Were you injured on someone else’s property in Lancaster, SC? The property owner—or their insurance company—may be liable for your injuries. An experienced Lancaster premises liability attorney can help you pursue financial recovery through a liability claim or lawsuit. Call us at (803) 902-7065.
The exceptional premises liability lawyers at Elrod Pope Accident & Injury Attorneys will help you demand total compensation for your injuries. Contact us today to get started with a free case review.
How Elrod Pope Accident & Injury Attorneys Can Help After a Premises Liability Accident In Lancaster, SC
Founded in 1980, our attorneys have over 150 years of combined legal experience and have recovered over $100 million in damages for our injured clients.
We’ll put our expertise to work for you and fight for you to recover total compensation for your injuries. Our dedicated personal injury attorneys in Lancaster will take the following steps in your case:
- Investigate the accident
- Track down evidence related to your claims
- Calculate the value of your injuries and losses
- Contact the insurance company and demand a fair settlement
- If settlement negotiations are unsuccessful, we can file a lawsuit in court
If you were injured in an accident in Lancaster, South Carolina, contact our firm to discuss the potential compensation in your case. Your initial consultation is always free.
How Common Are Premises Liability Accidents in Lancaster, SC?
Slip-and-fall accidents are a common type of premises liability claim, and over a million people visit an emergency room each year because of them.
Dog bites are another common premises liability claim. According to the Centers for Disease Control, an estimated 4.5 million dog bites occur in the United States each year.
Exact statistics on all premises liability claims are unavailable because these accidents are always reported, and settlement negotiations are usually confidential.
What Are the Leading Causes of Premises Liability Accidents?
Premises liability is a broad category of law that includes many types of accidents. Common causes of premises liability accidents include:
- Slipping and falling on a wet or slick surface
- Tripping on an uneven or broken sidewalk
- Losing your balance due to a broken stair railing
- Animal attacks, including dog bites
- Fires and electrical incidents
- Negligent security
- Injury caused by improper lighting
- Escalator or elevator injury
This list isn’t exhaustive. You might have a premises liability claim if you were injured on another’s property due to unsafe conditions. Contact our Lancaster premises liability attorneys to determine whether you have a potential claim.
What Is My Lancaster Premises Liability Case Worth?
No one can realistically estimate the value of your case before reviewing the specific circumstances surrounding your injury. Generally speaking, the following variables can impact the value of your case:
- The extent of your physical injuries
- Your total medical expenses
- The expected long-term effects of your injuries
- The extent of your other injuries and losses
- Whether you were partly to blame for the accident
- The insurance policy limits
Every case is different, and yours may include other essential variables. Our Lancaster premises liability lawyers will review your case and estimate its value.
What Kinds of Damages Are Available to Premises Liability Victims in Lancaster?
You can recover compensatory damages if injured in a premises liability accident because the property owner was negligent. Compensatory damages compensate victims for their injuries and, ideally, return them to their position before the accident.
Compensatory damages come in two main varieties: economic and non-economic damages.
Economic Damages
Economic damages are the direct monetary costs of the accident. They include medical expenses, lost wages, reduced earning potential, and property damage.
Economic damages are tangible. For example, your medical expenses are based on the cost of your medical treatment, and property damage is based on the cost of repairing or replacing your personal property, such as a cell phone or laptop.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages are the indirect costs of the accident. They are usually psychological, not monetary, impacts. They include pain and suffering, mental anguish, decreased quality of life, and loss of companionship.
Non-economic damages are considered intangible, which doesn’t mean they don’t have genuine impacts. However, they can be harder to put a monetary value on. An experienced Lancaster premises liability attorney can assess the full extent of your damages.
How Much Does It Cost To Hire a Premises Liability Lawyer?
Most premises liability lawyers, including ours, charge a contingency fee. Unlike an hourly or flat-rate fee, contingency fees are only collected if the attorney successfully recovers compensation for the client. That means you don’t pay attorney’s fees unless you get paid.
Contingency fees are calculated as a percentage of the settlement or jury verdict amount. The standard is between 33% and 40%. The rate may be higher or lower based on whether the case goes to trial, how experienced the attorney is, and the type of case. Because the fee is a percentage of your overall recovery, your legal fee will always be within your budget.
Contingency fees may seem high, but they account for the risk an attorney takes by accepting the case. The attorney won’t get paid anything if your case is unsuccessful, even if they spent many hours working on it.
Our Lancaster Premises Liability Lawyers Will Fight To Recover Compensation for All of Your Injuries
A premises liability accident can cause many types of injuries, including:
- Broken bones
- Dislocated joints
- Internal bleeding
- Head and neck injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Soft tissue injuries
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Lacerations
- Burns
Your injuries will depend on the accident type and overall health before the accident. We’ll fight for you to recover compensation for all of your injuries caused by the accident.
What if I’m Being Blamed for the Premises Liability Accident?
Imagine you slipped and fell on a slippery floor at a grocery store that a store employee failed to clean up. Next, imagine that your doctor told you to use a cane, walker, or other assistive device because of balance or joint issues, but you ignored the doctor’s advice. A jury may decide that you were partly to blame for your fall because you weren’t using an assistive device.
South Carolina has a modified comparative negligence law. You can still recover compensation in this scenario if the jury decides that your degree of fault was 50% or less. Your compensation will be reduced by your degree of blame. You cannot recover compensation if you are 51% or more at fault.
Being blamed for an accident can significantly impact your financial recovery. Take our example above. If you suffer $50,000 in damages and the jury finds you 50% at fault, you can only recover $25,000.
At Elrod Pope Accident & Injury Attorneys, we’ll defend you against claims of shared fault.
How Do I Prove Negligence After a Premises Liability Injury in South Carolina?
Premises liability claims are founded on negligence. You must prove four elements if your case proceeds to a lawsuit: duty of care, breach, damages, and causation.
Duty of Care
A duty of care is a legal obligation one owes to others. A property owner must protect others on their property from foreseeable hazards. The level of care required will depend on the relationship between the property owner and the victim, such as whether the victim was an invited guest or a trespasser.
Breach
A breach occurs when a property owner fails to fulfill the duty of care.
Damages
You must have suffered damages from the accident, such as physical injury.
Causation
The property owner’s action or inaction must have caused the accident. In addition, your actions must not have been the primary cause of the accident.
How Long Do I Have To File a Lawsuit After a Premises Liability Injury in Lancaster?
If you were injured in a premises liability accident in Lancaster, SC, you must file your lawsuit within three years of the accident. This deadline is called the statute of limitations. You won’t be able to file your lawsuit if your case is not filed by the statutory deadline. You may not be able to recover compensation for your injuries at all if the deadline passes.
Our Lancaster premises liability attorneys will calculate your case’s filing deadline and file your case on time.
Contact Our Lancaster Premises Liability Lawyers for a Free Consultation
Were you injured because of a dangerous condition on someone else’s property? If so, you may be able to recover compensation for your medical bills, lost wages, and other expenses through a premises liability claim.
Let our dedicated Lancaster premises liability attorneys at Elrod Pope Accident & Injury Attorneys review your case and guide you through your next steps. We’ll put our expertise to work and fight for total compensation for your injuries.
Your first consultation is free. Contact our office to schedule yours today.