Many people suffer injuries in rear-end collisions in Myrtle Beach each year. Whether you are a local resident, vacationer, or in town on business, a rear-end car accident can happen to you. If you were hurt in a rear-end collision or another type of crash, our team of car accident lawyers can help with your insurance car accident claim or lawsuit against the at-fault driver.
Crash victims often assume that their car accident case is easy to navigate because the rear driver is almost always at fault. However, this does not make insurance companies any more willing to give victims the fair compensation they need to pay for their medical care, lost income, car repair or replacement, and more.
A Myrtle Beach rear-end accident lawyer near you can help fight for the financial compensation you deserve based on your injuries, expenses, and losses. You can speak to an attorney today to learn more during a free, no-obligation consultation.
- What Happens After a Rear-End Crash in Myrtle Beach?
- Myrtle Beach Rear-End Collision Damages Vary Widely
- Proving Negligence and Liability in a Rear-End Collision
- Navigating the Claims Process After a Myrtle Beach Rear-End Collision
- Suing the At-Fault Driver in a Myrtle Beach Rear-End Crash
- Talk to a Car Accident Attorney About Your Rear-End Collision in Myrtle Beach Today
What Happens After a Rear-End Crash in Myrtle Beach?
Many victims require emergency medical care after a rear-end accident. We often think of these crashes as minor fender-benders, but that is not always the case.
Even relatively low-speed collisions can lead to injuries for occupants of the front vehicle, such as:
- Neck and upper back injuries, including whiplash
- Lower back injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs)
- Other head injuries
- Fractures
- Chest and internal injuries
Your Options for Emergency Medical Care
If the collision is severe enough and you suffer significant injuries, such as a TBI or spinal cord injury, the paramedics who respond to the scene will likely take you to Grand Strand Medical Center. This is the only Level I trauma center for adults in the surrounding areas. It is also a Level II pediatric facility if your children suffer serious injuries.
As a Level I trauma center, Grand Strand Medical Center can manage your injuries from stabilization to treatment to rehabilitation. Other injuries that do not require immediate care from a trauma surgeon or lengthy rehabilitation may allow paramedics to transfer you to the nearest hospital instead.
During the initial days or weeks in the hospital, your health must be your top priority. However, we recommend that you consider how you will approach your legal case as soon as your injuries are stable. Most collision victims begin to receive large medical bills and accrue lost income quickly.
Our Experienced Attorneys Can Handle Your Claim or Lawsuit for You
At Morris Law Accident Injury Lawyers, we help victims of Myrtle Beach traffic accidents pursue justice in their cases. We know the local insurance agents, judges, and court personnel because we have worked for clients in Myrtle Beach every day since 2016. With our experience and connections, we can build your case, navigate the claims process, and recover compensation for you sooner. Our clients report that our team members are compassionate and knowledgeable advocates.
Morris Law Accident Injury Lawyers works on a contingency fee basis. We do not charge our clients anything upfront, and you will not pay any fees at all unless we win your case. Our clients take on no financial risk of their own—instead, we use our own resources and network of experts to develop each client's case, go through the claims process, and recover maximum compensation on their behalf. Again, you do not pay attorney's fees unless we win.
You can learn more about our attorneys, how we approach personal injury and accident cases, and the strength of your evidence by calling Morris Law Accident Injury Lawyers today. We provide free consultations for crash victims in Myrtle Beach and the surrounding areas.
Myrtle Beach Rear-End Collision Damages Vary Widely
A car accident lawyer can investigate your rear-end collision case and work to build a strong claim on your behalf. Investigating the specifics of your crash is essential because every crash is different. The available insurance coverage and your injuries, expenses, and losses may also differ.
For this reason, we cannot tell you how much your case will recover until we carefully document all this information. Without knowing how much your accident truly cost you, we cannot seek fair compensation. Therefore, we gather receipts, bills, repair estimates, future medical treatment estimates, and other documentation that helps us determine a fair settlement range.
Your recoverable damages after a rear-end collision may include:
- Medical Care Costs: All treatment expenses and related costs could be recoverable. Examples include ambulance transportation, hospitalization, rehabilitation, future medical expenses, ongoing care costs, and more.
- Loss of Income: If your injuries are moderate to serious, you likely miss work. Many people do not get paid when they miss work, leading to lost income or using valuable paid time off. You can recover money for your missed pay.
- Reduced Earning Ability: If your injuries cause a lasting impairment or your recovery takes several months, you may be unable to return to your previous position or work schedule. You could recover compensation to cover the difference.
- Property Damage and Repairs: Your car repair or replacement of a totaled vehicle or any other damaged property should fall under the at-fault driver’s liability policy.
- Miscellaneous Expenses: There may be many out-of-pocket expenses related to your accident, and many of them are recoverable. Keep all your receipts during this time and let our team determine what we can demand payment for.
- Pain and Suffering Damages: In addition to your economic expenses and losses, you can pursue non-economic damages. People often refer to these damages as “pain and suffering,” which is compensation for the intangible emotional pain and physical suffering caused by the crash. Our team knows how to put a financial value on your non-economic damages, which are often worth as much or more than your economic damages.
Losing a Loved One in a Rear-End Collision
If your loved one died from their injuries after a rear-end crash, South Carolina law may allow you to seek and recover compensation based on the negligence that caused their death. Your damages could include income losses, final medical expenses, burial or cremation expenses, intangible losses suffered by your family, and more.
You can discuss your wrongful death claim and your legal options during a free case review. Contact a car accident lawyer today to learn more.
Proving Negligence and Liability in a Rear-End Collision
In most cases, rear drivers cause rear-end crashes.
These crashes generally occur because:
- The driver is speeding going too fast for the current road, traffic, or weather conditions
- The driver is following too closely
- The driver is distracted and fails to stop
Most rear-end collisions occur at intersections (including red lights or stop signs) or in areas where cars wait in line without a traffic signal, such as idling traffic or driving in a parking lot. These accidents frequently occur because of negligence. The rear driver acts carelessly or recklessly, which leads to the collision.
The Four Elements of Negligence
To prove negligence, you must prove four elements:
- Duty to behave a certain way (usually dictated by traffic laws)
- Breach of that duty (typically by violating a traffic law)
- Causation (the breach of duty causes a collision)
- Harm (the collision causes physical, psychological, and/or financial harm)
For example, all drivers must stop at a red light. When a driver sends text messages while driving, they may not notice the traffic stopped in front of them as they approach the intersection. They do not stop in time and hit the vehicle in front of them. The driver of the front vehicle sustains a neck injury. The rear driver is liable because they acted negligently when they failed to stop.
Gathering Evidence to Prove Liability
The evidence we need to prove an accident case requires us to investigate what happened and take several steps to build strong support for our client’s claim.
This often includes:
- Obtaining the police report and other official documents
- Interviewing eyewitnesses
- Working with accident reconstructionists
- Surveying the accident scene
- Seeking video footage or photos of the crash
- Analyzing our client’s medical records
- Enlisting the help of experts as needed
- Gathering documentation of our client’s damages
In most accident cases, the negligent party is also the liable party. If it is the at-fault driver, we can file a claim based on their auto liability insurance policy. Occasionally, there are additional liable parties, such as when the at-fault driver is a commercial truck driver. South Carolina recognizes vicarious liability in cases like these, so the trucking company may also be liable for their employee’s negligence.
Navigating the Claims Process After a Myrtle Beach Rear-End Collision
A car accident lawyer will know how to develop a strong case and navigate the claims process for you and will work hard to secure the compensation you need to cover your expenses and losses.
Your car accident attorneys can:
- Answer your questions and offer guidance throughout the process
- Provide regular case updates, so you know what’s happening
- Protect your right to seek justice through fair compensation
- Manage all communication with the insurance companies
- Investigate what happened to prove negligence and liability
- Put a fair settlement value range on your claim
- Offer advice about accepting or rejecting settlement offers
- Handle all aspects of your case from start to finish
- Represent you without charging any upfront fees
How the Claims Process Rear-End Car Accidents Works
We use the evidence we gather and the settlement range we calculate for the claim to demand fair compensation from the at-fault driver’s insurer. The insurance company generally responds with a counteroffer, beginning the negotiations stage. Negotiations could continue for several weeks or even months. Sometimes, we can only agree by working with a mediator who presents different offers and discusses what they believe is fair.
Our attorneys handle insurance claims daily. We use proven negotiation techniques to show the insurer that our client suffered significant losses because of their policyholder’s actions. We can negotiate a fair settlement through this process. However, the insurer may not be willing to pay fairly if they believe the case against their policyholder is weak.
Suing the At-Fault Driver in a Myrtle Beach Rear-End Crash
In some cases, you may need to sue the at-fault driver to get the compensation you need and deserve to cover your losses.
For example, we may recommend this step when:
- The insurer denies responsibility
- The insurer refuses to give us a fair offer
- There are significant disagreements about the facts of the case
- Time is running out to file a lawsuit
You have a limited time to sue after a Myrtle Beach rear-end crash—generally only three years under South Carolina law. However, there are exceptions, and you may have more or less time based on the facts of your case. We must meet this deadline to protect your right to sue for compensation.
We can assess and identify your deadline for beginning a lawsuit during your initial consultation. If we do need to sue, our attorneys can handle all aspects of your lawsuit. We continue to negotiate during this time, and most cases still settle without going to trial.
Talk to a Car Accident Attorney About Your Rear-End Collision in Myrtle Beach Today
Look for a law firm that provides free consultations for victims of traffic accidents in and around Myrtle Beach, and a car accident legal team with the experience and knowledge to get the payout you need to pay your bills, repair your vehicle, cover lost income, and more.
Contact a personal injury lawyer near you today to get started with your free case evaluation!
