Have you recently been injured in a truck accident in Edgefield County, SC? Contact Hawk Law Group for immediate legal assistance. You may be entitled to compensation for your financial losses and suffering.
Our Edgefield County truck accident lawyers can fight to help you win your case and maximize your recovery.
Benefit from a team with 71+ years of legal experience that’s won millions of dollars in settlements and verdicts. We offer a free consultation, so there’s no risk to learn more about your case and rights. Contact our law office to schedule yours today.
How Our Edgefield County Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help After a Truck Accident
Truck accidents aren’t like other cases involving collisions between motor vehicles. They’re typically more destructive and result in much more serious injuries. Getting compensation tends to be more challenging, as well. The best way to protect yourself – and set yourself up for a win – is by hiring an Edgefield County personal injury lawyer to represent you.
Hawk Law Group has been fighting for the people of Edgefield County, South Carolina for more than three decades. We’re here to help you during this difficult time, too.
When you hire our Edgefield County truck accident attorneys, we’ll:
- Provide support and guidance every step of the way
- Coordinate a thorough investigation of the circumstances surrounding your commercial truck accident
- Gather and analyze evidence with the help of experts and specialists
- Handle communications with insurance companies on your behalf
- Negotiate to get the best possible settlement offer from responsible parties, and
- Have our top-rated trial lawyers bring your case to a jury, if necessary.
Now is the time for you to focus on getting better. Let our Edgefield County truck and car accident lawyers help you fight for the money you deserve. Call our law firm to get started now.
How Common Are Truck Accidents in South Carolina?
In 2019, 8,573 trucks were involved in traffic accidents across the state of South Carolina.
Those collisions included:
- 113 fatal crashes
- 161 serious injury crashes, and
- 1,757 non-serious injury crashes.
Tractor trailers, in particular, are involved in a lot of truck accidents in South Carolina.
In recent years, the number of tractor trailer truck accidents has increased by more than 15%. In 2015, there were 4,419 reported truck tractor accidents in the state. By 2019, the number of big rig crashes had surged to 5,087.
What’s My Truck Accident Case Worth?
Accidents involving big rigs, tractor trailers, semis, and other large trucks can be catastrophic. As a result, truck accident cases can be worth a lot.
While every case is different, factors that can influence value include:
- The types of injuries you’ve sustained and how serious they are
- Whether you’re able to go back to work after your accident
- The cost of replacing or repairing property damage
- The extent of your physical pain and emotional suffering
- Whether your negligence contributed to the truck accident or injuries in any way.
The best way to know what your case might be worth is by discussing the specific details with our personal injury attorneys in Edgefield County. Give our skilled team a call to arrange your free case evaluation now.
What Damages Can I Get If I’ve Been Hurt in a Truck Accident?
Victims of commercial trucking accidents in South Carolina are typically able to seek both economic and non-economic damages.
Economic damages help to offset the verifiable financial costs of a wreck, including things like:
- Medical bills
- Lost wages and income
- Disability
- Medical equipment and devices
- Home modifications necessary to accommodate a catastrophic injury
- Funeral and burial expenses, if a crash results in death.
Non-economic damages are available to compensate victims for trauma that’s hard to value in terms of dollars and cents, such as:
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Disfigurement and scarring
- Loss of consortium, and more.
At Hawk Law Group, we’ve seen how much devastation a truck accident can cause. We’ll work diligently to identify all of your damages and fight to make sure that you’re compensated in full for each and every one. Give our Edgefield County truck accident attorneys a call to get started today.
What Causes Most Truck Accidents in Edgefield County, SC?
Collisions involving large commercial trucks can happen for a lot of different reasons, including:
- Fatigued and overtired truck drivers
- Speeding
- Operating a commercial vehicle under the influence of drugs or alcohol
- Poor judgment
- Driving while distracted (e.g., texting and driving or eating behind the wheel)
- Undertrained or improperly trained truck drivers
- Unbalanced cargo and loads, and
- Improperly secured cargo.
Many truck accidents are a result of negligence – either the truck driver’s or a third party’s. However, in some instances, defective trucks or pieces of equipment can contribute to or cause a collision.
What’s Negligence and How Do I Prove it in My Truck Accident Case?
In simple terms, negligence means that someone was careless and, as a result, caused someone else to get hurt.
To establish negligence, there are four elements that you have to prove:
- Duty: the defendant owed you a duty of care
- Breach: the defendant failed to act reasonably under the circumstances and breached the duty owed to you
- Causation: the defendant’s actions caused you to get hurt
- Injury: you sustained identifiable injuries and damages
You’ll need to use facts and evidence related to your accident to establish these elements.
Helpful evidence can include:
- Truck driver logs
- Electronic control module (ECM) or Event data recorder (EDR) data
- Photographs of the scene of the crash and resulting injuries
- Police reports
- Medical records
- Witness statements and testimony
- Expert testimony
- Vehicle maintenance and repair logs, and more.
Truck drivers are subject to many state and federal laws set by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and state of South Carolina. Evidence of violations of any FMCSA or state trucking laws can also be used to support your claim for damages after a crash.
Who’s Liable For My Truck Accident and Injuries?
Truck accident cases tend to be complicated, in part, because there can be a lot of different parties involved.
Any of the following parties could potentially be liable for injuries resulting from a truck crash:
- The truck driver
- The trucking company (the driver’s employer)
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturers
- Others sharing the road, including motorcyclists, bicyclists, or pedestrians, and
- Government agencies.
There are also times when the injured parties, themselves, share liability for accidents.
What Happens If I’m Blamed For My Truck Accident in Edgefield County?
South Carolina has a modified comparative fault rule with a 50% bar to recovery. In simple terms, this means that sharing less than half of the blame for an accident won’t bar you from getting compensation from other parties. However, your damages will be reduced to the degree you are to blame.
If you’re allocated 10% of the blame your financial award will be reduced by 10% to reflect that. You may be on the hook for 10% of damage sustained by others in the crash, too.
Other parties and insurers will probably try to blame you. If their attempts are successful, you could watch your well-deserved compensation disappear. Hawk Law Group knows how to protect you and help you maximize your financial recovery.
Accidents Involving Large Trucks Can Cause Catastrophic, Fatal Injuries
Commercial trucks are much larger than other vehicles on the road. They can weigh up to 80,000 lbs and be more than 50 feet long. This means trucks can be difficult to drive, nearly impossible to stop on a dime, and can cause a lot of destruction in a wreck. As a result, truck accident injuries are often life-changing.
Common truck accident injuries include:
- Fractures and broken bones
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Neck and back injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Nerve damage
- Paralysis
- Amputation
- Chest injuries
- Internal bleeding and trauma to the organs
- Burns
- Wrongful death, and more.
If you or a loved one has been affected by a trucking accident in Edgefield County, South Carolina, Hawk Law Group will be there to help. Give our compassionate team a call to learn more about your legal options today.
How Long Do I Have to File a Lawsuit After an Edgefield County Trucking Accident?
Typically, truck accident lawsuits must be filed within three years of a crash in the state of South Carolina. It’s important to file your case within the statute of limitations that applies to your case. Missing the deadline means that you’ll lose the ability to assert your right to recover compensation.
Don’t let those responsible for your injuries and suffering off the hook. Call an experienced truck and car accident lawyer in Edgefield County, SC after a wreck. At Hawk Law Group, your first consultation is always free and there’s no cost to you unless we win your case.
Schedule a Free Consultation With Our Edgefield County Truck Accident Lawyers
You deserve compensation if someone else is responsible for your truck accident in Edgefield County. Hawk Law Group can help you fight to get the money you need from truck drivers, trucking companies, and other negligent parties.
Let our Edgefield County truck accident lawyers level the playing field and put you in the best position to maximize your recovery. As always, your first case evaluation is 100% free.
Contact our law firm by phone or connect with us online to schedule yours today.
