Legal Question in Personal Injury in South Carolina

First of all, on a personal note I'm very sorry for your parents' accident and injuries. I am a Personal Injury lawyer and have been for going on two decades now and I know how hard this can be on not just those injured, but the family members as well.

To answer your question, Yes. By all means you should get a lawyer. If you would like to call, I can articulate all of the reasons much easier in a phone conversation than I can typing. There are numerous reasons for getting an attorney.

First of all, insurance companies do not want you to hire a lawyer. There's a good chance you or your parents received a call or letter within a few short days after the accident from an insurance company. If so, that was an attempt to initiate a communication with you so you won't consult with a lawyer. This first reason is based on basic business principals. Income minus expenses equals profit. In other words, insurance companies bring in money in premiums, pay out claims, and the balance is profit. They only have one goal and one goal only. That is to pay out as little as possible. No matter how personal they sound, no matter how polite and sympathetic they appear, its all part of seeking their ultimate goal. And that is about profits.

The second reason is, they do not have any fear of an unrepresented claimant. No offense please, but the truth is they know that you do not pose a threat since you do not have the knowledge and experience to file and law suit and litigate a case in the courts. Without that ability, a person will simply never have the necessary leverage to prompt the insurance company to be fair and pay the true value of an injury case.

Again, please don't take offense. Your question is an intelligent question and is well written. I do not doubt your intelligence whatsoever. However, along the same lines as explained above, that is knowing that you are not a trained and experienced Personal Injury attorney, the insurance company also knows that you are probably not aware of a number of very important matters. One is the various types of damages a person is entitled to. Most people are just aware of standard Compensatory Damages, and they usually know that Pain & Suffering probably apply. But there are other legal damages that apply and have value; such as Loss of Consortium, Loss of Use, Punitive Damages, Lost Wages (although your parents may have been retired), Future Medcial Compensation & how to calculate these and how to substantiate them.

Another very important factor is the complicated insurance laws that allow for applying a second, a third, a forth, and so on with regards to bringing claims against policies that were in existance at the time of the accident, but not involved in the accident. The legistature recognized when they wrote the insurance laws that just a single liability policy oftern would not be sufficent to cover people's losses from an accident. So they passed legislation that allows for this procedure(s). This involves what is called "Insurance Stacking," and applies to various other policies including what is called Under-Insured coverage. These additional legal matters are complicated, and very strict procedures are required in order to invoke these.

All of what I have presented for your consideration above, are things that I would suspect the insurance company has not brought to your attention. They will not tell you a lot of things that you should know. They are not under any legal obligation to advise you of many things. However, with an experienced attorney, they know that they must comply with many things or they would subject themselves to what is referred to as a Bad Faith Insurance Claim. That is a very specific body of laws designed to compell these companies to deal fairly. but without a lawyer, they can save tons of money because the law does not require them to tell you what all of your rights are.

Years ago case law was established which is still strongly applied today, that enforces the laws passed by the state legislation. One such law resulted in what is called the Tyger River Doctrine, which is a law that attorneys use to compell insurance companies to be fair and pay what people are entitled to. Again, the Tyger River Doctrine must be invoked and applied in a certain manner.

I could go on with further explanations, but trying to sufficiently make a point without writing a book. There are other considerations and I'm happy going over those if you would like to call.

As far as your question about Medicare and you being personally responsible, the answer is no, if you retain an attorney. Dealing with Medicare or any other medical provider is all part of the services that a lawyer provides. And that includes dealing any liens, subrogation and indemnification issues.

I will conclude my response with a point that even most lawyers don't quite understand and share with people. There is a certain peace of mind that comes with retaining a lawyer on these type of cases. Once I am retained on one of these cases, some of the best advise I have for people, is to try and stop worry about all of these legal issues. Try to embrace the fact that once an attorney has been retained, you can at that very point in time accept the fact that you have now done everything you possibly can to protect your parents. You can not only embrace that fact, but it often is reasurring to the injured people themselves. It puts people in a position where they can focus on their lives, their personal matters and so very importantly, the healing process.

We do these cases on a contingency basis and usually its one/third (1/3) of the recovery from the insurance companies. So with that said, the question becomes, will retaining an attorney increase the amount recovered by the insurance companies in an amount to justify the one-third the lawyer gets. Considering everything that I have explained here so far, plus other considerations I have not typed out, its well worth the cost of having legal representation.

One other thing I should mention, I do so with the hopes that I am not adding stress to anyone, as they have been through enough. But the sooner we get involved in these cases the better off we are. These are difficult cases and there is a lot to be done to maximize the outcome. Getting involved as soon as possible is a great advantage.

I'll mention one other thing, and then I've probably given you plenty enough to think about. I am a sole practitioner. Obviously I therefore have a law firm with one attorney, namely myself. I have encountered people over the years who have weighed the difference between a large firm and a small firm. My position on this which is what I tell people, is that the bigger firms do not have any special power because they are larger. We are dealing with the same courts, same laws, same judges, same everything. The big difference between the big firm and a sole practitioner, is that I do not deal with large volume and seek quanity. I select individual cases that I can personally handle, along with a very competent staff, and the results of my performance, the results of how the cases is resolved, affects me personally far more than it affects any single attorney at one of the large firms. Plus, I am proud to say that I am accessible. I return calls and I spend time with people. Each and every client is extremely important, and they see and feel that importance.

Please feel free to call or email me. I enjoy speaking with people and I do not believe in charging people for consultationsl. You didn't mention where you are located, but as far as my representation is concerned, all of my dealing with insurance companies is by way of phone, mailing, faxes and emails. It makes no difference to me where the accident occured or where the insurance companies are located. I practice state-wide.

Thank you,

Robert J. Johnston, Attorney

Surfside Beach (part of Myrtle Beach community)

Phone: 843-946-0099

Email: [email protected]

I sent you a somewhat long yet informative message as an answer to the question you posted on the LawGuru site. I sent it to you on Sept. 6th. I'm writing to follow up and see if you received it okay and had any other questions.

Robert J. Johnston

843-946-0099

Email: [email protected]