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South Carolina Personal Injury Law Blog

South Carolina Appeals Court Rejects Finance Company’s Attempt to Force Arbitration in Negligence Case

Published on: April 28, 2017 | by Patrick E. Knie

It seems that everywhere one turns these days, there’s someone asking for a signature on a waiver, a release document, or a contract agreeing – in advance – to arbitration of a dispute that has not yet occurred.

The goal, of course, is to usurp the signer’s right to a trial by jury, thereby limiting or even eliminating liability for personal injuries or wrongful death caused by the negligence of the entity asking for the document.

Fortunately, not every such agreement is upheld by the courts. It all depends upon the particular situation and the language of a given document.

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South Carolina Appeals Court Holds that No Sanctions Were Warranted Against Employer in Workers’ Compensation Case

Published on: April 28, 2017 | by Patrick E. Knie

Under South Carolina law, a person who is injured in the course and scope of his or her employment may file a claim seeking workers’ compensation benefits, such as temporary disability benefits, permanent disability benefits, and medical benefits.

If a claim is denied by the employer’s insurance company, the injured worker may request a hearing before a workers’ compensation commissioner. If he or she is dissatisfied with the commissioner’s decision, an appeal may be taken to an appellate panel of the full commission.

Further appeals, including proceedings in the court system, are also possible.

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Federal District Court in South Carolina Denies Summary Judgment in Mesothelioma Case Filed by Former Navy Officer

Published on: April 28, 2017 | by Patrick E. Knie

Mesothelioma is a type of cancer that is caused by exposure to asbestos. Generally speaking, the more a person is exposed to asbestos, the greater his or her risk of developing the disease will be. In most cases, it takes several years (sometimes even decades) after the initial exposure for the disease to manifest itself.

Although there is treatment available for mesothelioma, the majority of patients who are diagnosed with the disease will eventually die from it. Symptoms of mesothelioma typically include pain in the chest wall, shortness of breath, fluid around the lungs, fatigue, wheezing, or blood in the sputum.

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South Carolina Supreme Court Adopts “Divided Premises” Rule in Workers’ Compensation Case – Davaut v. University of South Carolina

Published on: February 5, 2017 | by Patrick E. Knie

Under South Carolina workers’ compensation law, employees who are injured in the course of their employment are entitled to certain benefits, such as the payment of medical expenses and disability payments.

While workers’ compensation cases are supposed to be less contentious than tort cases alleging negligence, they are not always easy. Just as with defendants in other personal injury cases, employers and insurance companies will look for a way to avoid responsibility, if at all possible.

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South Carolina Supreme Court Says Lower Tribunals Should Have Stuck to Issues Actually Raised by Employer in Workers’ Compensation Case – Hilton v. Flakeboard America Limited

Published on: February 5, 2017 | by Patrick E. Knie

The appellate process is designed to provide efficient and meaningful review of the decisions of lower courts and administrative tribunals. Of course, even when things run smoothly, an appeal can lengthen the time that it takes to resolve a dispute.

When an appeal does not follow the usual course, however, it can take even longer for an injured person, including an employee seeking workers’ compensation benefits, to receive what he or she is owed.

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Tragedy Can Occur Quickly When Nursing Home Residents Are Not Properly Supervised

Published on: February 5, 2017 | by Patrick E. Knie

Placing a loved one in a nursing home, long-term care facility, or assisted living center is an extremely difficult, emotionally fraught decision – perhaps one of the toughest choices many of us will ever be called upon to make.

Often, the primary reason for deciding to place a family member in a care facility is the assumption that he or she will be provided with the constant care and medical attention that would not be possible in a home setting.

Unfortunately, nursing homes do not always live up to this expectation, and patients can suffer serious injuries or even a wrongful death due to neglect, abuse, or mistreatment in a long-term care facility.

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South Carolina Court of Appeals Finds That Worker Was Not Entitled to Medical Benefits for Compensable Work Injury – Hartzell v. Palmetto Collision, LLC

Published on: February 5, 2017 | by Patrick E. Knie

Timeliness is important in any injury case, be it a negligence action or a work injury case. In addition to the statute of limitations for filing a claim in a court of law, there may be a requirement to give formal notice in some situations.

For instance, giving notice of a work-related injury is critically important to success in a workers’ compensation case. Ideally, this notice should be in writing. As a recent case illustrates, verbal notice alone can result in numerous issues that can jeopardize a claimant’s case.

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South Carolina Appeals Court Sides with Employer in Workers’ Compensation Case in Which Prior Injury Was an Issue – Turner v. SAIIA Construction

Published on: February 5, 2017 | by Patrick E. Knie

Most workers in South Carolina are entitled to receive workers’ compensation benefits if they are injured in an accident arising out of and in the course of their employment. These benefits include not only necessary medical treatment but also partial reimbursement for lost wages while a worker is temporarily unable to work and compensation for permanent disability or disfigurement.

Although it is generally easier for a worker to recover benefits through the current workers’ compensation system than under the negligence system that preceded it, the burden of proof is still on the employee to show that he or she was hurt on the job and is entitled to payments for a temporary or permanent disability.

If an employee is unable to show that he is entitled to workers’ compensation benefits, his claim will be denied by the South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Commission.

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Federal District Court in South Carolina Grants Summary Judgment to Defendants in WaveRunner Product Liability Lawsuit – Hickerson v. Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A.

Published on: February 5, 2017 | by Patrick E. Knie

When a particular product is unreasonably dangerous or defective, a person who is injured thereby has a legal right to file a product liability lawsuit against the manufacturer, wholesaler, seller, or others in the product’s chain of distribution. Possible damages in such a lawsuit include medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and loss of consortium.

Common legal theories in product liability lawsuits include strict product liability, negligence, design defects, manufacturing defects, marketing defects (such as failure to warn), and breach of warranty. In response to a product liability claim, a defendant may assert various defenses, including a plaintiff’s alleged alteration of the product or misuse of the product.

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South Carolina Appeals Court Finds That Woman Presented Evidence of Negligence After Fall on Outback Steakhouse Curb Ramp – Jackson v. OSI Restaurant Partners, LLC

Published on: February 5, 2017 | by Patrick E. Knie

Building a case of negligence against a person or business that one believes caused an accident (such as a car wreck or a slip and fall at a restaurant) is a multi-step process. The first step is establishing that the party from whom the plaintiff seeks to recover money damages owed a legal duty of care to the plaintiff. Whether or not a duty exists is usually a legal question that revolves around the relationship between the parties. The second step of a negligence claim is proving that the defendant breached the duty of care that was owed to the plaintiff; this is usually a factual question. The remaining elements are harm to the plaintiff and causation between the defendant’s breach of duty and the harm to the plaintiff.

When the parties disagree about whether the plaintiff has produced sufficient evidence of these elements to proceed to trial, the trial court may be called upon to decide (via a summary judgment motion) whether the defendant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law, even if all of the plaintiff’s allegations are construed in the light most favorable to him or her. A party aggrieved by a trial court’s decision on a motion for summary judgment has a right to appeal the court’s order to a higher court.

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