Legal Question in Personal Injury in South Carolina

Re: injured in accident

You have the right to pursue all persons or entities who contributed to this accident. If you sue the municipal entity, then you become exposed to the south carolina uniform contribution among tortfeasors act. This means that the municipality only has to pay for their strict percentage of negligence. Please be advised that the statute of limitations against a governmental entity is two years and actions against private companies are three years. If the majority of liability would accrue to the private fueler and petroleum distributor, those entities would be much more attactive as defendants. If you sue the municipality, you must file suit in the county where they reside. The venue of this case will be very important. Additionally, there is a 300,000 tort claim cap against the municipality unless someone died in the crash in which case the cap is 600,000. Honestly, it would be necessary to review all receipts, invoices and documents to determine the primary culpable party but under the scenario presented, all potential defendants appear to bear some joint and several liability in this case.

Our firm has litigated catastrophic injury cases across the southeastern United States and have verdicts and settlements in excess of 30 million dollars in the last three years. The toll free number to my office is 800-273-2889, our web address is www.mcgowanhood.com and my email address is [email protected]. Please feel free to call me and I will gladly answer any questions you may have. We have offices in Rock Hill and Columbia, SC.

God Bless.

Sincerely,

Randall Hood

South Carolina

800-273-2889

[email protected]

Re: injured in accident

You ask numerous pertinent and intelligent questions. Unfortunately, there isn't enough space here to adequately answer all your questions in detail. I would encourage you to call. Here's a breif response. I certainly think the private company is liable. Through a legal doctrine of Responent Superior, it is also likely that the airport is liable as well, but would require further analysis of the facts and business arrangment between them. It is also possible to file a suit against the manufactuer of the gas nozzle, the fuel truck and the airplane manufacturer, again depending on further investigation. This would be what is called a Products Liability action. Often when attorneys have a good faith belief that more than one party is at fault, they file against everyone which allows everything to get sorted out in the litigation process. As to who pays what, that is generally based on another legal doctrine called, Comparitive Fault. There is no "formula" for deciding the value of a case. There are far too many things to consider, such as compensatory damages, punitive damages, common carrier liability, impairment/disablity ratings, scaring, future limitations and future medical treatment, along with cost of such treatment, pain and suffering, economical losses including diminished earning capacity and lost wages, and the list goes on. My experience with product liabilty cases is that the companies are usually receptive to good settlements to avoid exposure in court. This is intended to be a brief overview of the answers to your questions. There is obviously a lot more to it and your welcome to call. Robert J. Johnston, Esquire. Office: 843-828-1137 and Cell: 843-283-9639.