South Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog

This past Thursday a North Charleston man died as a result of traumatic brain injuries sustained from a motorcycle wreck he was in last Monday. This was the second man to die of motorcycle accident related in the same number of days. The 68-year-old was riding his motorcycle on Dorchester Road when he collided with a vehicle that pulled out in front of him from Parlor Drive Monday morning around 10 a.m.

The police incident report did not specify whether or not the motorcyclist was wearing a helmet at the time of deadly auto accident, but it did mention the man was ejected from his motorcycle and landed in the roadway.

The driver of the car involved in the accident was a 22-year-old Ladson man. He was charged with failure to yield the right of way, according to police.

Continue reading " Two Charleston Area Motorcyclists Killed After Auto Collisions " »

Living in Charleston, South Carolina personal injury attorneys are no strangers to bicycle accidents and would like to take a moment to share the following incident and subsequent case to remind drivers and cyclists alike to give due attention to each other when traveling along area roadways.

Back in June, a 48-year-old cyclist was hit by a drunk driver traveling 69 miles per hour when a horrific collision occurred, shattering the cyclist's leg, sending his head snapping back onto the A-bar of the driver's Chevy Tahoe, and ultimately rocketing the cyclist 100 feet through the air, slamming into a roadside fence with serious brain injuries. The driver had a blood alcohol level of .19, nearly three times the legal limit.

Last month, the 34-year-old drunk driver, who had two previous DUIs on his record, was sentenced by Montgomery County, Maryland Circuit Court Judge to 8 years in jail and 5 years of unsupervised probation. According to WTOP, the sentence came after hours of testimony from the friends and family members of both men. After his second DUI offense in 2004 the driver was ordered to complete a 26 week program, it can easily be said the program did nothing to help change his dangerous behavior.

Continue reading " One Man's Life Is Taken, Another's In Ruins After Drunk Driver Hits Cyclist " »

Charleston nursing home abuse attorneys came across a Kentucky suit that recently awarded a monumental sum of $42.75 million to the family of a man who, allegedly, died due to negligent care in a nursing home. The amount was granted by a Hopkins County jury in Lexington, Kentucky and according to court documents the jury awarded $1 for the man's pain and suffering, $1.75 million for his wife's loss, and $40 million in punitive damages.

The suit claimed that a 92-year-old man's death was caused because of a Madisonville nursing home's negligent behavior by not ensuring he had enough water to live. Despite having a feeding tube the elderly man became lethally dehydrated. The man was only in the nursing home for nine days before being transferred to a regional medical center where he ultimately died.

The experienced wrongful death lawyers at Howell and Christmas, LLC understand the possibility of abuse or neglect in a nursing home is a serious consideration when a resident suffers from dehydration. Other considerations include malnourishment, falls, bedsores, or injury due to lack of supervision of staff.

Continue reading " Jury Awards Big Time, Causing Nursing Home to Seek Appeal " »

When one thinks of major American multinationals, a few come easily to mind, McDonald's, Coca-Cola, and Walt Disney. In their own rights, all three have grown from American Institutions to international corporate powerhouses. Another thing these three have in common is that they have had their fair share of legal controversy, from coffee being too hot at McDonald's to alleged racial discrimination within the workforce at Coca-Cola and recently, a wrongful death suit filed against several Disney entities or partners.

South Carolina workers' compensation attorneys note that suit was filed because of an on the job injury that resulted in a worker's death 20 days after the accident. The victim's family filed the suit in Orange County, Florida circuit court. It seeks damages in excess of $15,000, free of interest and costs.

The four-count suit filed names Reedy Creek Energy Services, Reedy Creek Improvement District, Disney Photo Imaging, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts U.S., Inc., and Tishman Hotel & Realty and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. as defendants.

According to the Orlando Sentinel, a spokesman for Disney said they have received the complaint and would "respond as appropriate through the court system."

Continue reading " On The Job Injury at Walt Disney Results In Death, Worker's Estate Files Suit " »

Not only do South Carolina personal injury lawyers know the danger an angry dog can pose to people, but also a North Charleston police officer. Last week, while in pursuit of a man who shoved him, the officer came into contact with a pit bull who was not pleased to see him. After following the suspect over a fence and into a yard, the pit bull attacked the officer forcing him to fire his weapon at the dangerous animal to prevent a potentially serious on the job injury.

The shot fired by the officer grazed the attacking animal's ear giving the officer the opportunity to get away safely with only minor scratches and not a serious dog bite. The dog is fine, but the attack by the dog caused the officer to lose sight of the suspect and subsequently officers were unable to locate the officer-shoving man.

The point of the post is not to focus on the dog as distractor in this incident, but rather the harm that some dogs can pose. While this particular animal was confined to its yard when the attack occurred, what if the animal was left unattended? Would it still display the same aggressive and threatening behavior?

Continue reading " North Charleston Police Officer Attacked By Dog, Forced to Use Force To Curb Attack " »

Its nothing new to Charleston car accident lawyers, and other area residents, that a single auto collision can lead to another and cause serious backups for travelers. These backups create a sea of frustrated drivers and can be extremely dangerous not long after the initial accident, just as authorities are responding to the scene. This is exactly what happened last week on Interstate 26, not far from Summerville.

The first wreck happened around 9 a.m. when a minivan heading westbound near mile marker 196 lost control of the vehicle, went into the median, and hit a tree. The 44-year-old driver from Summerville was wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash, but was pronounced dead at the scene by the Berkeley County Coroner's Office.

About twenty minutes after this single-vehicle crash, and as westbound traffic began backing up, a second serious auto accident took place, ultimately involving a total of five vehicles. One of those vehicles was a tractor trailer that began this chain reaction by side swiping three stopped vehicles near mile marker 197, then ran into the median strip hitting several trees. One of the trees struck by the tractor-trailer fell on top of a sport utility vehicle that was also stopped in traffic on I-26.

Continue reading " Single-Vehicle Collision Leads To Traffic Buildup and Another Crash " »

Courtesy of the Brain Injury Association of South Carolina, Charleston injury lawyers received a newsletter featuring some startling information not typically covered by media outlets. Currently, there are over 61,000 South Carolinians living with disabilities from traumatic brain injury, or caused by an external physical force, and in the United States a traumatic brain injury occurs at an alarming rate of one every 23 seconds. Combining victims of breast cancer, multiple sclerosis, and HIV/AIDS, there are still more individuals suffering from brain injuries. This is in no way to discount the prevalence and severity of other afflictions, it is meant to cast a light on a serious condition that is often overlooked.

The cause of brain injuries is varied, the most common include serious car accidents, bicycle accidents, falls, domestic violence, and/or as a result of combat for veterans. In South Carolina, brain injuries are the number one cause of death in individuals ages 1 to 44. Yearly, over 2,500 individuals are discharged from South Carolina hospitals with brain injury and tens of thousands are seen in emergency rooms statewide to be treated for milder brain injuries.

But, while broken bones and open wounds are obvious for doctors and medical staff to treat, brain injuries are not always easy detect in accident trauma victims. Even when a diagnostic test like an MRI or CT scan is conducted, they often will not show minor shearing or tearing in the brain. In many cases a neuropsychological examination must be given to properly diagnose a brain injury.

Continue reading " Information On South Carolina's Number One Cause of Death " »

Although the football season is over, there is still much going on within the sport. With college stars and professional hopefuls gearing up for scouts to assess their talent at the NFL Combine, the upcoming draft, negotiations in stalemate between the League the Union, and a potential lockout looming, the world of professional football never seems to sit still.

Before sharing a recent bit of news dealing with pro football, South Carolina job accident attorneys want to bring a novel thought to attention. The notion that the word "professional" is often not thought of when players are injured, only that a player will be absent from a fantasy roster or that a player's absence may affect a team's chance of winning the next week's game. Rarely does it come to mind that injuries on the field are on the job injuries, playing football is a profession and when injured while working has serious implications just was it would for a worker at the Port of Charleston.

Amidst all the turmoil between the NFL and the NFL Players Association comes another professional football dispute regarding former Miami Dolphin wide receiver, Kendall Newson. Representatives for the Dolphins are pressing for a federal magistrate in Pittsburgh to reject the workers' compensation claim filed by Newson for a career-ending knee injury incurred in 2005 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. The case was heard last week, but the presiding magistrate has yet to rule on the case.

Continue reading " Miami Dolphins Want Former Player's Injury Claim Squashed In Pennsylvania " »

South Carolina workers' compensation attorneys understand all too well that serious injuries or death can occur while on the job, even if the job is making tortillas. Such is the case for a Gautemalan man who was killed while working at Tortilleria Chinantla, a tortilla factory in Bushwick, Brooklyn, New York. The workplace fatality occured when the 22-year-old immigrant fell into an industrial dough mixer during the night shift.

Emergency personnel responded to the scene after a call reporting a worker had suffered cardiac arrest, however, on arrival they found that a man, who had been a factory employee for six years, had fallen into the industrial mixer. Authorities said the man was pronounced dead at the scene.

Tortilleria Chinantla has since closed due to the accident. Also, because of the death and subsequent inspection the fact that tortilla maker has been without workers’ compensation insurance for nearly a year has been brought to light. According to the New York State Workers' Compensation Board, the insurance for the company ran out last March and the business has since accrued $56,000 in penalties for noncompliance.

Continue reading " Gautemalan Man Falls Into Industrial Dough Mixer " »

South Carolina defective product attorneys came across interesting bit of news from the the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) regarding a civil penalty imposed upon an office chair manufacturer. Raynor Marketing Ltd., of West Hempstead, New York reached an agreement that has been provisionally accepted by the CPSC to pay $390,00 in penalties. It was alleged Raynor Manufacturing Ltd. was aware of a defect in office chairs sold to consumers, as well as injuries, and failed to report this information immediately to the Commission as required by federal law.

Raynor Marketing Ltd. announced a recall of 150,000 office chairs in October 2009 because bolts attaching the seatback can loosen and detach, posing a fall and injury hazard to consumers. The chairs were sold exclusively through Office Depot stores nationwide and on the retailer's website, officedepot.com.

"Federal law requires manufacturers, distributors, and retailers to report to CPSC immediately (within 24 hours) after obtaining information reasonably supporting the conclusion that a product contains a defect which could create a substantial product hazard, creates an unreasonable risk of serious injury or death, or fails to comply with any consumer product safety rule or any other rule, regulation, standard, or ban enforced by CPSC."

Continue reading " Civil Penalty Imposed On Office Chair Producer " »

Charleston auto accident attorneys were sent the following case and felt it an excellent example of the difficulty in determining negligence in highly unpredictable circumstances. The Ford Motor Company, back in November, pleaded with the Illinois Supreme Court to overturn a large reward in the amount of $43 million granted in a Madison County verdict in 2005. The lawyers representing Ford argued that manufacturers of any goods would be subject to open-ended liability for many years to come if the ruling were allowed to stand, according to the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin.

The initial verdict came in Madison County Circuit Court and was upheld by the Fifth District Appellate Court before the case went to the Illinois Supreme Court. An Appellate Court Justice wrote, "we believe that the parties received a fair trial in this case." It goes without saying Ford disagreed with this opinion as the suit made its way to State Supreme Court.

The reason for the case came after the fuel tank exploded in a couple's 1993 Lincoln Town Car. The husband driving the Town Car was killed and the wife suffered severe burn injuries.

Continue reading " Big Auto-Maker Asks to Overturn a Big Award Verdict " »