South Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog

Similar to the last blog entry posted by your Charleston personal injury attorneys, today's post also concerns the Dallas Cowboys. But unlike the last entry, today's post focuses not on the Cowboys players, but on a 88,000-square-foot practice facility that collapsed in 2009 that has gained recent attention for its negligent construction.

Originally, the tent-like facility's collapse was attributed to a sudden, violent gust of wind known as a "microburst," but recent inquiry into the structure's construction and responsible contractor and its engineer has revealed serious misfeasance and disregard for safety in the facility's design.

As is the case in many industrial endeavors, economic and monetary cost is contrary to safety. Shortcuts can benefit the bottom line, but detrimentally impact the stability, safety, and overall performance and structural integrity under natural duress such as wind gusts. Ultimately, and generally, cutting corners leads to defective products and creates the potential for serious accidents and injuries.

Continue reading "Engineering Shortcuts Lead to Building Collapse and Serious On the Job Injuries" »

With the weather getting colder in (some parts of) South Carolina, your Charleston personal injury attorneys are reminded of an auto and trucking accident case from the 1930s. The case presents the concept of a "duty to warn," and also serves as a great reminder for truckers and drivers to take extra precaution when traveling in wintry conditions.

Now into the meat of the case: A pair of Trucking Co. trucks stalled on an icy highway in South Carolina, completely blocking the road. Because of the position of the stalled trucks at the base of a hill, a car coming over the hill would not the trucks until they had come over the crest of the hill and started making its way down. Essentially, without effective warning, a car coming down the hill would be unable to avoid a collision with the stalled trucks.

In fact, there was a collision with a vehicle coming down the hill. The car's driver sued the trucking company for personal injuries suffered due to negligence on the part of trucks' drivers to post effective warning.

Continue reading "Icy, Wintry Road Conditions Pose Serious Danger to South Carolina Motorists" »

Back in January, Charleston workers' compensation lawyers posted a three part series of posts that reported on an unfortunate accident that resulted in the death of Goose Creek woman. The original entries can be found at the end of this post.

As a quick refresher, the basic facts of the incident are as follows. In March 2010, while returning to their home in Goose Creek, a family of four, traveling in a green Ford pickup suffered a fatal blow, but not from another vehicle traveling on the interstate, but from a piece of the interstate itself. The couple was sitting in the front of the truck, husband behind the wheel and wife sitting in the front passenger seat. Their two young children in safety seats behind them when an Alabama fragment of Interstate 20 came through the windshield striking the wife, causing serious head injuries, narrowly missing the pre-schoolers, and flying out the truck’s cab.

This freak auto accident occurred at milepost 210 on I-20 in a construction zone that has slowed drivers and traffic for years, only a few short miles before the interstate smooths out in Georgia. This particular section of interstate, which is traveled by more than 33,000 drivers daily, is notorious for being riddled with pits and patches that drivers regularly turn up the volume on their radios to drown out the aggravating noise of tires rolling over rutted roadway.

In early March of 2011, the Post and Courier reported that the state of Alabama paid $1 million dollars to the family of the mother who was killed by the chunk of flying concrete. Alabama state officials said the money was awarded to compensate for the mother's wrongful death.

Continue reading "Howell and Christmas, LLC Follow Up On Highway Defects Post" »

Over the holidays South Carolina Auto Accident Lawyers came across an article in the Post and Courier that outlines an unfortunate incident that resulted in a beloved wife and mother's death. Due to the length of the article and seriousness of the incident, involving highly unsafe highway defects, this entry will be divided into three parts.

Last March while returning to their home in Goose Creek, a family of four, traveling in a green Ford pickup suffered a fatal blow, but not from another vehicle traveling on the interstate, but from a piece of the interstate itself. The couple was sitting in the front of the truck, husband driving and wife riding, with their two young children in safety seats behind them when an Alabama fragment of Interstate 20 came through the windshield striking the wife, causing serious head injuries, narrowly missing the pre-schoolers, and flying out the truck’s cab.

The fatal fragment came from a recently repaired pothole; a pocket of jagged bits of concrete covering half of the slow lane, and was flung into the air by a 1995 Toyota Camry. The driver of the Camry was a single mother who was simply giving a friend a ride to the other side of the Georgia line. Although the 23 year-old driver knows she was not at fault in the accident, it is reported she is still haunted by the incident, especially since her only form of transportation remains her blue 1995 Camry.

Continue reading "Highway's Defects Cause Wrongful Death: Part 1 of 3" »

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" »

Charleston County Police need your help to find the driver of a sports utility vehicle (SUV) that hit multiple cars and gate before hitting a house. After abruptly coming to a halt, the unknown driver got out of the vehicle and took off on foot. Fortunately no one was physically hurt in the Charleston accident, but was thousands of dollars in personal property damage.

The South Carolina hit-and-run occurred downtown on the corner of East Bay Street and Wentworth Street shortly after midnight. The 1997 GMC Suburban crashed into a parked 1999 Volkswagen and caused enough damage to the car that it was totaled. After totaling the Volkswagen, the SUV sideswiped a 1999 Honda Accord and a 2007 Mercedes, and then struck a Mitsubishi pushing the Mitsubishi into a BMW.

The unknown driver damaged five cars before crashing into an iron gate at 21 Wentworth Street. The gate gave way and the driver damaged the home before coming to a stop the neighboring house, 23 Wentworth Street. Police said the damages to the houses were minor but damages to the five cars ranged from minor to severe. Witnesses told police that after the driver hit the house located at 23 Wentworth, they saw the driver get out of the vehicle and run from the scene. If you know any information about this severe hit-and-run accident please contact the Charleston County Police.

Source: The Post and Courier- “SUV hits multiple cars, gate, home.” February 19, 2010.