facility, and more.

Nursing Home Abuse is More Common Than You Know

One study found that nearly 1 in 4 nursing home residents surveyed had experienced at least one instance of physical abuse by nursing home staff. It’s important to always be on the lookout for warning signs that your loved one may be experiencing neglect or abuse whenever you visit or speak with them.

Unscheduled visits are an important way to do so because they give you the chance to see how the facility operates when they aren’t expecting to be watched.

How Do the Staff Seem?

One of the most common reasons that nursing home residents experience abuse and neglect is because nursing homes hire inexperienced staff and/or not enough staff to adequately care for all residents.

Do the staff members you see around the facility seem tired, stressed, or frustrated? This could be a sign that the staff are undertrained and/or overworked.

Do you recognize any faces from the last time you visited, or do most of the workers seem to be new? A high turnover rate could be another sign that the facility has poor working conditions for staff, which almost always causes poor living conditions for residents.

How Do the Residents Seem?

If residents seem malnourished or have poor hygiene, this is a glaring red flag that they are likely being neglected.

Noticeable injuries on residents, such as cuts, bruises, or casts on broken bones, could indicate physical abuse is happening, but they could also be a sign of neglect. Many nursing home residents have mobility problems and need assistance walking or getting out of beds or chairs. When they don’t receive this assistance, they can easily fall and become injured.

It’s also important to watch for sudden changes in personality in your loved one. If they seem depressed or scared, it may be a sign that abuse is happening when you’re not around. You should also carefully note if your loved one often seems confused or “foggy.” While this could be a symptom of dementia, it could also be a sign that your loved one is being overmedicated.

What Are the Interactions Like Between Staff and Residents?

When you are observing staff on visits to the facility, make note of their interactions with residents. Are they friendly and patient with residents, or are they rude? Are they too physically aggressive when touching or moving residents? Do they ignore residents who clearly need help?

Make sure to ask your loved one their opinion on the staff. Even a comment as innocuous as “I don’t like so-and-so,” could be a sign pointing to abuse. Some nursing home residents are too afraid of retaliation to come out and say it when they are being abused, while others may be suffering from dementia or other conditions that make it so they can’t remember exactly what type of abuse they’ve suffered.

What is Your Impression of the Facilities?

Is the nursing home clean? Has it been updated recently, or are the furnishings old and worn? Does it seem to be up to code regarding fire safety? Is the nursing home accommodating to people with mobility issues or other disabilities, and feature ramps and handrails?

What about the dining hall—are the food options healthy and good tasting? Are residents supervised in public areas, and do they receive help from staff when they need it?

Many nursing home owners and management companies don’t maintain their facilities the way they are supposed to, and when they don’t, they may be guilty of neglect or negligence.

Nursing Home Residents Have Rights—We Uphold Them

Nursing home abuse is an epidemic, but we won’t stand for people and corporations abusing the residents in their care or the trust of families who depend on them. If you’ve seen warning signs at your loved one’s nursing home and suspect they may be being abused or neglected, contact our firm right away.

We can help prove when abuse or neglect is occurring, get your loved one to a safer facility, and get your family compensation for the trauma you’ve been through. Reach out to our South Carolina nursing home abuse attorneys today for a free consultation.

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Safety Tips for Beginners at the Ice Rink to Avoid Injury

While Decembers in South Carolina may not get cold enough to go ice skating on the rivers and lakes, many people love to celebrate the winter holidays by visiting indoor ice-skating rinks.

But slipping and sliding on the ice isn’t just a silly gag in tv shows and movies. When you’ve never been on ice skates before, or even if you haven’t been in a while, it can be difficult to keep your feet under you, and easy to bump or crash into other skaters. And while the blades on your skates may not be as sharp as the ones in your kitchen, they are sharp enough to cause injury.

Some of the most common injuries from ice skating at indoor rinks come from falling and collisions with other skaters, and often include bruises, sprains, fractures, and head injuries.

In other words, ice skating can be dangerous! But it is also a fun activity, whether solo, with a date, or with your family, and is safe when you take the appropriate precautions.

Follow these tips for a safe and fun time at the rink this winter.

7 Tips to Avoid Injury

1. Make sure your skates fit and the blades are sharp enough. Skates that are too big won’t give you enough ankle support, making it easier for you to lose your balance and fall, and can even put stress on your muscles and bones, making serious injury more likely. Skates that are too small can cause painful blisters, and prevent proper circulation in the feet. And while you may think dull blades are less dangerous, they actually make it harder to skate, and thus easier to fall.
2. Wear safety gear! Many people don’t wear safety gear—such as helmets, knee pads, wrist pads, or elbow pads—like they should when ice skating. But if you’d wear them when roller blading or skateboarding, why wouldn’t you wear them when ice skating? Safety gear can make a huge difference in preventing injuries, especially concussions, after falls when ice skating.
3. Practice falling. It will be easier to control your fall on solid ground than ice, so practice how to fall while protecting your head and keeping your limbs away your skates’ blades before getting on the ice. If possible, tuck your chin into your chest, and try to land on your butt rather than on your outstretched arms. But if you are falling forward and need to put your arms out to protect your face and head, keep your elbows slightly bent to reduce the risk of wrist injury.
4. Stick to the basics. As impressive as it may be to see people performing tricks such as skating backward, spins, or jumps (even small bunny hops), don’t attempt these until you’ve mastered skating comfortably, which will usually take multiple visits to the rink. This also goes for games such as tag or other games likely to cause injury.
5. Keep space between you and other skaters. Novice skaters will often instinctively grab the closet person to them to prevent a fall, but this often results in both skaters crashing to the ice. To avoid injuring others, and to avoid becoming victim to someone else’s fall, keep a safe distance between yourself and other skaters on the rink.
6. If you fall, try to get up or out of the way as quickly as you can. Other skaters will have a harder time seeing you when you’re on the ground, and inexperienced skaters will likely have a difficult time stopping or moving out of the way before colliding with you. The easiest way to get up from a fall is from a kneeling position.
7. Never let children skate unsupervised. Small children are at greater risk at ice rinks because they can be more easily knocked over and may not have as great a sense of balance as adults and teens. Make sure a capable adult who already knows how to skate is always nearby. Children should also skate to the outside of the rink where they can grab onto the handrail if necessary.

Was Your or Your Child’s Injury Due to Someone Else’s Negligence? Call Joye Law Firm Today.

While not all falls and injuries at an ice-skating rink are the fault of negligence, some are. And when you or someone you love is injured because of someone else, we want to help you hold the appropriate parties accountable for the harm they caused so you can get the money you need for your medical expenses and lost wages.

South Carolina law grants ice rink operators some immunity against personal injury lawsuits when injuries result from “the inherent risk of skating,” which often includes falls and collisions with other skaters. But when facilities break safety provisions such as exceeding occupant capacities, not removing hazards from the ice, or not posting enough supervisors for the number of skaters, rinks may be liable.

Our law firm provides free consultations to injured South Carolinians, so don’t hesitate to contact us today to learn if you have a claim after an ice rink injury or other accident.

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How to Safely Transport a Christmas Tree

According to a AAA survey, 44% of Americans who plan to purchase a live Christmas tree will not secure it safely when transporting it home. This is despite 16% of respondents saying they’ve previously had their tree fall off their car in transit!

Road debris caused 200,000 crashes, 39,000 injuries, and 500 deaths in a four-year period, according to AAA. And roughly two-thirds of those crashes were caused by objects, like Christmas trees, falling off vehicles.

And when a Christmas tree causes a crash—either directly, by falling onto another vehicle or into the path of another vehicle; or indirectly, when a collision or crash occurs because a vehicle is braking or swerving to avoid a fallen Christmas tree—the driver of the vehicle the tree was improperly secured to can be held liable for any injuries and vehicle damage.

This is true for any cargo, not just Christmas trees. All U.S. states, including South Carolina, have laws penalizing drivers who don’t secure cargo to prevent it from shifting, falling, or leaking.

How to Load Your Tree

Only transport a tree on the roof if the vehicle is equipped with a roof rack.

If it does not have a roof rack, place it in the bed of a pickup truck, or inside an SUV or minivan in which the entire tree can fit with all doors closed—If the liftgate needs to be open, the tree is too large to transport safely inside the vehicle.

To avoid winding up with a tree that doesn’t fit, make sure to measure the interior of your vehicle before heading to the tree lot. When picking a tree, also consider how you will be getting the tree up onto the roof, and then back down again. Selecting a too large tree increases your risk of injuring yourself when lifting it.

If you don’t have access to a vehicle with a roof rack or cargo bed, or one which is large enough to carry the tree in the interior, you don’t have to give up on having a live tree, but you should have it delivered rather than attempt to transport it yourself. Tying a tree to the roof of your car when you don’t have a roof rack means it won’t be as secure, and it has a much higher chance of damaging your vehicle’s roof as well as damaging the seal of your vehicle’s windows and doors.

Wrap the tree in a blanket or tarp.

Most tree farms will offer to wrap your tree in netting to keep the branches tightly bundled, but wrapping it in an additional tarp will help protect the interior or paint of your vehicle from fallen needles, scratches, and sap.

If the tree is not bundled in netting, the tarp will be the only thing keeping the branches bound. The tarp makes the tree easier to handle, helps it to present less wind resistance when transported on the roof rack, and makes the tree less likely to injure passengers when transported in the interior.

Secure the tree.

This is important whether you are transporting it on the roof rack, in the bed of a pickup, or in the interior of a SUV or minivan.

When using the roof racks, point the tree so that the trunk of the tree faces the front of your vehicle. If the top of the tree is facing into the wind, it could lift the smaller and lighter top of the tree, shifting it or even blow it off the vehicle entirely. It can even damage the branches, so you end up with an unsightly tree by the time you make it home. The heavier trunk also makes a better anchor point.

Bring your own twine or rope. The lightweight twine offered by many tree lots may be insufficient. We recommend a strong nylon rope.

Using the fixed vehicle tie-down points, secure the tree at the bottom, just above the lowest branches, at the center, and at the top by looping your rope around the trunk.

When you have it secure, give it the “tug test.” Make sure the tree doesn’t shift from side to side, OR from front to back, or you’re risking it sliding down the front of your hood if you need to make a hard stop.

If the end of the tree extends past your bumper, you should tie a reflective flag to the end of the tree to alert other drivers.

If you are transporting your tree in the bed of a pickup, make sure that you know what parts of the bed may get hotter than others, such as near the exhaust pipe. This could damage the tree or pose a fire hazard.

If you are transporting the tree inside your vehicle, make sure you still have a clear view outside the rear window.

Drive cautiously.

Avoid highways and any streets with heavy traffic when possible. You will need to drive at a slower speed than usual, because high speeds can increase the airflow around the tree, potentially damaging it, or worse, tugging it loose.

Additionally, if you are not used to driving with cargo on the roof rack, you will need to be extra careful, because roof cargo often changes the handling of the vehicle. This increases your risk of losing control of the vehicle and crashing if you need to make a sharp turn or brake suddenly.

Make pitstops to check on the tree.

It may be a good idea, especially if you are making a long trip, to pull over at least once  to check on the tree. You’ll want to make sure it hasn’t shifted in transit and that the ropes haven’t loosened.

If You’ve Been Injured in a Crash Caused by Road Debris, We’re Here for You

At Joye Law Firm, we know how nerve-racking it can be to drive behind a vehicle with cargo hanging out of an open trunk or extending far past the edges of the roof, knowing that if the driver didn’t secure it properly, it could fly off and hit your vehicle. Unfortunately, this isn’t an unfounded fear! It can and does happen every day.

When you’ve been injured because of someone else’s negligence, we can step in and make sure you get the full compensation you’re owed. After an injuring-causing crash, contact our firm today for a free case evaluation.

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Watch Out for Distracted Drivers in Parking Lots This Holiday Season

About one in every five car accidents happens not at busy intersections, around blind corners, or on highways, but in parking lots. And while many people assume parking lot accidents are always minor because they happen at low speeds, this isn’t true. The National Safety Council estimates that 60,000 people are injured in collisions in parking lots and parking garages every year, and 500 people or more are killed.

And since we’re in the holiday season, more people will be visiting big box stores and shopping malls to purchase gifts, which means parking lot accidents are likely to go up. If you or someone you love are injured in a parking lot crash through someone else’s negligence, contact the personal injury lawyers at Joye Law Firm to learn how we can help you get compensation.

Why Do Parking Lot Accidents Happen?

The number one cause of parking lot accidents is distracted driving. People who would never text and drive while on the highway think nothing of texting and driving while in a parking lot because they assume the stakes and dangers are lower. But parking lots are full of other distracted drivers and pedestrians, especially children who may dart out in front of you, as well as slow-moving older adults who may be behind your car without you realizing it.

Additionally, there are lots of obstacles blocking line of sight in parking lots, and there is likely to be poor lighting conditions. Finally, traffic laws aren’t always enforceable in parking lots because they are considered private property, so people may be more likely to drive recklessly by ignoring stop signs, speed limits, lane markers, and taking off their seatbelts.

About two-thirds of all drivers in parking lots are driving distracted, according to National Safety Council findings.

How drivers are distracted when driving in parking lots:

• 66% make phone calls
• 63% input directions into their GPS
• 58% browse digital music playlists
• 56% text
• 52% browse or post to social media
• 50% send emails
• 49% take photos
• 43% browse the internet
• 42% watch videos

If you need to do any of these tasks, make sure you only do so when you are safely parked in a parking space, and never do so while your vehicle is in motion.

What Kind of Injuries Do Parking Lot Collisions Cause?

When vehicles collide in a parking lot, vehicle occupants can suffer contusions and soft tissue injuries such as whiplash. Drivers and front passengers can also be injured by airbags deploying.

But the people most at risk in parking lot collisions are pedestrians, who can suffer:

• Broken bones
• Crushing injuries
• Head injuries
• Internal injuries/organ damage
• Death

When victims are not at fault for their own injuries, they can sue the at-fault drivers to get compensation for their medical bills and other injury-related expenses.

What to Do if You Were Injured in a Parking Lot

1. Call 911 to bring medical personnel to the scene to treat injuries. Be aware that because parking lots are considered private property, police may not always respond to minor accidents in parking lots to file reports.
2. Exchange contact information with the other party and any witnesses. Parking lots and garages may also have attendants or security guards who can act as witnesses. If confusing signage or a poorly designed parking lot or garage may have contributed to your crash, you may be able to file a premises liability claim. In this case, you should also get the contact information of the owner of the lot or manager of the store the lot belongs to as well.
3. If you are able, take pictures of the scene of the collision, and any vehicle damage and injuries.
4. Determine who was at fault. This last step may need the involvement of a lawyer. If the accident involves two vehicles, but only one was in motion, usually the driver of the moving vehicle is at fault. If the accident involves two vehicles but both were in motion, you will need to determine who had right-of-way. When collisions involve a vehicle and a pedestrian, the driver is usually liable for failing to check if the way was clear before pulling forward or backing up.

If You’ve Been Hit by a Car in the Parking Lot, Call Joye Law Firm

Parking lot accidents can result in severe injuries and even death, so don’t let the insurance company try to pass off your claim as nothing serious or not deserving of compensation. We’ve dealt with these kinds of cases before, and we know how to build a strong claim to get you the full compensation you need to recover your damages.

And at Joye Law Firm, your initial consultation is free. Call today to learn if you have a claim.

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How to Look Up a Nursing Home’s Qualifications

Many South Carolinians entrust the health and happiness of their loved ones to nursing homes or other long-term care facilities when they are no longer able to live independently. Choosing to move a loved one into a nursing home can be a difficult decision to make, but is often a necessary one for families who are unable to provide full-time care on their own.

But unfortunately, nursing home neglect and abuse is an epidemic in this country, which is why it’s so important to be able to tell the good nursing homes from the bad ones. This guide is intended to help you navigate rating systems to choose a trustworthy nursing home, because all nursing home residents deserve to have their rights protected, regardless of the size or price of the facility.

Medicare Ratings

One of the quickest and simplest ways to check the rating of a nursing home is to search the name of the facility on the Medicare website. You can also search for a complete list of nursing homes that accept Medicare in your state, and compare them based on a star rating from one to five stars. One star means the quality of the home is significantly below average, and five stars means it is significantly above average.

Stars are determined based on three main aspects: health inspections, staffing, and quality measures:

• The health inspection rating is based on the previous three annual health inspections conducted and whether any investigations were launched into the nursing home over abuse or neglect complaints.
• The staffing rating takes into consideration how many staff are needed vs. how many staff are working, and how many hours of care each residents receives, with attention paid to whether residents with severe needs are receiving more care than residents with minimal needs.
• Quality measures refer how well the nursing home is providing for residents’ physical and clinical needs.

Special Focus Facility Lists

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services also provides a list of “special focus facilities” (SFFs). SFFs are nursing homes that are either known offenders for providing severely lacking quality of care (1-star facilities on the Medicare 5-star ranking system), or that have been or are part of a government program that targets bad nursing homes in an attempt to improve their quality of care.

Facilities that rank poorly enough to qualify for the SFF program will receive increased inspections and punishments with fines or denial of Medicare payment until they correct the problem(s). By viewing this list, you can see whether a nursing home was ever on the list and whether it improved or relapsed in quality while considered an SFF.

Some nursing home facilities will either be forcibly dropped from Medicare/Medicaid or voluntarily stop accepting Medicare/Medicaid rather than improve their quality of care.

U.S. News & World Report List

U.S. News & World Report publishes lists of the “best nursing homes” in the U.S., which are also searchable by state and ZIP code.

This ranking takes into account:

• The size of the facility (number of beds available)
• Whether it specializes in short-term or long-term care
• Whether it’s privately owned or state owned
• Whether it accepts Medicare/Medicaid
• Whether it had any health inspection violations in the last 3 years
• Rates of residents who experience infections, falls, and receive vaccinations

Remember, Ratings Aren’t Everything

It’s a sad fact that residents can experience neglect and abuse even at highly rated nursing homes. Inspections may not catch everything, and abuse and neglect may not be widespread across the facility. Your loved one may be the victim of one particular caretaker or of a violent resident.

When determining what nursing home to choose, it can be helpful to make unscheduled visits when touring. This could give you a chance to see how the facility looks when they aren’t expecting to be observed. Red flags on a tour include:

• Badly maintained or aging facilities
• Staff that appears overworked
• Residents that seem unattended, depressed, frightened, or overmedicated

On the other hand, if staff seems competent and responsive to residents, the facilities are clean, and the dining area appears to offer tasty and healthy options, it is likely a safe place for your loved one. But speaking to your loved one frequently, including on the phone or by video call if you are unable to visit in person, can help you catch warning signs of abuse and neglect such as poor hygiene and sudden changes in appearance or personality.

When You Need Legal Help for Your Loved One, We’re Here For You

If you’re worried about the level of care your loved one is receiving at their current nursing home, and you want to know what your legal options are, contact Joye Law Firm today for a free, confidential, no-obligation consultation.

We’ve helped families across South Carolina get justice for their loved ones, as well as the money they need to cover the cost of medical treatment and moving to a new, safer home after experiencing abuse and neglect. We want to help you, too.

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How to Safely Ride a Motorcycle at Night

Most multi-vehicle accidents involving motorcycles happen when drivers fail to see motorcyclists and collide with them. Driving at night just makes it even more likely for drivers to fail to spot a motorcyclist approaching or in an adjoining lane. In fact, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), 27% of all fatal motorcycle accidents occur between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m.

Unfortunately, while the safest way to ride a motorcycle is during daylight hours when the weather is clear, this isn’t always possible.

If you find yourself needing to get somewhere after dark and your motorcycle is your only way to do so, there are a few key safety tips you will need to keep in mind to protect yourself from injury in a collision or crash.

Add Reflective Tape to Your Gear and Motorcycle

While high-viz or brightly colored motorcycle gear may help make you easier to spot in the daytime, it will NOT work in the dark. However, while reflective gear won’t make much difference in the daytime, it WILL at night and in low light conditions like dusk and dawn.

Thankfully, you don’t need to buy separate reflective gear just for nighttime riding. Reflective tape, decals, and stickers are inexpensive additions that you can stick onto your bike and gear to make yourself more visible to drivers. However, one piece of gear you should swap out when riding at night is a tinted visor, if you use one during the day.

Some of the best places to add reflective tape to make yourself more visible include:

• Edges of windscreen
• Wheel rims
• Saddlebags
• Helmet
• Shoulder blades of jacket

Reflective tape placed where it will be visible from behind should reflect red, to match the color of a car’s brake lights, while tape placed where it will be visible from the side or front should be white or yellow.

Check Your Lights

Make sure your headlights, brake lights, and signals are fully functioning to make yourself and your movements more visible, and to improve your range of sight.

If your headlights are cloudy, the lens may need to be cleaned or the bulbs replaced. You may even want to consider upgrading your stock headlights to brighter LED headlights to improve your range of vision when driving at night.

Obstacles in the road, such as potholes, debris, and fallen tree limbs will be less visible at night. That’s why it’s important to increase your chances of spotting them before you get to them. Only ride within your headlights. This means that if your stopping distance is greater than the length you can see ahead of you, you need to slow down.

Another smart safety option for night riding is adding brake light flashers or headlight modulators to your bike. Brake light flashers cause your brake lights to flash multiple times when the brake is applied, while a headlight modulator will cause your low beams to pulse. Flashing lights draw the eye more automatically than steady lights do, so this could help make you more visible to other drivers.

Know Where to Look

You’ll be using your headlights, but so will other drivers, and the bright headlights of cars may impede your vision or temporarily blind you, which may also lead to a crash.

You may have heard the advice to “look where you want to go” when riding a motorcycle. If you find yourself blinded by approaching headlights, do NOT look down and away, as this can affect your ability to control your bike or steer straight. Instead, keep your eyes on the far-right line of the road (if you are in the right lane), or the painted lane markers ahead of you, rather than the vehicles around you, which will keep you headed in the right direction and in your lane.

Pay Extra Attention to Other Vehicles

It’s always vital to ride defensively when on a motorcycle, but even more so at night. There will likely be far less traffic at night than during the daytime, but any vehicles you are sharing the road with may be far more dangerous than they would be during the daytime.

At night, you are more likely to encounter drunk drivers, fatigued drivers, and drivers who are speeding. You are 3x more likely to be killed in a crash at night than during the day, and 4x more likely to be killed in a drunk driving accident. Furthermore, studies show that drowsy driving is just as or even more dangerous than drunk driving.

You will need to ride more slowly and carefully than you may usually. Additionally, other vehicles may not be the only things on the road you may have to watch out for. You may also be more likely to encounter animals such as deer crossing the road at night.

Injured in a Motorcycle Crash? Call Joye Law Firm.

Our motorcycle injury attorneys know how often motorcycle riders are the ones to suffer when other drivers are negligent behind the wheel, including speeding or driving drunk. And it only gets worse when the sun goes down and visibility worsens for all motorists.

That’s why we want to help South Carolina motorcyclists get the help they need to cover their medical bills and replace lost wages after crashes that weren’t their fault. Call our firm today for a free, no obligation consultation, and you’ll pay nothing unless we win your case.

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Which Fall or Winter Holiday Has the Most Drunk Driving Crashes?

When the leaves begin to change color, we know we’ve entered the start of the holiday season. And while the holidays are a great time to get together with friends and family, for many, they also mean excessive drinking and a rise in drunk driving crashes.

Thirty-seven percent of all fatal crashes on holidays are the fault of drunk drivers. Altogether, drunk drivers caused more than 6,000 deaths during the holidays between 2010-2018. During that same period, South Carolina ranked 8th in the nation for having the most drunk driving deaths annually on Thanksgiving and Christmas.

If you or a loved one is injured by a drunk driver, the team at Joye Law Firm can help you get the compensation you need to put the pieces of your life back together. But we far and above prefer helping reduce the number of drunk driving crashes during the holiday season so no one has to experience injury or losing a loved one during what should be a joyful time.

Drunk Driving on Thanksgiving

Your risk of a fatal drunk driving crash on Thanksgiving is 77% higher than average for any other day of the year. Between 2013-2017, more than 800 people were killed in drunk driving accidents during the Thanksgiving holiday, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

On average, men will have 3.1 drinks each on Thanksgiving Day, while women will have 2.4 drinks, according to data collected by alcohol.org.

But one aspect that makes Thanksgiving so dangerous for drivers is the length of the holiday. The day before Thanksgiving is often called “Blackout Wednesday” or “Drinksgiving,” referring to the binge drinking many people, especially younger people, engage in when spending time with friends before the family holiday. And because the actual holiday takes place on a Thursday, many people may be staying in town until the end of the weekend before traveling home, which results in more drinking, more drunk drivers, and more cars on the road in general.

Drunk Driving on Christmas

Of the three major winter holidays, Christmas has the least drunk driving deaths, but that doesn’t mean there is no danger. In fact, drunk driving crashes start to steadily increase beginning at Christmas and continuing up until the New Year. Drunk drivers make up 40% of all fatal accidents between Christmas and New Year. In 2018, that meant 285 entirely preventable deaths.

Why is this? It is likely in large part because people are off from school or work, attending holiday parties where alcohol is involved, and more people are traveling, which means more drunk drivers and more traffic.

Drunk Driving on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day

Your risk of a fatal drunk driving crash is 129% higher on New Year’s Day than the average for any other day of the year. In fact, the National Safety Council predictions estimate that as many as 384 people could be killed in drunk driving crashes this year between Thursday, December 31 and Sunday, January 3^rd.

According to alcohol.org, the average American over the age of 21 will have 4.4 drinks on New Year’s Eve. With binge drinking defined as having more than 4-5 drinks in under two hours, of those who drink, 47% of men will binge drink and 40% of women will binge drink, the highest rates of any holiday.

What’s Considered Drunk Driving?

South Carolina defines drunk driving as driving when you have a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.08% or higher. With a BAC of at least 0.08%, you will be automatically charged with DUI, but you can also be charged with DUI if you have a BAC of at least 0.05% but less than 0.08% if other evidence also suggests you are too impaired to drive.

So, what is 0.08% BAC in practical terms? Unless you have access to a breathalyzer, which most people don’t, it can be hard to tell if you’ve reached the legal limit, especially since it can vary depending on many factors, including alcohol percentage of the drinks; how quickly you were drinking; whether you ate food or drank water with it; and your age, gender, and body type; there’s no clear answer based on how many drinks you had.

So, how can you know whether you’re still safe to drive? The truth is ANY amount of alcohol can impair your ability to drive, and you can still cause a crash because you were impaired by alcohol, even if you are below the legal limit. Consider simply not driving after drinking alcohol, especially when there are plenty of alternative options available, including rideshare apps like Uber and Lyft.

What to Do if You’re Injured in a Crash

Call Joye Law Firm.

Nothing ruins a festive and happy holiday quicker than a car crash, especially one that causes injuries. If you’ve been injured through the actions of a drunk driver, you deserve compensation.

The dangers of drunk driving are widely recognized, and anyone who puts your life or the lives of your loved ones at risk because they chose to drink and drive deserves to be held accountable for the harm they caused. Contact us today to discuss what we can do for you.

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Do I Need To Replace My Car Seat After A Crash Or Accident?

Parents of young children in South Carolina who are dealing with the costs and losses of a car crash may question whether they need to replace their child’s car seat because it’s been through an accident.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which enforces vehicle performance standards, says car seats do not automatically need to be replaced following a minor collision. But the agency says the best thing to do is to follow the car seat manufacturer’s instructions, which in many cases say to replace the seat after any crash.

The cost should not be a consideration when it comes to ensuring your children are adequately protected while riding in your car. After a car accident, you can add the cost of replacing a damaged car seat to your insurance claim. If the insurance company provides a settlement, it should include the cost of replacing a child car seat or booster seat damaged in the crash.

If the auto insurer for the driver who caused your car accident refuses to pay you a proper settlement, Joye Law Firm can help. Our attorneys’ goal is to make a positive difference in the lives of each person who turns to us for help. Call Joye Law Firm today at 877-936-9707 or fill out our online contact form.

NHTSA on Car Seat Replacement

NHTSA is an agency of the U.S. Department of Transportation. The NHTSA website provides an in-depth discussion of car seats and booster seats for children, including how to choose and use the car seat that’s right for your child.

NHTSA says child safety seats have been shown to reduce the risk of fatal injury by 71% for infants (younger than 1-year-old) and by 54% for toddlers (1 to 4 years old) in passenger cars. For infants and toddlers in light trucks, child safety seats reduced fatalities by 58% and 59%, respectively.

About car seat use after a crash, NHTSA says:

“NHTSA recommends that car seats be replaced following a moderate or severe crash in order to ensure a continued high level of crash protection for child passengers. Car seats do not automatically need to be replaced following a minor crash.”

NHTSA says a minor car accident is one in which ALL of the following apply:

• The vehicle could be driven away from the crash site.
• The vehicle door nearest the car seat was not damaged.
• None of the passengers in the vehicle were injured in the crash.
• If the vehicle has airbags, the airbags did not deploy during the crash.
• There is no visible damage to the car seat.

Further, “NEVER use a car seat that has been involved in a moderate to severe crash. Always follow manufacturers’ instructions,” NHTSA says.

Previously, NHTSA advised replacing a child’s car seat after an accident. A medically reviewed article on the Verywell Family blog says NHTSA modified its policy because some parents bought used car seats after accidents to save money, which increased the potential that they were using seats with unrecognized damage.

“Even an empty car seat that was buckled into the vehicle will experience crash forces,” Verywell Family says. “The force of the car seat moving forward and being held back by the lower anchor strap or tether strap can cause damage that may be invisible but might keep the car seat from doing its job if you’re in another crash.”

When Is Car Seat Replacement Advised?

Car seat manufacturers tend to advise replacing car seats after any car accident. For example, the user’s guide for the highly-rated Graco SnugRide SnugFit 35 Infant Car Seat says, “If the car seat is in a crash, it must be replaced. DO NOT use it again! A crash can cause unseen damage, and using it again could result in serious injury or death.”

The makers of the Chicco KeyFit 30 infant car seat, which is also well regarded, say, “You MUST replace this Child Restraint if it has been involved in a crash, even if you cannot see visible damage. A damaged Child Restraint may not protect your child in a future crash.”

Most manufacturers make the same recommendation, though some do not. Many follow the NHTSA guidelines and quote the agency’s definition of a “minor” car accident.

If you no longer have your car seat user’s guide, find the manufacturer and model names on the car seat and search with them online to find the manual or how to contact the manufacturer. When in doubt, err on the side of caution and replace a car seat that has been through a crash.

You can also get a certified technician to inspect your car seat free of charge, in most cases, and show you how to correctly install and use it. An NHTSA search engine recently showed 131 locations in South Carolina – typically local fire departments and EMS stations – that provide checks.

Who Is Responsible for Paying to Replace a Car Seat?

If you file an insurance claim after a car accident, the cost to replace a damaged car seat should be part of the claim. As you document the car accident, you should take photos of any visible damage to the car seat. You should also:

• Record the car seat’s serial number and expiration date (usually found on the seat under the lining).
• Search for the seat manufacturer’s user guide and print out the page with its after-crash replacement instructions.
• Provide a receipt. If you bought it with a debit or credit card or check, records of the purchase should be available from the card provider or bank.
• Cut the car seat’s straps and take photos of the seat with the cut straps. Cutting the straps ensures that the child seat cannot be used and must be discarded.

When Do You Need to Contact an Attorney?

If you have questions about the aftermath of a car accident and whether you are entitled to claim compensation from the other driver, you should have an experienced car accident attorney review the accident. Some insurance companies will say they can only replace car seats if the crash exceeds NHTSA guidelines for a minor crash or the seat was occupied during the accident.

Joye Law Firm has successfully pursued car accident claims on behalf of injured individuals and their families across South Carolina for more than 50 years. Joye Law Firm offers a free case review to discuss the options available to you. Phone 877-936-9707 or fill out our online contact form today.

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Can I Get Compensation if I’m Injured Running a Marathon?

November is marathon season, and many of us may be participating in a turkey trot this year. But while running is a popular activity that’s great for your health, you may also run the risk of injury when you go out on a long run. If you are injured during a marathon, can someone be held liable for your medical expenses? Read on to find out.

If You’ve Been Injured Through Someone Else’s Negligence, You May Be Eligible for Compensation

Every member of society has a legal obligation to act in a way that doesn’t endanger the people around them. The legal term for this obligation is “duty of care.” And when someone acts negligently and recklessly endangers and harms other people, they can be held liable, whether it happened in a home, on the street, in a place of business, or yes, at a marathon.

However, before an injury victim can get compensation, they’ll need to prove a few things:

• First, that the at-fault person was acting negligently.
• Second, that the victim was injured.
• Third, that the victim was injured as a direct result of the at-fault party’s negligence.
• Fourth, that the victim suffered damages because of their injuries (typically meaning they required medical treatment and were billed for that treatment).

If you are unable to prove all four of these things, your likelihood of getting compensation goes way down.

Who Is Responsible for Injuries at a Marathon?

Depending on how you were injured, there may be a few candidates for liability. In many cases, it may be the organizer of the race. Some examples of when a race organizer may be liable for injuries include:

• Failing to accommodate for weather conditions (extreme heat or cold)
• Failing to remove or mitigate major road hazards on the race route that pose a tripping or slipping risk
• Failing to communicate dangers on the race route (for example, race lanes shared with vehicular traffic)
• Failing to provide sufficient emergency medical assistance on scene

Other times, racers may be injured by other racers who cause them to fall, or even by bystanders who throw trip hazards into the running lanes.

It’s important to establish early on who is potentially liable for your injuries, and a lawyer can help you do so.

What If I Signed a Waiver?

In most marathons, race organizers will require all participants to sign a waiver saying they accept the risks of participating, including any injuries. But while race organizers use these waivers to protect themselves from liability, it doesn’t mean you have no options after suffering an injury at a marathon that was caused by another party’s negligence. But it does make it harder to get compensation.

One way you may be able to bypass a waiver is if the injury you suffered was one that you could not have anticipated, and thus was not one of the risks you agreed to take on when you signed the waiver. Race organizers can also be held liable for acts of gross negligence despite victims having signed a waiver beforehand.

Unlike negligence, which is often simple thoughtlessness on the part of the at-fault party, gross negligence is typically defined as a willful disregard for others’ safety. For example, a race organizer underestimating how many medical personnel they’d need at a race would be negligence, but a race organizer knowing how many medical personnel they’d need, but deliberately hiring less to save money, would be gross negligence.

Contact Joye Law Firm for a Free Consultation

If you aren’t sure whether someone else can be held legally liable for your injuries, or whether any waiver you signed will prevent you from getting compensation in a case of clear negligence, then the best way to determine what your next steps should be is speaking to a lawyer.

Our South Carolina injury lawyers are experienced in all manner of injuries and accidents, and we’ll carefully review the details of how you were injured to determine if you have a case for compensation. When you call our firm, your initial consultation is always free and there’s no obligation to hire.

Contact us today to schedule your consultation.

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Why Should You Ask for Future Medical Expenses After an Injury?

Everyone who is injured in an accident and who needs compensation for medical expenses should make sure their future medical expenses are included in their settlement. This is because once you accept a settlement, you legally cannot request more money later, even if the compensation runs out before your medical bills do.

Why You Need Compensation for Future Medical Expenses

It is likely that you will need more medical care than just the treatment you get at the hospital immediately following your car crash or other injury-causing accident. You may still need continuing treatment even after you’ve settled your claim.

If these future expenses aren’t accounted for in your settlement because you only asked for enough to cover your upfront medical expenses, you may be left paying for these future costs related to your crash out of your own pocket.

Some common ongoing or future medical expenses include:

• Prescription medication
• Injections
• Surgery
• Assistive equipment such as crutches or wheelchairs
• Physical therapy or rehabilitation
• Follow-up appointments with your doctor to check on the progress of your recovery
• Transportation to medical appointments
• Ongoing in-home care
• Modifications to home and vehicle, such as a wheelchair ramp or lift

When your injuries are because of someone else’s carelessness, you deserve to be compensated for all of these costs.

How to Calculate Future Medical Expenses

Because of the difficulty in calculating future medical expenses, many attorneys will recommend waiting to settle a claim until after the injury victim has completely recovered. However, this isn’t always possible, especially when the victim may never get back to the level of physical health they were at before the accident.

There is no way to know precisely how much money you will need for all your future medical costs and pain related to your injury, but an experienced personal injury attorney will be able to help you determine how much money to ask for based on their work with previous clients who suffered similar injuries to yours.

Your lawyer will typically work with your doctor, who can make an estimate for how much and what kinds of treatment they think you will need and how long that treatment will take. In cases that require compensation for future medical expenses, your legal team may also hire expert witnesses, including medical professionals and/or economic experts, to testify on how much money you will need.

Some factors that may be taken into consideration when calculating your future medical expenses will likely include:

• The effectiveness of treatment and whether additional treatment will be required (for example, a common injury for car crash victims is a torn ACL, which requires reconstructive surgery to treat. The surgery has a roughly 90% success rate, so there is a 1 in 10 chance that it will fail and you will need revision surgery)
• Whether there are alternative treatment options that are as effective but more affordable
• How much the cost of treatment may increase over time due to inflation
• How much treatment the injury victim may need over the course of their lifetime based on their age, life expectancy, and general health before the accident

You are entitled to future medical expenses after an injury that wasn’t your fault, but insurance companies count on the fact that you don’t know that. That means they can offer you less money than you deserve and keep their own profits high. Don’t let them get away with denying you the full compensation you need and deserve.

Because the amount of compensation you need will likely be unique to you, you will need to speak to a lawyer about how much you should ask for in future medical expenses if you plan to pursue an injury claim. Call Joye Law Firm today for a completely free case evaluation.

When You’re Been Injured Through Someone Else’s Negligence, Call Joye Law Firm

After a serious injury that’s left you in pain and unable to do the things you normally do, the last thing you want is the headache of arguing with insurance companies and dealing with bills. That’s why you need an experienced lawyer on your side, and we want to be the ones to help.

We’ll carefully review all the facts related to your injury and the ways it’s affected your life, including the amount of pain it’s caused you, and help determine fair compensation. And we won’t settle for anything less.

Contact us today so our South Carolina injury lawyers can start fighting for you.

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Is it Medical Malpractice or Is It Medical Negligence?

When we talk about holding people liable when they harm other people, we often talk about “negligence.” The injury victim needs to prove that the at-fault party was negligent, meaning they didn’t take reasonable care to prevent harm. In a car accident, that might mean not using a turn signal before changing lanes. In a medical setting, that might mean not checking whether a patient was allergic to any drugs before administering them.

Does that mean all cases of medical negligence are grounds for a medical malpractice lawsuit? No. And not all bad outcomes are examples of medical negligence. However, if you’re seeking compensation after being harmed by a healthcare professional, you will need to hire a lawyer that knows and understands the difference.

What is a Bad Outcome?

A bad outcome can refer to any situation where a patient’s health worsens after treatment. But a bad outcome does not always mean negligence was involved. You are never guaranteed a successful medical outcome.

For example, a particular surgery may have a 90% success rate. Although that means the surgery is generally very safe, it still means 10% of people who undergo the surgery may experience complications, even if the surgeon, anesthesiologist, and attending nurses did everything right.

In another example, someone prescribed a medication could suffer no negative side effects, while another person with the same condition and level of general health could suffer from every negative side effect listed on the warning label. Healthcare providers must provide the treatment that they believe will provide the best likelihood of a good outcome.

Fault could come into play, however, if the surgeon did not inform the patient of the success rate of the surgery beforehand, or did not discuss alternate treatment options with less severe potential side effects.

What is Medical Negligence?

Sometimes bad outcomes are the fault of negligence. Medical negligence is when an entirely preventable mistake occurs that results in harm to the patient.

For example, many doctors perform examinations with latex gloves. If a patient was allergic to latex, but the doctor made an honest mistake and forgot to ask before beginning the examination which resulted in the patient developing an allergic reaction, it could be an example of negligence. Further, people who are allergic to latex are also often allergic to certain foods, including tomatoes. If a doctor sees that a patient’s chart lists a tomato allergy, they know that their patient may also have a latex allergy. If they decide not to ask about a latex allergy or to take precautions, and then the patient develops an allergic reaction to the latex gloves, this could also be an example of negligence because the doctor’s deliberate action (or inaction) caused the patient harm.

A more extreme example of medical negligence could be a surgeon, nurse, or other operating room medical provider accidentally leaving a sponge behind in a patient after a surgery.

Other extreme examples of medical negligence could include failing to order a necessary diagnostic test, leading to a delayed diagnosis that severely worsened a patient’s health, or ordering an unnecessary surgery to make more money off the patient.

What is Medical Malpractice?

In South Carolina law, the terms medical malpractice and medical negligence are interchangeable. However, that doesn’t mean that every incident of medical negligence rises to the level of needing to file a medical malpractice lawsuit. In fact, South Carolina law sets the bar  higher for bringing medical negligence suits than in other personal injury matters.

For example, before filing a medical malpractice lawsuit you must first go through a series of procedural hurdles, including filing an affidavit from a court-qualified medical expert witness saying they believe medically negligent action (or inaction) caused your harm and violated state laws.

If you are unsure whether the medical negligence that caused your illness or injury qualifies for a malpractice lawsuit, we recommend calling Joye Law Firm today. We’ll arrange a confidential consultation with a registered nurse, and an experienced South Carolina medical malpractice attorney will provide a free case evaluation.

How Do I Prove Malpractice?

To have a successful medical malpractice or negligence claim, the victim must be able to prove the following:

• The victim had a doctor/patient relationship with the healthcare provider who harmed them.
• The healthcare provider breached the duty of care owed to the victim (meaning they did not act how any other well-intentioned doctor with the same knowledge would).
• The victim was directly harmed because of this breach of care (meaning it was not simply a bad outcome unrelated to negligence).
• The victim suffered damages (usually meaning worsened physical health that required additional treatment, as well as worsened emotional health or even additional physical pain).

Health care providers are well-protected against medical malpractice claims, which means pursuing a lawsuit can require an intense investigation and a lot of evidence, making them almost impossible to win on your own. Having a personal injury lawyer specifically experienced with medical malpractice claims to navigate this process can make a huge difference.

Contact Us Today for a Free Medical Malpractice Case Evaluation

Medical malpractice claims are typically far more complex and difficult to win than other types of personal injury. For most victims of medical malpractice, you have three years from the date of the malpractice, or three years from the date you became aware of the malpractice (up to six years from the date of the malpractice itself) to file a claim. So, don’t let it pass you by and miss your chance for deserved compensation.

Medical malpractice is often expensive, and even deadly, for victims. If you or someone you love experienced medical malpractice, call our firm today to learn what your next steps should be.

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What Is Included in a Lawyer’s Costs and Fees?

One of the most common reasons why people decide not to hire a lawyer after they are injured through someone else’s negligence is because they think that they can’t afford it.

However, most personal injury lawyers, including the team at Joye Law Firm, do not charge an hourly fee. Instead, they work on contingency, which means you only have to pay your lawyer if you win your claim. And that means everyone can afford to hire a lawyer, since there are never any upfront costs.

At our firm, even your initial consultation is free. And you don’t need to pay out of pocket at the end of the day either, since your lawyer’s fees and any additional legal costs will be taken out of the settlement amount.

What Is a Typical Lawyer Fee?

The average lawyer fee for a personal injury settlement is between 33-40%, although this number can vary depending on the difficulty of the case. For example, cases that go to trial take longer than those that are settled out of court, so the lawyer’s fees will be on the higher side of that scale. This is compensation for your lawyer’s time and all the work put into your case.

However, you may also be responsible for paying some additional legal expenses. These are unrelated to your lawyer’s payment, and make up the costs required to move a case forward. It’s very rare for law firms to ask clients to pay these costs as they arise; instead, the law firm will typically pay them for you, and get reimbursement from your settlement.

This blog attempts to break down what costs you may be responsible for paying after wrapping up your personal injury lawsuit.

Costs and Expenses of Filing a Personal Injury Lawsuit

The majority of these costs only apply to cases that proceed to trial, because the U.S. court system passes many of the costs associated with conducting a trial onto the people requesting the trial. However, depending on the circumstances and needs of your own claim, some of these costs may still apply.

• Police Report and Medical Record Fees – Police stations and hospitals often charge to release copies of these records, which are necessary evidence in most personal injury cases.
• Filing Fees and Postage – It is no surprise that filing a lawsuit involves a lot of paperwork. Your lawyer can ask to be reimbursed for the postage and processing fees they paid to the court when submitting the lawsuit. Although it may chafe to be asked to pay postage when it seems a small expense to the firm, they do this because when paying small postage amounts many times over for many clients, it can add up to a significant expense in the firm’s operating budget.
• Deposition/Court Reporter Fees – A stenographer will sit in on your deposition (which is a common part of many injury claims even when they do not proceed as far a trial) and a court reporter will sit in on your trial to make transcripts. You will be charged a fee for a copy of these transcripts (usually per page) to pay them for their time and for copy costs.
• Witness Fees – This refers to expert witnesses rather than witnesses to the accident. Your lawyer may hire experts to testify in your case, and these witnesses need to be paid. Aside from your lawyer fee, this will likely be the largest fee associated with your case. Examples of expert witnesses in a car crash claim could include a doctor explaining why you needed a specific surgery for your injuries, an economist explaining how much income you will lose over the course of your lifetime if you became disabled, or an accident reconstructionist offering their expert opinion on how the crash occurred. If a witness needs to be flown in, you may also be charged for their travel expenses.
• Jury Fees – When civil cases proceed to trial, jury fees (the amount paid to jury members while serving on the jury) are paid by the party seeking a jury trial.

There may be other fees in addition to these, but these are the primary fees that victims of negligence may be required to pay when pursing a personal injury lawsuit.

Making a Difference in the Lives of South Carolinians

Joye Law Firm has been serving our fair state for more than 50 years. We have five convenient office locations across the state, and we’re proud to work on a contingency fee to help South Carolinians get the compensation and justice they deserved after being harmed through the careless and negligent actions of others. We also pride ourselves on our  “no fee guarantee,” meaning our clients never pay a fee or costs if we can’t secure a financial recovery for them.

The last thing an injury victim who is already struggling with bills needs is to have to scrounge to pay for a lawyer who may be their only opportunity to get fair compensation.

If you have questions about whether a lawyer can help you and how much it may cost, don’t hesitate to contact our firm today and we’ll answer your questions and address any concerns you may have.

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How to Help Your Injury Lawyer Win Your Case

Personal injury cases are usually David-and-Goliath stories. They’re about average people hurt by the careless or deliberate negligence of a large corporation, or dismissed by a faceless insurance adjuster. So hiring a personal injury lawyer to defend you is already one huge step that you can take to massively improve your chances of fighting back successfully and getting the compensation you rightfully deserve.

That said, it helps to consider the relationship between you and your lawyer as a partnership. We’ll work hard to gather evidence, build a case, and make sure all the i’s are dotted and the t’s crossed so your case can’t be easily ignored or denied. But your own actions following an accident can also impact whether you win your claim and how much compensation you get.

Your lawyer will be able to advise you on what to do if you are unsure, but there are five major steps every injury victim should take. We address each below.

1. Act Fast

Every state has a “statute of limitations” on personal injury claims, which is a time limit on how long you have to file a lawsuit after an injury that wasn’t your fault. In South Carolina, this period is usually three years, starting from the day of the injury.

That may sound like a long time, but it can pass much quicker than you think. Maybe you were in a car accident but hoped your injury would recover on its own. When it didn’t and you discovered you’ll need surgery that you can’t afford without compensation, it may have already been weeks or even months since the crash. And you could lose even more time attempting to negotiate with the insurance company for the amount you actually need before finally determining that you’ll need to file a lawsuit.

In addition to that, evidence is cleaned up or lost, witnesses move away or can’t be found again, and memories naturally fade over time. It’s much easier for your attorney to put together a bullet-proof case proving someone else caused your injuries when the accident is still fresh than when it occurred a year or more earlier.

2. Document Everything

Everything related to your accident can be important in proving your case, including:

• The police report
• Photos of the damage to your vehicle, the scene of the crash, and of your injuries
• Contact information and statements from witnesses
• Receipts for medical treatment and vehicle repair
• Notes on when you received treatment and what was discussed in each doctor’s appointment

You may also consider starting a personal injury journal or diary documenting your levels of pain each day and the ways your accident has affected your emotional health and daily life.

3. Don’t Make Guesses or Accusations

When you are asked about how the accident occurred, you should never admit fault, but you should also always be truthful. This means sticking only to the facts and never offering opinions or guesses.

For example, if you aren’t sure what time the crash happened or how fast the other person was driving, simply say “I don’t know.” If you say what time you thought it happened or how fast you thought they were driving, but later evidence proves you wrong, it can cast doubt on your entire story even though it was an innocent mistake.

4. Do Everything Your Doctor Says

Sometimes people don’t attend follow-up appointments with their doctor, never schedule physical therapy when it’s recommended by their doctor, or don’t finish taking their prescribed medications. There are many reasons this could be true, such as concern about the cost. However, when you are seen “avoiding” treatment, the insurance company will take this as proof that you don’t actually need the treatment and aren’t as injured as you say, and will use it as an excuse to deny you compensation or reduce the amount they give you.

5. Take a Break from Social Media

It’s natural to want to update friends and family on social sites like Facebook and Twitter after a major, potentially life-changing injury, but any type of social post could be damaging to your claim. And not just posts about your accident, either.

You will be under close scrutiny from the insurance company, who will be looking for reasons to deny your claim, and they are not above digging through your social profiles and those of people close to you. They may attempt to twist what they see as evidence that you are exaggerating your injuries. Even a photo where you look happy could be offered as evidence you are not experiencing pain or distress from your injury.

Let Joye Law Firm Get to Work for You

While all these actions can make a serious difference in your case’s chances of success for the better, they are primarily intended to give your lawyer a leg up. This is so that you can relax and focus on getting better after an accident, and leave all the frustrating work and communication with the insurance company to your lawyer, who is happy to fight for you.

After an injury, stand up for yourself by hiring an experienced South Carolina injury lawyer, and call Joye Law Firm today.

The post How to Help Your Injury Lawyer Win Your Case appeared first on Joye Law Firm.

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Who is Liable if My Child is Injured by Another Child at School?

When someone is injured because of someone else, they can file a personal injury lawsuit to get financial compensation for their injuries, pain, and distress. But the situation becomes more complicated when a minor is involved, and even more so when a minor injures another minor, whether by accident or intentionally.

When both minors were supposed to be under the supervision of a teacher, playground monitor, or coach, it just adds another layer of complication to the problem, which can be made further complicated depending on whether it happened at a public or a private school.

To determine if you can get compensation after your child is injured by another child at school, and who can be held liable, you should speak to an experienced attorney. At Joye Law Firm, our case consultations are always free with no obligation to hire.

That said, this blog will go over a few of the main points to keep in mind about child injuries and liability.

The Parents of the Child Who Caused the Injury

Whether or not parents can be held liable for injuries their child causes to another student may depend on whether it was an accident or intentional, such as in the case of bullying.

In the case of “malicious or willful” harm, parents can be held liable for their children’s actions. However, the amount of compensation parents can be forced to pay when their child deliberately causes injury or property damage is limited to just $5,000 under South Carolina law.

Furthermore, parents can only be forced to pay economic damages, also known as actual damages. In this circumstance, a victim’s family could only recover the cost of their medical expenses up to $5,000, and they can’t sue the other child’s parents for added compensation for pain and suffering.

Parents might also be responsible for their child’s actions under common law if they had reason to believe that their child was dangerous, such as a past history of harming others, but didn’t take action to curb their child’s harmful activities and the child then went on to injure another child.

The Child Who Caused the Injury

Children, especially very young children, generally can’t be held liable for injuries or damage they cause because, in the eyes of the law, someone must be aware that what they were doing was reckless or negligent. And it’s commonly accepted that children can’t be held to the same standard of understanding that an adult can.

Exceptions can be made for older children, such as high school students, who could be expected to understand that what they were doing would or could cause harm to another student.

Minors can also be held jointly liable alongside their parents if the minor would have been considered liable if they had been an adult at the time of the incident.

Because minors usually do not have any or much money of their own, it makes more sense to get compensation from another source after an injury. However, when an injured child’s parents pursue a claim against a minor, it might be possible for them to get compensation from the minor’s parents’ renters or homeowners insurance policy.

The School Where the Injury Occurred

Schools have a legal responsibility to provide a safe environment for students. However, in most cases, whether parents of an injured child harmed by another student can pursue compensation from the school or a school worker depends on whether it happened at a public school or a private school.

South Carolina public schools and public school employees are generally protected from liability, even when there was negligence. This is because public schools are considered governmental bodies, and state laws protect the government from being sued in most circumstances except for gross negligence. That doesn’t mean you can never sue a public school, but it does make it harder.

However, the same isn’t true for private schools, which can be sued normally like you would a negligent business.

Examples of when a school might be held liable for failing to prevent a student from harming another student include:

• Failing to prevent bullying or assault, but only if they were aware that it was taking place or could have predicted it would happen (for example, a student had made threats against another student before the assault)
• Providing inadequate supervision to prevent intentional or unintentional injuries (for example, playground monitors failing to stop a child from throwing rocks)
• Failing to stop sexual harassment when it deprives the victim of equal access to educational activities or programs under Title IX

Each child injury case is unique, and there is no exact checklist that will tell you whether or not your child’s case meets the requirements to be able to successfully hold the school accountable. Speaking to a lawyer about your claim could help determine your eligibility for compensation.

When Things Get Tough, Call Joye Law Firm

One of the most stressful experiences in life is knowing your child was injured, that it was someone else’s fault, and you don’t know how to or whether you even can hold them accountable.

At Joye Law Firm, we make it our mission to help injury victims and their families get the help they need so they can simply focus on their recovery, while we focus on getting them the compensation and justice they need to put their lives right again.

If your child was injured through the intentional or unintentional actions of another student, call our firm today to discuss your next steps.

The post Who is Liable if My Child is Injured by Another Child at School? appeared first on Joye Law Firm.

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Why You Need Renters Insurance

Many apartment complexes require residents to purchase renters insurance in order to live there. However, unlike car insurance, renters insurance may be contractually required but it isn’t legally required. There’s no law that says you need to purchase it, so many people, when given the option, choose not to do so in order to save money on their monthly budget. In fact, 37% of renters go without, according to the Insurance Information Institute.

However, there are several very good reasons why you should purchase renters insurance, which we’ll go over today.

Renters Insurance Protects Your Property

Many people may believe they don’t need to purchase renters insurance because they are protected under their landlord’s insurance. This may be true for the building you live in, but it doesn’t apply to your personal belongings.

You may also believe that you don’t own anything valuable enough to be worth insuring, and while that may be true for any single item, the entirely of your belongings is likely a completely different story.

When combining the total cost of furniture, clothing, kitchen items, and personal electronics such as phones, laptops, televisions, gaming systems, and so on, renters insurance provider Allstate estimates that the average two-bedroom apartment in the U.S. contains roughly $30,000 worth of belongings.

If your apartment or rental home was damaged in a fire, the landlord’s insurance would only pay to repair their property, i.e., the building. Meanwhile, without renters insurance, you would be personally responsible for replacing everything you own. With renters insurance, you will receive compensation for your damaged property as well as money to put you up in a hotel, and usually food and transportation expenses as well, until your home is habitable again or you find a new place to live.

Most renters insurance policies also cover burglary, even if your belongings weren’t stolen from your home. For instance, if your laptop was stolen from your car or at a café, it may be covered under your renters insurance policy.

Many renters insurance policies will even pay the replacement value for your items rather than their actual value. This means that you would receive the $1,000 it would take to buy a new couch and not just the $100 your couch was worth after 10 years of use.

Renters Insurance Protects You From Personal Liability

If you are willing to take the risk on your personal property, then the more important reason to purchase renters insurance is that it can prevent you from being sued if someone is injured in your home.

At Joye Law Firm, we deal with many cases where people are accidentally injured when slipping and falling not only in stores and other businesses, but also in private residences. When this occurs, your injured visitor will need compensation to cover their medical expenses, and when you have renters insurance, this compensation will come from the insurance company rather than your bank account.

Renters insurance can also protect you from personal liability if your dog bites someone, even if it happened at the park and not at home. Roughly 4.5 million people are bitten by dogs each year in the U.S., according to the American Pet Products Association, and about 885,000 of those bites require medical attention. If your dog bites someone and seriously injures them, you may end up on the hook for their medical bills and lost wages if you didn’t purchase renters insurance.

In fact, a joint survey between the Insurance Information Institute and State Farm discovered that one-third of all homeowners insurance claims are made as a result of dog bites, and the average claim came out to roughly $35,000.

Renters Insurance Is Inexpensive

One of the main reasons people choose not to purchase renters insurance is because they believe it’s too expensive, but renters insurance is actually far more affordable than a homeowners insurance policy.

In fact, the average cost for renters insurance in North Charleston is just $23 per month! When considering the $30,000 or more it may cost you to recover from an apartment fire or pay the medical bills of someone who was injured in your home, it’s well worth the price.

So, how much coverage do you need? Most insurance companies recommend purchasing enough coverage to match the value of your belongings, plus $100,000 of personal liability in case someone files an injury claim or lawsuit against you.

Joye Law Firm Is Here to Help

If you are dealing with a premises liability case, the South Carolina premises liability lawyers at Joye Law Firm can help. We can negotiate with your insurance company on your behalf regarding your claim, help protect your rights, and get you the full amount you are owed.  Contact us today for a free, no-obligation case review to get started.

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The Hidden Danger of Big Pickup Trucks

Have you noticed that pickup trucks are getting bigger? It’s hard not to notice their size when a mega truck is blocking your line of sight. Since 2000, the hood height of full-sized trucks has grown by 11 percent, while vehicle weights have increased by almost 1,300 pounds on average, according to an analysis by Consumer Reports researchers. Many consumers have gravitated to these supersized pickups as a lifestyle choice.

Pickup trucks account for about one in five of all new vehicle sales today. Big pickup trucks such as the Ford F-Series, Chevrolet Silverado, Ram 1500, and Nissan Titan are popular. But big pickup trucks also pose certain dangers to others on the road, especially to pedestrians and drivers of smaller vehicles.

At Joye Law Firm, we’ve seen firsthand the serious injuries a vehicle occupant or pedestrian can suffer in an accident with a large pickup. For more than 50 years, our attorneys have worked to protect the rights and interests of injured victims across South Carolina and to advocate for a safer community. Our legal team has a track record of securing successful results on behalf of our clients.

When you need skilled legal representation to help with an accident claim, our attorneys are ready to assist you. Joye Law Firm has offices in Summerville, Charleston, Columbia, Clinton, and Myrtle Beach to serve you. Learn how Joye Law Firm may be able to help you hold accountable the driver of a big pickup truck who injured you.

Contact us today for a free case review.

The Market Wants Bigger

Although full-size trucks have always been popular among construction workers and craftsmen for the utility they can provide on the job, many consumers are purchasing full-sized trucks as a personal style choice. Consumers cite the practicality of pickup trucks, their rugged styling, and the feeling of safety that such a large vehicle provides passengers.

The growing consumer demand for big pickup trucks has been accompanied by growth in the size of the vehicles. Manufacturers understandably feel pressure to compete with one another to offer consumers the biggest, toughest, most rugged-looking truck on the market.

Deadly Dimensions

The growing dimensions and weights of full-sized pickup trucks have served to increase the danger to others on the road. For example, the hood of a Jeep Gladiator sits 45.5 inches high, while the hood of the Ford F-250 reaches 55 inches off the ground.

This means that the hood of many full-size trucks sits higher than the roofs of many passenger vehicles and the hood is taller than most young children.

In addition, the weight of full-size trucks now regularly exceeds 4,000 pounds. That means that even in a low-speed accident, a full-size truck can impart a much greater force upon impact.

Blind Spots

The growing dimensions of big pickup trucks have also resulted in an increase in the size of the blind spots of these vehicles. Because of their height and hood length, full-size pickup trucks can have front blind spots between seven and 11 feet longer than sedans or SUVs, according to Consumer Reports.

This means an increased risk of the driver a full-size pickup driver not being able to see a pedestrian, vehicle, or other objects in front of their truck.

Pedestrians

Many victims in pedestrian accidents involving full-size pickups are children, particularly toddlers between one and two years old.

Given the height of pickup truck hoods and the blind spots they cause, young children standing in front of the truck may not be visible to a driver. The tall, flat surface of a pickup truck’s front end may also increase the severity of an impact with a pedestrian, who may suffer significant or life-threatening injuries.

Safety Sidelined

Safety advocates point out that large truck manufacturers have the option of designing safer vehicles. They could potentially lower the hoods of these vehicles and lower the bumpers to help reduce severe injuries.

They could reduce the weight of large trucks or design the front end to be less imposing. However, manufacturers are incentivized to try to meet consumer demand for a certain lifestyle image that these large trucks represent.

Technology

Many sedans and SUVs come equipped with safety technology, such as blind-spot monitoring, rear collision avoidance, and pedestrian detection. These technologies can provide audible warnings to a driver when a pedestrian, vehicle, or other object moves into the path of their vehicle, or even automatically deploy the vehicle’s brakes to prevent a collision.

However, many brand new full-size pickup trucks only come with these potentially life-saving safety technologies at an additional cost or don’t offer these safety features at all. For example, pedestrian detection systems are not available for the Chevrolet Silverado or Jeep Gladiator. The Ram 1500 has it as an extra-cost option. The Toyota Tundra, Nissan Titan, and Ford F-150 do come with pedestrian protection systems as standard.

Braking Distances

The increasing weight of full-size trucks also has meant that these vehicles’ braking distances have grown as well. Many truck models exceed two tons in gross vehicle weight. Because these vehicles are not designed for performance on the road, they don’t stop as quickly as a passenger sedan. This makes it harder for pickup truck drivers to avoid collisions with pedestrians or with other vehicles or objects if they even see them before the collision.

Contact Joy Law Firm Today

If you have been injured in a collision with a big pickup truck or struck by a big pickup truck while walking down the street or crossing an intersection, contact a pedestrian accident attorney at Joye Law Firm. Call at 888-324-3100 today for a free, no-obligation consultation to discuss your legal rights to pursue a claim for compensation against the negligent or reckless driver at fault for your injuries.

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