Motorcycle Digest – Be sure you get the loss of use/rental value you are entitled to be paid!

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We Ride……We Understand……

From Peake and Fowler Law Firm, P.A.

By Thomas K. Fowler, Jr.

Be sure you get the loss of use/rental value you are entitled to be paid!

If you’ve been in an accident on your bike in South Carolina, and the accident was not your fault, there is a good possibility that you will have to work with the at fault driver’s insurance company. Don’t let an insurance adjuster talk you into taking less for the lost use of your bike, while it is being fixed after a wreck, than South Carolina law allows.  If your bike is damaged in a wreck due someone else’s fault, their liability insurance carrier (or your own company if the at-fault driver did not have insurance) owes you for three (3) things:

  • cost of repairs;
  • loss of use; and,
  • depreciation

Loss of use under South Carolina law means that you are due the fair market rental value.  Not what the insurance company wants to pay you, but what it actually costs to rent a bike like yours, while your bike is being fixed.  Most of the time, insurance adjusters try to persuade you to accept much less than what you are actually entitled to be paid.  They do this by convincing you to compromise and take what they can get a rental car for through some rental agency with which they have some discount deal.

Usually, adjusters will offer to pay you $20 to $25 per day or rent a car for you.  Do not fall for this!

The fair market rental cost for a motorcycle is best determined by what dealers charge to rent bikes.  Based on local dealer rates that can range between $45 to $125 per day depending on make and model.  Even if you do not actually rent a bike, you are still entitled to the fair market rental value!

Contact our South Carolina Motorcycle Accident Injury Attorneys

So, don’t accept the rental car value the adjuster wants to pay you.  It is the adjuster’s job to save the insurance company money, not meet your needs or demands.  Don’t be fooled, you are most likely entitled to more, so don’t hesitate to demand what they owe you.  At Peake & Fowler we ride and we understand the needs of those who ride.  If we can be of any assistance, please call us at (803) 788-4370 or contact us through our website contact form.

Ride safe!

Tommy Fowler
Principal
Peake & Fowler

Motorcycle Digest – Who is at fault for my accident?

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We Ride……We Understand……

From Peake and Fowler Law Firm, P.A.

By Thomas K. Fowler, Jr.

Who is at fault for my motorcycle accident?

Typically, that is the first question we hear when discussing a wreck with a client.  If you were involved in an accident while riding your motorcycle and you have the same or similar questions, we hope some of the pointers in this article will help answer them to your benefit.

It is possible that you lose even though you were hit from behind! 

Believe it or not, it is possible that even though you were hit from behind, you may not win your case, because South Carolina is what is known as a “comparative negligence” state meaning that when weighing the fault of an accident, a jury is allowed to compare the fault of all parties. Unfortunately, that includes your actions if you were the driver of your bike.  Worse yet, if the jury finds you 51% or more at fault, you lose and will not be able collect any damages.

For example, suppose your rear tire goes flat and causes you to stop without much warning in your lane of travel and the car behind you cannot stop in time….crash!.  You later discover that, had you simply checked your tire before you left, you would have seen a big nail sticking out the side which resulted in your having to stop and getting hit from behind.  A jury could easily find you at fault for operating with faulty equipment more so than the driver who hit you from behind. If that happens, you recover nothing.

So, how do you avoid being held more at fault in a wreck in this scenario?  Very simple……T-CLOCK.  This is a safety check reminder published by the Motorcycle Safety Foundation and means checking for any problems with your bike’s:

T – tires and wheels

C – controls

L – lights

O – oil

C – chassis

K – kickstand

(check out http://msf-usa.org)

Sounds pretty simple, right?  Recently I was in a deposition with someone who had been riding all his life and he had no idea what T-CLOCK meant.   Lesson learned – if you had done what you could to inspect for safety in our example above, the likelihood you will be held at greater fault is reduced significantly. Not to mention, of course, you would have been considerably less likely to be involved in an accident caused by equipment failure or malfunction.

Why is this important?  Simply because these are standards by which a rider’s conduct may be judged in a case to see what portion of the fault in causing the accident was his/hers.  Not using “reasonable care” could cost you dearly.

I do not like to lose the cases I take on, and I’m sure you wouldn’t want to lose your case, so pay attention and use care so you won’t be accused of being at fault.

Contact our South Carolina Motorcycle Accident Injury Attorneys

At Peake & Fowler we ride and we understand the needs of those who ride.  We are experienced and skilled South Carolina motorcycle accident attorneys. If we can be of any assistance, please call us at (803) 788-4370 or contact us through our website contact form.

Ride safe.

Tommy Fowler
Principal
Peake & Fowler

Should I Have Personal Injury Protection?

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In addition to the injuries and property damage that you may sustain in a car accident, another complicated element of a crash is determining who will pay for your damages. While South Carolina is an at-fault car insurance state, meaning that drivers are required to hold liability coverage that helps to pay for the accidents that they cause, recouping damages may still prove difficult, especially within a timely manner.

One way that you may be able to mitigate the hassle of determining fault, at least initially, and recovering damages for your losses as swiftly as possible, is by carrying personal injury protection coverage. Also called PIP coverage or medical payments (medpay) coverage, personal injury protection insurance can be an important part of protecting yourself should you be injured in a crash.

Understanding Personal Injury Protection Insurance

The state of South Carolina only requires its drivers to carry liability insurance. Liability insurance is broken down into three insurance types: liability insurance for bodily injury, liability insurance for property damage, and underinsured/uninsured motorists’ coverage. The first two types are designed to pay for injuries and damages to others that the policyholder causes; the second is to pay for damages in the event that the at-fault party does not have, or does not have enough, insurance. As a note, while insurance companies are required to offer drivers uninsured/underinsured coverage, drivers can reject it if they so choose.

Drivers also have the option of purchasing a variety of other insurance types, including collision coverage and comprehensive coverage, which pays for damages to one’s own vehicle. Personal injury protection coverage is also available, although as found in South Carolina’s Code of Laws, this type of insurance is not mandated.

PIP coverage helps to pay for all reasonable and necessary medical expenses that you or any of your passengers incur in an accident up to your policy limit regardless of fault. Depending upon your insurance policy, PIP coverage may also cover (in addition to reasonable medical expenses) lost wages and expenses for essential services, such as the costs of care and maintenance.

The Benefits of PIP Coverage

Because personal injury protection coverage is not required, you need to weigh the advantages and drawbacks of purchasing this coverage type and make an informed decision on your own. The biggest–and perhaps the only–drawback is that PIP coverage can be relatively expensive to maintain, adding to the costs of your monthly/yearly premiums. For this reason, many people choose to risk not carrying this insurance type in order to save money up front.

In the end, however, the benefits of PIP coverage often outweigh the risks. These benefits include:

  • Your medical expenses will be covered even if you are at fault for an accident;
  • The injuries of your passengers/family members will be covered even if you are at fault for an accident;
  • You will be able to seek benefits whether or not the other driver can be located (i.e. hit and run situation);
  • You will be able to seek benefits whether or not the other driver has insurance or enough insurance to pay for your injuries; and
  • You will not have to wait for the insurance companies to determine fault before benefits will be paid.

Your Right to Seek Your Full Damages Amount

It is important to understand that regardless of the type of insurance coverage that you carry, you have the right to seek your full damages amount. This means that if another driver caused your accident, you can seek compensation for lost wages, medical expenses, property damage, and other economic losses as well as noneconomic losses, such as the value of your pain and suffering. If a settlement cannot be reached with the insurance company, you have the right to bring forth a car accident personal injury lawsuit against the at-fault party.

Contact the Law Offices of Peake & Fowler if You’re in a South Carolina Car Accident

Even if you have personal injury protection (PIP) and other coverage types, reaching a settlement with your insurance company that compensates you for the full value of your losses can be difficult. At the law offices of Peake & Fowler, our skilled South Carolina car accident attorneys have experience investigating car accidents, determining and proving fault, negotiating with insurance adjusters, and taking claims to court. For legal assistance you can count on if you are involved in a crash, please contact our law offices today at (803) 788-4370 or through our website contact form for a free, no-obligation consultation.

Motorcycle Digest – Getting the depreciation you deserve

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We Ride……We Understand……

From Peake and Fowler Law Firm, P.A.

By Thomas K. Fowler, Jr.

Be sure you get the depreciation you are entitled to be paid!

Don’t let an insurance adjuster talk you into taking less for the depreciation or loss in value your bike has suffered due to being damaged in a wreck.  Even though your bike has been fixed, the law recognizes it may not be worth as much as before the accident.  This is called depreciation.

 You will need to get an expert, i.e. a dealer, to give you an opinion of the value of your bike before and after the repairs.  The “before” value can come from a publication that we are all familiar with, but the “after” value is better left to an expert.

Oftentimes, adjusters want only to offer 10% of the costs of the repairs as depreciation.  This is why a dealer can help because when you go to trade your bike in and have to disclose the prior damage it is highly likely your trade value will be less due to your bike having been wrecked.

So, get an estimate of an expert in valuation of your bike.  It can make a huge difference in how much you are paid for depreciation.

 Again, you don’t have to accept the value the adjuster wants to pay you.  It is the adjuster’s job to save the insurance company money.  Don’t be fooled, you may well be entitled to more!

Contact our South Carolina Motorcycle Accident Injury Attorneys

At Peake & Fowler we ride and we understand the needs of those who ride.  If we can be of any assistance, please call us at (803) 788-4370 or contact us through our website contact form.

Ride safe!

Tommy Fowler
Principal
Peake & Fowler

Dangers of Speeding Trucks on South Carolina Highways

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It’s not a distinction any state wants, but a 2012 survey by Car Insurance Comparison indicated that South Carolina has the most dangerous highways in the nation. Researchers based each state’s danger rating on the following factors:

  • Fatalities attributed to interstate speeding for each mile of interstate
  • Percentage of drivers who do not use seatbelts
  • Number of highway bridges deemed deficient or obsolete
  • Highway fatalities in the state for every 1,000 highway miles traveled
  • Dollar amount of federal funding
  • Death rates posted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

To make matters worse, South Carolina ranked in the bottom half of every category in the survey. The second and third-worst states for driving safety, Florida and Alabama, were nearly 40 points ahead of South Carolina. Unfortunately, little has changed in the last five years. One reason for this is that truck drivers still tend to speed on state highways.

The Dangers of Speeding for Commercial Truck Drivers

Any driver who chooses to speed puts everyone else on the road at risk. However, a commercial truck driver who exceeds the posted speed limit can be especially dangerous. The sheer size of one of these vehicles makes it difficult to control if the driver needs to stop, swerve, or turn quickly. This can easily lead to a rollover situation, a runaway truck, a jackknife accident, or several other types of serious or potentially deadly crashes.

Many states, including South Carolina, have set separate speed limits for commercial trucks and passenger vehicles. This is to address the inherent danger in operating an 18-wheel vehicle that weighs several tons. Currently, the speed limit for commercial trucks on rural and urban interstates is 70 miles per hour and 55 miles per hour on other limited access roads. Unfortunately, some truckers choose to travel at the same speed as drivers operating a private vehicle.

Truck drivers may also drive too fast for the current conditions, even though they may not be speeding. The following are common examples of when it may be difficult for a commercial driver to control his or her vehicle even when driving at or below the posted speed limit:

  • Adverse weather conditions, including fog, heavy rain, and freezing rain
  • Congested traffic
  • Obstacles in the road
  • Sharp curves
  • Slow traffic
  • Steep hills
  • Uneven pavement
  • Other road hazards

Sadly, a passenger car is no match for an 18-wheel commercial truck and the consequences of a crash can be devastating.

Challenges of Bringing a Personal Injury Lawsuit Against a Commercial Truck Driver

Any motor vehicle accident is stressful, especially if you suffer from injuries because of it. However, it is much easier to collect damages in a timely manner when you get into an accident with another driver of a private vehicle. That is because you know who caused the accident and who is ultimately responsible for your injuries. Things aren’t as straightforward when you crash with a commercial trucker. While it might seem obvious to you that he or she should take the blame, unfortunately that isn’t always the case. Several other parties may also share responsibility, including:

  • The truck driver’s employer who required him or her to drive on little sleep or with knowledge of another condition that could negatively impact safety
  • The people responsible for the maintenance of the commercial truck who may have ignored needed repairs or acted in another negligent manner
  • The manufacturer of the vehicle
  • The loader or shipper of the truck’s cargo if faulty loading played a role in the accident

At Peake & Fowler, our experienced South Carolina personal injury attorneys will use every resource at their disposal to determine liability in your accident case. Because cases like this can become quite complex, we recommend that you engage the services of a South Carolina personal injury attorney as soon as possible. Under South Carolina Code section 15-3-530, you have three years from the date of the accident to file a claim (two years if the defendant is a government agency) for personal injury or property damage. If you’re filing a wrongful death case on behalf of a family member, the clock starts from the date of death.

Contact Peake & Fowler to Schedule a Free Consultation

At Peake & Fowler we are pleased to offer a free consultation for all new clients. We will review your case and recommend whether you should file a personal injury lawsuit against those responsible for your injuries. Peake & Fowler is located in Columbia, South Carolina, and we serve all surrounding communities. Our skilled South Carolina accident injury attorneys can be reached at (803) 788-4370 or online.