How much can someone sue for a car accident? In theory, there is no upper limit for this in South Carolina law. The short answer is that damages awarded in car accident cases range from as little as $10,000 to millions. However, the amount you can sue for and receive is dependent on a variety of factors.
These include the nature and extent of damages, the percentage of blame allocated to the defendant, financial losses like lost wages, and the defendant’s ability to pay. A South Carolina car accident lawyer can advise you based on the circumstances of the crash.
Amount You Can Sue Others For Car Accident Injuries
From a purely financial perspective, you can recover medical costs from an at-fault driver or their insurance. These amounts are based on the cost of medical examinations, treatments, therapies, and any medical appliances (for example, a wheelchair) you had to pay for.
The symptoms of certain injuries may only appear in the days or weeks after an accident. Doctors will provide evidence that they were caused at the time of your accident. If you have longer-term needs for ongoing medical care, this can be factored in, too.
The way your injuries affect your day-to-day life may not be as easy to measure in financial terms. Your lawyer can help to calculate the amount you can reasonably claim for consequences like loss of quality of life.
Value You Can Sue Someone For a Car Accident: Loss of Earnings and Incidental Costs
Beyond direct damage to property and medical costs, your accident may also impact other areas of your financial life. For example, while you are recovering, you may lose earnings because you are unable to work.
As with medical expenses, we also examine the future. For example, you may be unable to work for some time or even be permanently disabled. How much you can sue someone for a car accident, therefore, includes loss of future earnings.
Additional costs may include travel expenses to and from various doctor’s appointments and trips for physical therapy. If this involves out-of-town travel, you may have hotel costs too. Carefully track all expenses related to your accident.
Car Accident Damages Awarded For Other Forms of Harm
In accordance with the South Carolina Noneconomic Damages Award Act (2005), you can claim damages for personal harm. For instance, the pain and suffering you experience when injured and during your recovery affect how much you can sue someone for a car accident.
You may also find that your personal relationships are adversely affected. Then, we must consider the psychological toll of your accident. You may experience profound distress, PTSD, or even personality changes. You may lose confidence owing to a disfiguring injury, and so on.
We often find that defendants and their insurance companies contest these non-financial damages most hotly. To recover these costs, you will need legal representation and a strong case.
Wrongful Death and Car Accident Lawsuits
Wrongful death is the most tragic result of car accidents that can possibly occur. At a time when you are grieving, you can rely on your South Carolina wrongful death lawyers to treat your case with the delicacy and sympathy it deserves.
We are well aware that no amount of compensation makes up for the loss of a loved one. Nevertheless, surviving family members have suffered the worst possible type of damage and should claim any payments the law provides for.
Further, the loss of financial contributions toward living expenses can leave you in a difficult financial position. We can work to soften this impact on your life, enabling you to mitigate this additional form of stress and pain.
Percentage of Fault and Car Accident Compensation
Car accidents are not always 100% the fault of either driver. A breakdown of negligence laws in South Carolina shows that you can only recover damages from a driver who was at least 50% at fault.
Besides this, the percentage of your damages you can be reimbursed for is affected by your share of responsibility for the accident. In line with the South Carolina Contribution Among Tortfeasors Act, if you were 30% to blame, you would only be able to recover 70% of your total damages.
Insurance companies use police accident reports to determine the percentage of fault for each driver. You may be able to contest this determination. To do so, you will need strong evidence and an experienced car accident attorney.
Suing Uninsured At-Fault Drivers
You are insured, but you were involved in an accident caused by an uninsured driver. Your insurance policy will include some coverage to protect you against this. It will be important to examine your insurance policy to understand your coverage and its limitations.
You can sue an uninsured driver, but even if the court finds they owe you compensation, they may not be able to pay. Consult your lawyer. They will be able to investigate and determine whether it will be worth following this route.
A lawyer can also help you to understand your own insurance coverage against accidents with uninsured drivers. They can help you with the claims process, limiting delays by presenting your insurers with all the information they need to approve payments.
Commercial Drivers and Car Accident Damages Claims
How much you can sue a person for a car accident may not be the only question you face. You may also find yourself untangling the complexities of who to sue. If you are involved in an accident caused by someone driving a company car or an Uber driver, who is liable?
To understand this, we must investigate whether the driver caused the accident while performing work duties. If they were performing work, the employer is responsible for damages. This is because employers are responsible for the actions of their employees while they are working.
If, on the other hand, the driver was using the vehicle in a personal capacity, the driver remains liable. So, a driver commuting to or from work is not at work and would be personally liable. Determining this is not always simple.
Shelly Leeke Law Firm Helps You With Your Car Accident Lawsuit
With a strong record of successful results in auto accident lawsuits to our name, Shelly Leeke Law Firm has the experience you need as an accident victim. If we accept your case, there will be no fee unless we win.
This allows you to get legal assistance when legal costs may be beyond your budget. You will have the peace of mind that comes with knowing we are confident in our ability to secure you the compensation to which you are entitled. Your first consultation is absolutely free.
