Have you been injured in an accident in Aiken County, South Carolina? If so, you could be entitled to money for your medical bills, lost wages, and suffering. The experienced Aiken County personal injury lawyers at Hawk Law Group can help you get the compensation you deserve.
Our top-rated attorneys have more than 71 years of combined experience and aren’t afraid to take your case to trial. We have obtained several verdicts or settlements of over $500,000 for our clients. We work hard to maximize your award. Call (803) 226-9089 or contact us today for your free consultation.
How Hawk Law Group Can Help If You’ve Been Injured in Aiken County, SC
Accidents are physically and financially devastating. If you’ve been injured, you need time to recover. You also deserve to get compensated for your injuries, missed work, and property damage. Hiring the right attorney makes a huge difference.
The lawyers at Hawk Law Group are the ones you want in your corner because:
- Our lawyers have more than 70 years of combined experience in litigation
- Since 1984, we’ve been advocating passionately for accident victims and families in Aiken, SC
- We’ve won millions of dollars over the years for our clients, including several results in excess of $500,000
- We are known for our results-driven client service
It’s important to get the money you deserve. We can make life easier for you. Let us put the full force and weight of our law firm behind you during this difficult time. Give us a call today at our Aiken law office for a free consultation.
Aiken County, SC Accident Statistics
According to the South Carolina Department of Public Safety, in 2019:
- There were 4,081 traffic accidents in Aiken County
- 1,514 people were injured in those vehicle crashes
- 30 people were killed in those accidents
- Economic loss caused by accidents exceeded $130 million
Car accidents in Aiken County are up slightly from 2018, when there were 3,907 traffic accidents. If you are on the roads, unfortunately, at some point you may be injured in a car accident. The accomplished trial attorneys at Hawk Law Group can help.
Hawk Law Group: A Full-Service Personal Injury Law Firm
Whatever type of injury you’ve suffered, our accomplished trial attorneys in South Carolina can help.
At Hawk Law Group, our personal injury practice areas include:
- Car accidents
- Construction accidents
- Slip and fall accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Truck accidents
- Dog bites
- Bicycle accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
- Medical malpractice
- Nursing home abuse and neglect
- Defective product and product liability cases
- Workplace accidents
- Workers’ compensation claims
- Wrongful death, and more.
We’re on your side. We’ll listen with compassion and respect, and we’ll work tirelessly to get you the compensation you deserve. We serve clients throughout Aiken, SC and surrounding areas, so call our law office today for a free consultation.
Why Should I Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer?
Hiring an attorney can increase your chances of getting the compensation you deserve for your injuries. Accidents can cause mental, physical, and financial stress. If someone else is at fault, you need an attorney on your side so that you can recover full compensation as quickly as possible.
You Deserve a Level Playing Field
In cases involving accidents, you’ll probably be at the mercy of an insurance company’s valuation of your injuries. You don’t want to handle a case against an insurance company on your own.
Their main goal is to minimize your claim and to pay out as little as possible. An attorney can fight for your interests.
You’ll Get Access to Experts
Many cases involve the need for experts. An expert is a highly trained, experienced professional who will provide an opinion about a specific aspect of your case. Sometimes, just a report from an expert is enough to convince the other side to settle. If necessary, an expert will be ready to go to trial on your behalf. An expert may testify about:
- The specific cause of the accident
- What party (or parties) are responsible for causing the accident
- The extent of your injuries
- Your financial losses
Experts are valuable because they provide independent, unbiased opinions about the merits of your case. Successful attorneys like the ones at Hawk Law Group know exactly what expert testimony will be most helpful in your case.
You’re Probably Going to Be Blamed
No one wants to be held responsible for someone else’s injuries. If someone else caused your injuries, they will probably try to say you were at fault in some way. For example, if you were involved in a car accident, were you wearing your seatbelt? Were you speeding? Did you come to a rolling stop at that stop sign? You better believe that the insurance company will be picking apart your case.
Can you get money if you’re blamed for an accident? Yes – as long as you’re not assigned half or most of the blame. Even then, sharing some of the blame will result in your damages being reduced. An attorney will help you fight back if the insurance company tries to blame you.
You Need Time to Focus on Getting Better
Accidents can cause life-changing injuries and financial stress. You need time after an injury to recover – physically and emotionally. You don’t need one more thing to deal with right now. Let your attorney handle fighting for your compensation so that you can get back on your feet.
I Was in an Accident – Do I Have a Personal Injury Case?
If you have been injured because of the way someone else acted, you might have a case. Personal injury cases can happen in a wide range of circumstances.
You might have a case if:
- You were injured in an accident caused by someone’s careless driving
- You slipped and fell at a store because the store failed to keep the area clear of debris or spills
- You were injured by a defective product
- You were injured at work
- You were injured on someone else’s property
A key element of any personal injury case is whether you incurred some form of damages. Damages usually compensate for physical injury, but you can also recover damages for emotional or mental distress. Our attorneys handle all types of injury cases. Call today for a free consultation.
South Carolina Personal Injury Laws: a Brief Overview
Several laws come into play during a personal injury case.
Some of the major laws that may affect your case include:
- Statute of limitations: For most cases, you must file your case within 3 years.
- Modified comparative negligence statute: If you were partially at fault for your injuries, you can still receive some compensation as long as you were not more than 50% responsible.
- Limits on compensation: If your case is a medical malpractice case, your non-economic damages are limited to $350,000 per defendant or $1,050,000 total if there are multiple defendants.
- Punitive damages: These are damages designed to punish someone for the awful behavior that caused your accident in hopes that they won’t hurt anyone else in the future. Punitive damages are separate from economic or non-economic damages. Whether your case qualifies for punitive damages is a complex matter. An attorney can tell you if punitive damages might be available in your case.
As you can see, your success in a case is far from straightforward. Our highly qualified trial attorneys at Hawk Law Group know exactly how to get you the compensation you deserve. Call our law office today for a free consultation.
What’s My Personal Injury Case Worth?
The value of your insurance claim or personal injury lawsuit will depend on a lot of different factors.
The amount you could get depends on:
- The severity of your injuries
- Whether your injuries caused you to miss work
- Whether your injuries are permanent or temporary
- Whether you are partially responsible for the accident
- How your accident affects you emotionally
- Your out-of-pocket costs (both present and future)
As a general rule, cases involving catastrophic injuries and death are worth more than those where injuries are relatively minor. However, each case is different. Contact our lawyers to discuss your specific situation. Your first evaluation is absolutely free.
What Compensation Can I Get After an Accident?
In South Carolina, compensation available in accident cases falls into two different categories: economic and non-economic damages.
Economic damages compensate you for financial losses such as:
- Medical expenses
- Nursing care
- Lost wages
- Disability
- Property damage, and more.
Non-economic damages compensate you for losses that are not easily seen, such as:
- Mental stress caused by the accident
- Inconvenience caused by the accident
- Loss of reputation
- Loss of enjoyment of life activities, and more.
Think of non-economic damages as consequences that you don’t have a receipt for. Compensation for these things is often referred to as “pain and suffering.” These are things that can greatly affect the quality of your life. These can be the most devastating part of your accident.
Hawk Law Group can help you get the compensation you deserve for the injuries you have suffered. We’ll work closely with experts as we identify your damages and understand how your accident has affected your life. The more information we have to work with, the better prepared we’ll be to negotiate a meaningful settlement or win a life-changing verdict for you at trial.
How Can a Personal Injury Lawyer Help Me After an Accident?
Accidents are traumatic, no matter how severely you were injured. You have a lot to think about. Your main focus is recovery.
An attorney can help ease the stress you are facing after an accident by:
- Negotiating with insurance companies on your behalf
- Helping you assess all of your damages
- Determining all parties responsible for your injuries
- Hiring experts to support your case
Hiring an attorney gives you the best chance for you to receive full compensation for your injuries. Fighting for the highest compensation for their clients is what the attorneys at Hawk Law Group in Aiken, SC do every single day. It’s best to let the professionals do what they do best so that you can focus on your recovery. We’re standing by to help you with your case, so give us a call today for a free consultation.
How Much Does it Cost to Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer?
Most attorneys work on a contingency fee basis. This means that the attorney’s fees will be a percentage of the amount they obtain on your behalf. You won’t pay anything unless they win your case. Most injury lawyers will collect between 33% to 40% of the awarded amount. The specific terms will be outlined in the fee agreement with your attorney. Be sure to read them carefully.
Hawk Law Group has been fighting for accident victims like you since 1984. In that time, we’ve helped countless clients win their cases. We’re so confident in our ability to win that we assume all of the risks related to our client cases. We front the costs and only get paid when we win. You pay absolutely nothing unless we win your case – guaranteed.
What’s Negligence and Why is it Important If I’ve Been Hurt in an Accident?
Negligence is a legal theory used to help an injured person obtain compensation when someone’s actions have caused them harm. Negligence is based on the concept that people should act reasonably and generally behave in a way that won’t cause harm to others. Someone is negligent when they cause harm by failing to act as a reasonable person would act in similar circumstances.
While the criminal justice system has laws to punish people for wrongdoing, civil lawsuits include concepts like negligence that allow people injured in accidents to be compensated for their injuries. Not surprisingly, negligence is the basis for most personal injury cases.
How Do You Prove Negligence?
Negligence has four elements:
- Duty: did the defendant owe you a duty of care?
- Breach: did the defendant breach the duty owed to you?
- Causation: did the defendant’s action directly cause your injuries?
- Damages: did you suffer actual damages as a result of the defendant’s actions?
At first glance, this may seem simple. However, negligence is often complex to prove. You must prove each element of negligence to win your case. Experts are often required to prove causation and damages. There may be multiple parties responsible for your injuries. Don’t forget to account for injuries that may not be visible.
When you’ve been injured, you deserve to be compensated for the full extent of your injuries. Don’t get stuck paying bills for an accident that wasn’t your fault. The injury attorneys at Hawk Law Group are highly skilled in all aspects of cases involving accidents. Call our Aiken, SC law office today for your free consultation.
How Long Do I Have to File a Personal Injury Lawsuit in South Carolina?
Every state has what is called a “statute of limitations.” That sets the deadline by which you have to file your lawsuit. If you miss the deadline, you are barred from receiving any compensation for your injuries. In South Carolina, with a few exceptions, you have three years from when you were injured (or when you discovered the injury) to file a lawsuit for a personal injury or wrongful death.
Sometimes an injury is obvious. Other times, you might not realize that something is causing you harm. For example, imagine that you are harmed by some medication that you are taking. It might take you a while to connect your symptoms to the medication. So, the clock starts running for the statute of limitations as soon as you knew, or should have known, that the medicine was causing you harm.
What to Do (and Not Do) After an Accident
Keep these things in mind if you or a loved one are hurt in an accident:
- Report the accident to the police, property owner, employer, or another related party
- Seek medical attention as soon as you can
- Don’t apologize or admit fault – that could put a stop to a case before it even has a chance to start
- Don’t make a recorded statement for the insurance adjuster
- Resist the temptation to accept an early settlement offer if your lawyer hasn’t looked it over
- Gather evidence – including photos and videos of the scene – if you can
- Direct all conversations about your accident and injuries to your personal injury attorney
The sooner you call an attorney, the sooner they can begin to put together a plan to secure compensation for your injuries. Hawk Law Group is always available to speak with you about your case – 24/7/365. Reach out for assistance today.
Your Aiken County Personal Injury Lawyer
Hawk Law Group has decades of specialized litigation and trial experience with personal injury cases. Our Aiken County personal injury lawyers will be your fiercest advocates and fight to maximize your financial recovery.
At Hawk Law Group, we’ll take the time to listen to your story and develop a winning strategy just for you. Our Aiken County law firm has developed a strong reputation for results-driven client service. Call today to let us help you with your case. As always, your initial case evaluation is free.
Hawk Law Group
156 Laurens St NW, Aiken, SC 29801
803-653-3175
706-722-3500
What Our Clients Have to Say About Us
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Areas We Serve in Aiken County
Find out more about our office location. We serve in all neighborhoods throughout Aiken County, including:
Aiken, Bath, Beech Island, Clearwater, Pinecrest, Graniteville, Gloverville, Warrenville, Montmorenci, Jackson, Langley, Monetta, Montmorenci, New Ellenton, North Augusta, Salley, Vaucluse, Wagener, Warrenville, Windsor, and its surrounding areas.
