April 20, 2018
The recent prison riot at Lee Correctional Institute in Bishopville seems to have begun as a dispute over gang territory and contraband like cell phones. It ended with seven inmates dead and seventeen more injured, after a staff of forty-four guards found themselves trying to maintain order in a prison that houses nearly 1,600 men. The riot and its aftermath exposed a serious problem with understaffing in both South Carolina prisons and in the prison system nationwide. Some prisoners’ rights activists like those at the National Action Network have asserted that the prisoners’ right to safety was violated by the circumstances that led to last week’s riot. We’ve heard more than a few people ask: Do prisoners have rights? What can a prisoner or their family do if they feel their civil rights were violated?
April 17, 2018
Local Columbia newspaper The State recently reported on the case of U.S. Navy Veteran Eric Walker. Mr. Walker sought care at the Dorn Veterans Hospital in Columbia, SC, while suffering from severe pains in his abdomen. The hospital asked for a routine urine sample — that’s where the ‘routine’ part of this ER visit ends. To Walker’s shock, the hospital informed him that he had flunked their drug test and his stomach pains were caused by “excessive cocaine use” and other drug ingestion. Medical staff at Dorn did not attempt to provide treatment for his pain and told him instead to go home and seek help for drug addiction.
March 21, 2018
For employees who become injured or even ill due to workplace events or conditions, Workers’ Compensation can be the bridge they need to get from the initial injury to total recovery without losing the ability to make ends meet. While most employees have heard of Workers’ Comp during employee orientation or special safety presentations, there’s a lot of that isn’t widely understood. Workers’ Compensation insurance, which accounts for nearly 1.6% of employer spending overall (according to this report from the Center for Construction Research and Training), is a complex program that many day-to-day employees don’t know much about. We thought we’d take today to answer a few frequently asked questions about Workers’ Compensation in South Carolina.
March 12, 2018
Car wrecks that cause injury can come in many forms — vehicle collisions, wrecks involving tractor trailers, motorcycle wrecks, and more. After you’ve exchanged car insurance information with the at-fault party, called your own insurance company to notify them to start the claims process, and sought medical care for your injuries, you may be wondering — who pays the medical bills after a car accident, and how can you be sure your medical care will be paid for? Let’s take a look.
February 20, 2018
Whether you’ve been involved in a car wreck, have been bitten by a dog, were injured by a defective product, or you’ve been subjected to some other form of Personal Injury, odds are good insurance companies will end up involved when trying to recover the costs associated with treatment and recovery. Quite often, the initial settlement offer from an insurance company will be significantly less than the final costs associated with medical treatment and time off work. It’s worth it to prepare before discussing specific monetary amounts to ensure you’re in the best possible position to negotiate a personal injury settlement. Let’s walk through the settlement negotiation steps.
February 6, 2018
While many collisions between vehicles involve minimal or fairly easily repaired damage, sometimes the damage to the car will be so extensive that your insurance company will declare the car totaled. Your vehicle will be determined to be a “total loss” following a collision, single-car accident, or other damaging event either if it is unrepairable, or if the cost of repairs would exceed a certain percentage of the value of the car. If that’s the case, your insurance company will prepare a claim settlement, payable to the owner of the vehicle, that is meant to reflect the value of the car at the time of the collision. If the value of the settlement is significantly lower than the actual value of your car, you do not have to accept the settlement. If you can prove a discrepancy between your car’s true value and the claim settlement offered by your insurance company, you […]
January 24, 2018
For 10 million Americans (according to the Social Security Administration), Social Security Disability helps to keep the lights on, the house warm, and food on the table.
January 10, 2018
The shift to highly-automated workplaces and overall wage stagnation has been leading more and more individuals to choose freelance work as a primary or secondary job. Since Uber and related companies classify their drivers as “independent contractors” and not traditional employees, they offer a measure of freedom (drivers choose their own hours and have some control over how much income they bring in), but also some very big risks. The biggest risk to South Carolina Uber drivers? Jobs that involve driving professionally also involve a heightened potential for vehicle collisions that could cause injuries, automobile damage, or worse and as independent contractors, Uber drivers may not be covered by state workers’ compensation laws.
December 29, 2017
Even a dog that has never shown signs of aggression can end up in a situation where they bite a human being. If you are the owner of that dog, you may find yourself dealing with insurance claims, medical bills, and even potentially litigation as a result of your dog’s actions. What should you do if your dog bites someone? We have a few ideas for how to defuse the situation and what to do next.