South Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog

This week the National Football League has laid down sanctions, in the form of fines and suspension, against overly aggressive, ruthless, and dangerous tackling methods in an effort to reduce the amount of concussions and other severe brain injuries. This is great for the professionals, but Charleston accident lawyers know that these brain injuries are not limited to professional football; they can and do occur at the college and high school levels as well.

The National Center for Catastrophic Injury Research reports that between 1945-1999 there have been 491 fatalities were related to severe head injuries sustained during football. What is even more shocking to attorneys in Charleston is that in the last two high school football seasons there have been 8, concussion related fatalities across the Nation. While deaths, paralyzes, and other life altering brain injuries catch most of the media attention, but the larger issue is student athletes suffer post-concussion syndrome long after they’ve stepped off the playing field.

Continue reading " South Carolina Brain Injury Attorneys Look into Football Injuries " »

Charleston accident lawyers have taken note of a recent settlement in New York City that may have Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, owner of the World Trade Center paying out $47 million to the more than 9,000 workers who sustained work related injuries during the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The plaintiffs argue the defendants failed to ensure the workers’ safety during recovery operations at ground zero.

This settlement is in addition to a much larger settlement offered to over 10,000 workers, not all of them decided to sue the Port Authority, who are eligible to receive part of the $712.5 million being paid by the City and its contractors. There is a November 8, deadline to accept the larger settlement. As for the 9,055 plaintiffs in the Port Authority case, they are free to opt into one and not other, accept both, or reject both.

Lawyers for the Port Authority say the board of commissioners will not approve the settlement until the end of October and the plaintiffs will have 60 days to accept the deal. Also, the $47 million settlement is valid only if 80-95 percent of the plaintiffs opt in to receive payment.

Continue reading " South Carolina Job Injury Lawyers Turn Attention to Additional Workers Compensation Settlement " »

Charleston accident lawyers found this interesting civil case: after discovering three men trespassing in an apartment building owned by his company, a landlord now faces a civil suit worth $3.5 million in damages. In the course of removing the trespassers one man was fatally wounded, allegedly, being thrown down a flight of stairs, while the others incurred serious injuries. The New Winfield, CT landlord also faces a single count of first-degree manslaughter and three counts of of third-degree assault, as result of a police investigation into the events leading to the trespassers death.

The 51-year-old landlord is accused of attacking the trespassers and shoving them down two flights of stairs in a Danbury apartment building. According to police the trespassers had spent night in the apartment building drinking and the Connecticut state medical examiner reported that the man who died was extremely intoxicated and most likely unable to stand on his own. The actual cause of death was from internal bleeding caused by the fall.

Continue reading " Man Faces Civil Wrongful Death Suit in Addition to Criminal Manslaughter Charges " »

This Summer and into this Fall a hot topic being discussed and reported has been America’s battle with bed bugs. Nearly all media outlets from morning news shows and even White House correspondents have commented on the “plague,” of sorts. Charleston Injury Attorneys have taken notice of the widespread reports and injury claims caused by these menacing creatures.

The Baltimore Sun, via the Washington Post, reported that Maryland couple has filed a half-million dollar suit against the owners of their apartment complex. The claim seeks to financially remedy the serious injuries from the itchy welts they, and their toddler, have suffered as well as emotional distress the bed bug infiltration has caused. Apart from the bodily and emotional harm the couple has had to move out of their apartment and discard of furniture and their child's toys. So far this is the only reported suit filed against the complex and it will be interesting to see if more suits are filed against the real estate management company.

Continue reading " South Carolina Injury Lawyers Take Note: Bed Bug Case Filed Outside Nation’s Capital " »

Late Saturday evening a 71 year-old male pedestrian was hit and killed by an intoxicated driver on Sam Rittenburg Blvd. near Highway 61 in West Ashley. The Charleston man in operation of the vehicle, allegedly, causing the death has been charged by Charleston police with DUI.

Experienced South Carolina Injury Attorneys feel strong need to point out the driver of the vehicle was NOT charged with felony DUI. The reason being is that the driver was not at fault in the wrongful death.

According to Charleston County public information officer Charles Francis, the pedestrian in the fatal accident took the intoxicated driver's right of way, causing the late-night incident to occur.

Continue reading " Charleston Man Under the Influence Strikes and Kills Pedestrian with Car " »

United Press International reports that there is a voluntary recall on about 160,000 Black & Decker cordless electric lawn mowers by the U.S. Product Safety Commission due to the risk of injury. Howell and Christmas, LLC want Charleston area owners of model number CMM1000 or CMM1000R to be aware of the potential risk of serious injury from using these products.

The American, Mexican, and Canadian made lawn mowers can unexpectedly turn on and with the motor running, unbeknownst to the user, the blade on the machine poses a threat of serious injury. These product flaws were sold under the Black & Decker and Craftsman brands between 1995 and 2006. There have been 34 reports of this product defect and two of these reports have noted injury to their operator/consumer.

Continue reading " Charleston Injury Lawyers Want to Prevent Injury from Recalled Mower " »

Returning home from their choir practice, 20-year-old Josh Glover, 16-year-old Jerrell Joe, and 11-year-old Alexandre Thompson Void were killed four miles north of Elloree, South Carolina when the vehicle in which they were riding went off the road and flipped over. This points out how a serious car accident can happen in the blink of an eye.

The three youngsters were sitting in the back seat of the vehicle and were thrown from the car, according to Calhoun County Coroner Donnie Porth. Two males were in the front of the car were injured, but survived the crash. All were en route to their homes from Union AME Church in Elloree, choir practice had just ended before the crash took place, around 8:30 p.m.

Continue reading " South Carolina Fatal Car Crash: Three Members of Calhoun County Church Choir Killed in Car Wreck " »

Charleston injury lawyers want you to know that recently, South Carolina’s waterways have seen a larger law enforcement presence looking for drunk boaters operating their watercrafts in excess of the legal limit. In a major collaborative effort of national, state local law agencies, including the Coast Guard, Department of Natural Resources, and the National Association of Safe Boating Law Administrators, are taking a hard stand against intoxicated boat operators in an effort to reduce the number of individuals drunk on the water, promote safer boating practices, and prevent serious injuries and deaths. The title for the effort is as much oxymoronic as it is serious about attacking alcohol on the water, Operation Dry Water.

Operation Dry Water’s cause does not go unwarranted or without reason, the combination of alcohol and boating is the primary factor in South Carolina boat related accidents fatalities, 1 in 5 of boat related fatalities are a direct result of alcohol-impaired boaters.

Continue reading " South Carolina Boaters Beware—Government Agencies to Crack Down on Drunk Boating in Accident and Injury Prevention Effort " »

Allegedly failing to yield the right way, a 63-year-old woman driving a Toyota FJ Cruiser was hit by an 18-wheeler and killed. The fatal accident occurred at the intersection of U.S. Highway 78 and Campbell Thicket Road in Ridgeville. The woman was making a left turn onto U.S. 78 when another woman, driving an 18-wheeler struck the FJ Cruiser killing the driver at the scene of the collision and sending the female truck driver to the hospital. Because the driver of the Toyota was a contributing party in the accident no charges have been filed.

Charleston accident lawyers Howell and Christmas, LCC want to use this unfortunate event as an example to stress the importance of safe driving. This accident could have been avoided by paying attention to cautionary road signs that make South Carolina highways safe to travel. Constantly be mindful of 18-wheelers when driving on interstates and highways as they pose a lethal threat if collided and it is not always possible for truck drivers to see cars, even S.U.V.s, from their elevated position.