Columbia Personal Injury Attorney

Reach out to us today for help if you’ve suffered a personal injury in Columbia.

Columbia Personal Injury Lawyer FAQs

Following a personal injury in Columbia, SC, you likely have numerous questions. Where do you begin? What comes next? How much is everything going to cost? When will I receive compensation? While we can answer all these questions during your consultation, here is a starting point to answer a few frequently asked questions.

Is It Worth Getting a Personal Injury Lawyer in Columbia?

How Do I Calculate My Personal Injury Claim?

Is It Worth Getting a Personal Injury Lawyer in Columbia?

Yes. Having the representation you need is critical to ensure that you receive a fair and just settlement that accurately reflects the extent of your losses and damages. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case. Insurance companies often try to devalue claims and offer lowball initial settlements, hoping you’ll be too overwhelmed and in pain not to accept.

You’ve got a lot to deal with following an accident, such as healing from your injury, missing time at work, and managing the overall fallout. Do you also have time to negotiate with insurers, file paperwork, handle communications, and manage the inevitable stress on top of it? 

A personal injury lawyer in Columbia, SC, can do it all for you. With a lawyer on your side, you can save yourself time, relieve yourself of overbearing burdens, focus on your recovery, and increase your chances of winning the compensation you deserve. 

While that all sounds good, you might also worry about how much it’ll cost you to hire a lawyer. Most personal injury attorneys work on contingency, meaning they don’t get paid unless you win your case. In the event of a settlement or court award, your lawyer will take a percentage of your earnings. If you lose your case, they take nothing.

How Do I Calculate My Personal Injury Claim?

Before you attempt to negotiate a personal injury settlement, you’ll need to have a firm idea of how much your claim is worth. Calculating your personal injury claim can be challenging, so it’s best to have your personal injury lawyer do it for you.

Special damages (economic damages) are easier to calculate. These will likely include:

• Medical expenses
• Property damage
• Lost earnings
• Future lost income
• Estimated future medical expenses

General damages (non-economic damages) are trickier to quantify. These often include:

• Physical pain
• Emotional pain and suffering
• Mental distress
• Trauma and PTSD
• Other adverse effects of the accident and injuries

With general damages, your lawyer will calculate them using the multiplier method. That is, they’ll add up your special damages and multiply that with a number between 1.5 and 5 to arrive at your general damages. Typically, the more severe your injuries are, the higher the multiplier number will be. 

Adding the two values will determine the overall value of your personal injury claim. In some cases, punitive damages meant to punish the at-fault party can be factored into the total as well.

If you’ve suffered a personal injury in Columbia, whether it was in a car accident or at work, as the result of a defective product or a bad prescription, our attorneys can help you. We have experience in practically every personal injury matter out there, and we know how much of a settlement to fight for based on your own personal experience.

You can trust us to never stop fighting for a settlement that is fair and just for what you’ve been through.

Columbia Personal Injury Lawyer Near Me803-999-2993

When Do You Need a Personal Injury Lawyer?

A personal injury attorney can be a useful benefit in any claim, large or small. Ideally, you most definitely want a lawyer by your side for more complicated matters, such as a workers’ compensation claim or a wrongful death case. However, you should not disregard the importance of legal representation in smaller issues, such as a slip and fall case or any other type of incident where someone’s negligence caused you injuries, damages, pain, suffering, etc. If you suffered a more severe injury, a lawyer can be helpful to ensure you aren’t settling for an offer significantly lower than you deserve, both to cover your costs and to punish the other party.

What Types of Personal Injury Claims Can an Attorney Help With?

In our over 40 years of operation, our firm has handled a wide variety of personal injury claims. From dog bite injuries to car accident cases, we have experience seeking – and winning – compensation for our clients. If you’ve been injured at work or lost a loved one due to someone else’s negligence, our personal injury lawyers in Columbia are here for you.

A Personal Injury Lawyer in Columbia Can Help with Your Car Accident Claim

If you’ve been injured in a car accident that was not your fault, a car accident lawyer can pursue damages from the responsible party. You don’t have to face the other party’s insurance company alone – and you shouldn’t. Insurance companies are notorious for bullying people into settling for a lesser settlement amount than they would have gotten if they had stuck it out and fought harder with an attorney by their side.

An attorney can also ensure you file a comprehensive claim before the South Carolina statute of limitations expires, which is three years from the date of the accident. If you miss the deadline, you may be barred from ever seeking compensation to both punish the person at fault and help you pay for outstanding damages you would otherwise never have had if the accident hadn’t happened.

A Columbia Personal Injury Attorney Can Help You Seek Compensation After a Dog Bite

A dog bite would also fall under the category of personal injury when filing a claim for damages. You can sue the dog’s owner for negligence and seek compensation for your medical bills and treatment plans. A dog bite injury lawyer can review your injury and your medical documentation and use that information to calculate a settlement that is fair based on the pain and suffering you’ve endured.

Your damage award will depend on the severity of the injury as well as whether the dog had a history of biting people in the past. In particular, if the owner knew their dog had bitten someone in the past and failed to keep it behind a fence, on a leash, or otherwise restrained, then you may be entitled to a higher damage award.

Seeking Justice After a Wrongful Death Is Easier with a Lawyer’s Help

If you lost a loved one in a Columbia car accident or in another incident as the result of someone else’s negligence, a wrongful death lawyer can help you sue for justice and compensation on their behalf. In a wrongful death claim, you can file for damages related to any medical care your loved one received before they passed, as well as costs associated with the funeral and burial.

You can also include forms of support you will lose as a result of their death, both emotional and financial.

Filing a Workers’ Compensation or Social Security Disability Claim in Columbia

If you were hurt on the job in Columbia, you may be able to file a workers’ compensation claim for compensation. We can review your claim to ensure you’ve accounted for all your damages before you submit it.

If you’ve suffered an injury or illness that prevents you from working, you could also be entitled to Social Security disability (SSD). With over 40 years of experience in this field, we can help you with the application process, whether you’re filing for the first time or appealing a denial.

Workers’ compensation claims can quickly become complicated. After all, suing your employer for negligence is no easy task, and it’s an even harder task to accomplish without an attorney by your side. Without a lawyer, your employer may try to intimidate you into either settling for less than you deserve or just dropping the case altogether.

Contact a Columbia Personal Injury Lawyer Today for a Free Consultation

Our team is prepared to help you file a strong claim for compensation if you suffered injuries in Columbia, South Carolina due to someone’s negligence and you need skilled attorneys to build you a strong personal injury case. We have helped more than 40,000 injury victims across the state, and we are ready to put our experience to work for you, too!

We offer free consultations at a time and place convenient for you, so contact us today, and let’s get started!

Personal Injury News and Articles:

Summertime Safety Tips: Don’t Leave GPS Devices & Electronics in the Sun

South Carolina injury attorneys from George Sink, P.A. Injury lawyers remind motorists never to leave GPS devices or other electronics in the sun.

Emma’s Law

Personal injury lawyers at George Sink, P.A. Injury Lawyers discuss Emma's Law, a South Carolina law meant to protect the public from drunk drivers.

Bald Head Island Ferry: 13 Injured

"Adventure," a private ferry serving Bald Head Island, ran aground Tuesday morning near the mouth of the Cape Fear River, injuring 13 passengers.

How Our Car Accident App Can Help You Create the Strongest Case Possible

The Sink Law Personal Injury Kit Mobile App can help you strengthen your auto accident case with helpful tools and vital car wreck information.