If you suffered injuries when you fell in Orangeburg, you may have a right to pursue compensation for your medical bills, lost income, and more. South Carolina law finds property owners, lessees, and others legally responsible when negligence leads to injury in their buildings and on their land. An Orangeburg slip and fall lawyer from The Louthian Firm Accident & Injury Lawyers can help you take the next steps in your case.
Connect with our team for free today. We provide free, no-obligation case reviews for victims hurt in fall incidents in Orangeburg. We are here to help you understand your options, offer advice, and help you move forward with your life after a fall injury.
The Louthian Firm Accident & Injury Lawyers—Your Orangeburg Slip and Fall Law Firm
At The Louthian Firm Accident & Injury Lawyers, we represent victims of personal injuries in and around Orangeburg. Helping families and individuals get justice from the legal system has been our goal since attorney Herb Louthian founded the firm in 1959. Today, along with his son Bert, our family-run firm uses our 80 years of combined legal experience to fight for South Carolina clients like you.
You may want our 80 years of experience on your side. Our lawyers work one-on-one with every client. We investigate what happened, develop strong support for the claim, and demand just compensation. We treat every client according to our Client Bill of Rights. This guarantees courtesy, respect, and compassion.
We are a contingency-fee firm ready to get to work and help clients get the results they need and deserve based on the facts of their cases. We charge nothing upfront and no fees unless we successfully secure compensation for you through a negotiated settlement or court award.
How Our Orangeburg Slip and Fall Lawyers Recover Compensation for Our Clients?
At The Louthian Firm Accident & Injury Lawyers, our team regularly secures settlements and verdicts for our injured clients. We also have a strong track record of successful outcomes in premises liability cases.
Our recent case results include the following outcomes:
- A $225,000 negotiated insurance payout in a premises liability case
Other recent personal injury case results include:
- $1,000,000 settlement in a personal injury insurance claim
- $550,000 settlement agreement in an injury case
Developing a Civil Case or Claim Based on Your Orangeburg Fall Injury
The Louthian Firm Accident & Injury Lawyers represents victims hurt in falls in Orangeburg and nearby areas. While we refer to these cases as slips and falls, they also occur in other ways.
This includes trips caused by:
- Broken steps, items in a walkway, and uneven flooring
- Uneven and dangerous stairs
- Balcony and porch collapses
- Missing and broken handrails and other railings
- Poor lighting conditions that prevent seeing obstacles or spills
Any fall that occurs because of the property owner’s or occupier’s negligence might support a premises liability insurance claim or lawsuit.
South Carolina law allows victims to pursue damages when:
- There was an unreasonable hazard on the property
- The property owner or occupier knew or should have known about the hazard.
- The responsible party took no action or too little action to rectify the hazard.
- The hazard caused a fall.
- The victim suffered injuries.
By showing these factors occurred, we can prove the liable party acted negligently. They were responsible for protecting those who visited their property and failed to do so.
When our Orangeburg slip and fall lawyers represent a fall victim, we investigate what happened, gathering evidence to support a claim. We identify the liable party and determine what insurance coverage is available. Then, we demand a fair payout based on the client’s recoverable damages.
Most insurers do not initially agree to the full money damages you deserve. Instead, this process includes several rounds of negotiations. It takes time to reach an agreement, but we often do. Some circumstances require us to sue the liable party. Our attorneys can take any company or individual to trial if a case calls for it.
Fault for Slip-and-Fall Accidents in Orangeburg
When you fall and suffer serious injuries on someone else’s property, you might at first assume that what happened was a true accident. The thought might never cross your mind that someone else is responsible for your injuries.
But when property owners fail to maintain the safety of their premises for guests and patrons, they can be held accountable in civil court.
Slip-and-fall accidents can occur for a number of reasons, but some of the more common include the following:
- Wet floors
- Broken pavement
- Unsafe ladders or stairs
- Uneven floors
- Potholes
- Loose floorboards
- Unsecured carpets and rugs
Damages Available in an Orangeburg Slip and Fall Claim or Lawsuit
At The Louthian Firm Accident & Injury Lawyers, our attorneys document our client’s fall-related expenses and losses, including intangible losses. We use this evidence to show the value of their claim and negotiate with the insurer. Additionally, we use it to prove to the jury how much compensation our client deserves. The recoverable damages in these cases often include:
Medical Bills
Recoverable damages include all medical bills and related care costs, such as ambulance transportation, hospitalization, rehabilitation, medication, and future treatment. We work with experts to understand each client’s prognosis and their estimated future medical expenses based on their injuries.
Lost Income
Your injuries probably caused you to miss work. This may be a few days, weeks, or even months. Some people cannot return to their previous job or earn the same amount as they could before their injuries.
You can recover your lost income, including:
- Salaries
- Hourly pay
- Tips
- Commissions
- Gig work
- Piecework
- Reduced earning capacity
Property Damages
Falls cause damage to personal items. This frequently includes eyeglasses, smartphones, laptops, and other items in the victim’s pocket or hand. The cost of repairing or replacing these items is recoverable.
Pain and Suffering
“Pain and suffering” is a catch-all phrase describing the non-economic damages a personal injury victim faces. In a fall, this includes physical pain, emotional distress, decreased quality of life, scarring and disfigurement, and other intangible losses.
Our attorneys know how to value these damages despite their intangible nature. We understand the insurance industry’s valuation methods and use our experience and knowledge of similar cases to prove our clients’ damages.
Wrongful Death Damages
Catastrophic fall injuries could prove fatal for victims. Under S.C. Ann. § 15-51-10, South Carolina law allows the victim’s personal representative to file a wrongful death case against the liable party.
A wrongful death action permits the surviving immediate family to recover damages such as:
- Medical expenses
- Funeral and burial costs
- Loss of income
- Loss of care and companionship
- Non-economic losses experienced by family members
Don’t handle a wrongful death case on your own. Our compassionate attorneys will deal with the legal tasks for you.
South Carolina Premises Liability Laws to Know
In South Carolina, property owners are held liable for injuries that occur on their premises, including slip-and-fall injuries in Orangeburg. However, property owners can escape blame in some circumstances.
If the hazard that caused the fall was out in the open and should have been obvious to the victim, property owners may avoid being found at fault. Many property owners protect themselves by clearly marking hazardous conditions—like restaurants do when they put up a bright yellow wet floor sign after a beverage is spilled.
Also, property owners can only be held accountable for injuries that happen to their invited guests. People who are trespassing on private property at the time of their slip-and-fall injuries may not have grounds for a claim against the property owner.
How Long Do I Have to Hire an Orangeburg Slip and Fall Lawyer?
At The Louthian Firm Accident & Injury Lawyers, P.A, our attorneys recommend taking action for your insurance claim or legal case as soon as possible. After all, evidence often disappears over time.
There are no deadlines for filing your insurance claim, but you should act as quickly as possible. Generally, you have only three years to file suit per South Carolina law. As long as you have the potential to file a lawsuit, the insurer could be willing to negotiate a settlement. Without this leverage, the insurance companies have little motivation to pay a fair amount for the case.
However, we often recommend that you take time before accepting an offer—generally, after your injuries stabilize and you have an idea about your prognosis. Once you contact our team, we may not file your claim until you understand the nature of your injuries and expected future medical costs.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) in Orangeburg Fall Cases
Below, we answer some of the most common questions we hear from accident victims. If you do not find the answers you need or if you want more information, do not hesitate to connect with our team for a free consultation.
Who Bears Legal Responsibility for an Orangeburg Slip and Fall Injury?
South Carolina’s premises liability laws allow us to hold the property owner, an occupier such as a lessee, or a renter legally responsible for injuries our client suffered. In general, the party responsible for maintaining the property bears liability.
In some cases, additional factors could make liability more complicated. For example, a lessee may oversee general maintenance, but the property owner might take care of filling potholes in the parking lot. If you trip in a pothole, whether the lessee notified the property owner of the hazard might be crucial in the case.
We can identify all liable parties and build a case against them.
How Do I Know If I Have a Case?
One of the best ways to learn if you may have a viable claim or lawsuit against the property owner or occupier is to meet with our team. We provide free consultations for you to learn more about your legal options and discuss the strength of your case. We can review the possible approaches and potential outcomes. You can use this information to decide if you want to file a claim and move forward with our team.
What If a Big Corporation Bears Liability?
Our attorneys have experience taking on some of the biggest companies in South Carolina. We do not back down from large corporations. If a major company owns the property where you were hurt, you deserve a payout just as much.
These companies often hold large liability policies, which could result in an out-of-court settlement even for catastrophic injuries. However, we can take the company to trial and go toe-to-toe with their corporate legal teams in the courtroom when necessary.
Do I Have to Sue to Recover Compensation After an Orangeburg Slip and Fall?
Suing is not always necessary in a premises liability case. Most property owners do not want to go to trial any more than you do. We often settle these cases through negotiations with the insurer. This presents the most common path to a successful financial recovery.
However, we sue when necessary. This includes when your timeline to seek compensation is running short, the parties disagree on key facts of the case, the liable party won’t reach a fair agreement, punitive damages are a possibility, and more. We can explain if any of these reasons could be relevant to your case.
What if I Was Hurt at a Friend’s House?
Many people worry about how their injuries could affect their relationship with the property owner. This occurs most commonly when the injuries happen at an individual’s residence or other private property. While this could affect a relationship, the outcome will depend on the personalities of those involved and the approach.
Many people understand that you need to file an insurance claim to pay for your medical care and other related costs. The money for a settlement will come from their insurer, not out of their pocket. This is what homeowner’s insurance is for.
Speak to an Orangeburg Slip and Fall Attorney’s Team Today for Free
Discuss your case and options for seeking compensation today for free. A representative from The Louthian Firm Accident & Injury Lawyers can review your case with you and assess the strength of your claim. You may have a right to pursue a payout for the injuries, expenses, and losses you suffered. Our team handles these cases for many individuals and families.
Contact us at (843) 544-7272 now to get started. We can talk about what you can do to pursue justice and fair compensation based on the facts of your fall and injuries.
