Getting into a car accident, no matter the severity of it, can be a frightening experience. When you are involved in a car accident it is not only your vehicle that can sustain damage, so can you. It is important for you, as the victim, to understand what you are entitled to. Speaking with a Greenville, SC car accident lawyer will help you understand.

Minimum Insurance Coverage In South Carolina

In the state of South Carolina, all drivers are required to carry at least the minimum required insurance coverage on all of the vehicles registered under their name.

Property Damage Liability

South Carolina Minimum Limit: $25,000

This covers the driver on the policy, up to the specified limit, for damages caused by them regarding another person’s personal property.

Bodily Injury

South Carolina Minimum Limit: $25,000 per person/$50,000 per accident

This covers the other driver or pedestrian in the accident who are injured if you are at fault for the accident.

Uninsured Motorist Bodily Injury

South Carolina Minimum Limit: $25,000 per person/$50,000 per accident

This coverage helps cover your expenses if you are in an accident with someone who does not have minimum coverage insurance.

Uninsured Motorist Property Damage

South Carolina Minimum Limit: $25,000 per accidents after $200 deductible

This coverage helps pay for your vehicle and vehicle repairs when in an accident with an uninsured driver if you do not carry collision coverage.

Underinsured coverage options are also available but are not mandatory as part of the absolute minimum coverage in the state of South Carolina.

If you have been injured in an accident, call a Greenville, SC car accident lawyer that is skilled in getting you the compensation you deserve after a car accident. These lawyers are often skilled at helping prove negligence on the part of the defendant, which gets you the money you deserve.

Proving Negligence in An At-Fault State

South Carolina is considered an at-fault state when it comes to car accidents, however, there is one small caveat to that principle. While the state does believe that there is someone at fault for the accident, they also recognize that there is the possibility that both parties could have fault assigned.

Modified comparative fault is a practice that is practiced in South Carolina and a few other states. This is generally referred to as the 50/50 rule.

Under this rule, all of the evidence of the car accident is combed through with a fine-tooth comb. Depending on the findings, your compensation may not be what you had envisioned.

• If only the defendant is solely to blame for the accident
  • The court will find in favor of the plaintiff at 100% of the allotted damages
• If the plaintiff is solely to blame for the accident
  • The court will find in favor of the defendant at 100% of the allotted damages

This is where the rule becomes a little trickier.

• If the defendant is X% responsible for the negligence causing the accident and the plaintiff is X% responsible for the negligence causing the accident
  • The amount received will be determined by the percentage of negligence. As an example, the plaintiff sues the defendant for $2000 in damages. The judge finds that the percentage of negligence in the accident due to the plaintiff is 10%, the plaintiff will be awarded damages minus 10%. So, for the sake of the example, they would only get awarded $1800.

This is why obtaining a lawyer and having help build your case against the other driver’s negligence is important. If the defendant believes that there is any way that they can be awarded the damages due to finding negligence on your part during the accident, they are going to obtain legal counsel too.

Affording a Greenville, SC Car Accident Lawyer

Affording a car accident attorney is actually not as expensive as some people might think. Lawyers who in these types of practices have a rule that as a victim you pay nothing until they win your case. Then at that time, you would pay the lawyer a percentage out of your awarded amount.

Without a lawyer on your side, winning a case may prove difficult. This is even more true if the insurance company gets on board with the lawsuit. Their lawyers are trained to pick at inconsistencies and shake you at your very core. This is a tactic to get you to settle for far less than you deserve.

Get a free consultation about your case from an experienced car accident law firm in Greenville, SC. There is no risk and there is no obligation. The only thing you have to gain is the compensation that you rightfully deserve.