Car Accident Lawyers in Elgin SC

Nothing compares to the fear and helplessness of a car accident. It doesn’t matter how carefully you drive, what precautions you take, and how safe your vehicle is if you end up on the road with a reckless driver. Their poor choices can cost you your vehicle, days or weeks of income, and thousands in medical bills.

Like most other states, South Carolina does not have no-fault car insurance laws. This means that you can seek compensation from the liable party’s car insurance company after they cause an accident. However, you need an attorney who is ready to hold the insurance company accountable and fight for you. Call Peake & Fowler at 803-788-4370 to schedule a consultation with our team now.

What You Need to Know About South Carolina Car Crashes

The latest accident statistics from South Carolina paint a grim picture. On average, 2020 saw one traffic collision every 4.3 minutes. Breaking it down further, there was one fatal accident every nine hours and an injury-causing collision every 16 minutes.

South Carolina had one statistic that stood out, and it wasn’t the only state with this strange trend. Although total crashes were down over 14%, fatal crashes actually increased by 4%.

The overall decrease in collisions is often linked to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the uptick in fatal collisions may indicate an increase in unsafe driving habits or an increase in crashes involving pedestrians and bicyclists, as the pandemic caused a significant uptick in walking and biking. Analysts won’t know until stats for other years are released.

Risk Factors for Car Accidents

Although anyone on the road can be involved in a crash, there are certain risk factors that make you more likely to be part of a collision. Some of the factors associated with higher accident rates include:

• Being male, as males made up 72% of all traffic fatalities
• Being between the age of 15-24—despite making up a small amount of registered South Carolina drivers, drivers in this age range make up a huge percentage of total crashes
• Driving during June, October, and November
• Driving on the weekends
• Driving over Memorial Day weekend
• Driving between 3:00 and 6:00 in the afternoon

Steps to Take at the Scene of the Crash

If you are involved in a car accident, a little quick thinking can help you get the medical care you need and prepare for an eventual personal injury claim. Take these steps:

• Report the accident right away. You’ll likely call 911 if the accident is severe or call the non-emergency line at the Elgin Police Department if it isn’t a serious crash. Either way, you need to document the accident for insurance and legal purposes.
• Gather evidence, especially if it’s time-sensitive. Photos and video footage are invaluable when it comes to a personal injury claim, and this is your only chance to get this type of evidence. Don’t forget to take pictures of any injuries you may have.
• Talk to the police. Without apologizing or taking the blame for the accident, tell the police what happened and make sure your side of the story is in the crash report. Find out when and how you can get a copy of the accident report.
• Exchange contact information with the other driver. You should both have each other’s contact and insurance information before leaving the scene. If any eyewitnesses stopped by, make sure to get their contact information as well.
• If your car is unsafe to drive, find out where it will be taken. If your car must be towed away, you need to know where it will be so you can price out repairs or find out if it’s totaled.
• Seek medical care. Facilities near you may include MUSC Health Urgent Care, Kershaw Health Urgent Care, and MUSC Health Emergency Room. Do not delay this step. If you are injured, you need to find out if those injuries are life-threatening. Additionally, a prompt medical checkup links your injuries to the accident.
• Talk to an Elgin, SC car accident lawyer. The insurance company will fight you on providing fair and full compensation, and you want an aggressive lawyer who will take on the insurance adjuster on your behalf.

Why You Need an Attorney—and Why You Should Choose Peake & Fowler

You have insurance—isn’t that enough? Why should you also hire a lawyer after a car accident? Vehicle insurance is a business, and just like any other for-profit business, its goal is to maximize profits. That means that even if your accident is obviously the other driver’s fault, you shouldn’t expect their insurance company to pay up.

They treat paying a fair settlement as their last viable option. Before they get to that point, they will try to blame the accident on you, attempt to pin your injuries on preexisting injuries, delay your claim, or otherwise discourage you from pursuing compensation.

You can skip all of the extra work, anxiety, and frustration with the team at Peake & Fowler. We know how insurance companies work. Over the course of our legal careers, we have seen how insurance companies of all sizes manipulate victims and coerce them into accepting low settlements.

We fight for better for our clients. The only way to get a fair settlement out of an insurance company is to show them so much evidence that they can no longer deny their client’s liability. We know exactly how to do that.

You have enough to do after an accident. Don’t add settlement negotiations to that list, especially when you can entrust your case to the attorneys at Peake & Fowler.

Reach Out to Us Today

If you or someone you love has been hurt in a car accident, we’re ready to learn more about the crash and how it happened. From there, we’ll come up with a plan to move forward and hold the negligent party accountable. Get the peace of mind you need as you focus on recovery. Call Peake & Fowler at 803-788-4370 or contact us online and set up a consultation.