South Carolina Injury Law Journal - Anderson and Greenville Lawyer & Attorney Workers' Compensation Cases, Product Liability Lawsuits, and Accidents

Watching the Little League Baseball Tournament this weekend you couldn't help but notice those patches stating, "I Won't Cheat."  They made me think back to a time when I was growing up and they had the "Just Say No" crew come in and give a pep rally of some sort to us in elementary school.  That was a good time to catch us because we were energetic and wanted the t-shirts but the peer pressure hadn't really started to come yet. Give it a few more years and the majority of students chanting "Just Say No" had turned that into, "Just Give Me Blow". 

I am not proud of myself but two short years after this courageous campaign by Nancy Reagan with "Just Say No", I gave up trading baseball cards to selling smokeless tobacco and cigarettes. I never did either but saw an opportunity to make a buck (sound familiar Philip Morris?), used the five finger discount from local stores and sold them to kids in school. It was a good market till someone snitched and I took a five finger lesson to the face from my mother.  I don't think I ever stole anything again after that lesson.  Plus I had to pay back the stores. No slogan needed, experience took hold. 

I have always enjoyed being an entrepreneur and little did I know as I got older, politicians make the rules so you don't have to steal "illegally" anymore. You play by the rules and you can do just as much harm. The first non-profit I formed was not to give back to the kids but to help with tax breaks. What's the difference in stealing and doing a good deed? Legislatures already beat me to that moral decision, you can do both at the same time just play by the rules. 

Mark Sanford, our infamous South Carolina governor, forgot about those strong family values he had platformed on for so long. He traded those in for infidelity and adultery. I am sure he knew the Ten Commandments and right vs. wrong. Yet, still he stands as this state's governor.  It just goes to show no matter what catchy slogan, guidelines, Commandments, or rules you try and memorize, if you don't follow them and let your actions do the speaking, then catch phrases are just cheap sew ons.

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I just came back from vacation to New York City and Rio de Janeiro. As far as my experiences that relate to this blog, I was amazed at how aggressive, reckless, and yet effective the drivers of any form of transportation drove in those areas without colliding with ANYTHING.

I have traveled by taxi in NYC before but Rio made NYC look like a kiddy ride. Three lanes of traffic, meant 5 wide and motorcycles racing in between. This included the mass transit buses that weaved in and out of traffic better than the motorcycles. We took the subway, taxis, buses, and walked throughout each city and I could not help but thinking about all the wreck cases I get in a small, rural community in the Golden Corner of South Carolina.

However, in these huge metropolitan cities I never saw an incident. I am sure other bloggers in those areas could fill me in with statistics but from a brief observational standpoint, you would think incidents would be higher. Yet, considering the majority of the drivers are professional, ie taxi cab drivers, mass transit, and other courier services, that could be the reason. 

Regardless, I encourage all my past, present, and future clients to take advanced driving courses before they head out of the state or out of country with the intentions on driving;

• The 80 year old, driving the Cadillac in the left lane may be pummeled;
• I can't even think about the young, teenager that just got his license- ouch; or
• The texting driver not really paying attention.

Happy Trails to you.

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I often consult with clients that have been in a single car accident and want to utilize the insurance coverage they have paid on for years because they have "full coverage". Well, liability insurance is just that, it goes in effect when you are at fault for causing someone or something injury and/or damages. Not when you cause yourself injury or damages. People would be running their cars into trees on purpose to get insurance coverage if that were the case.

Accidents happen and those in the "driver's seat", literally and figuratively, have a duty to the passengers in the car.  Passengers traveling in the car during a single car accident often times have claims against the insurance company of the driver.  "Fault", or liability, is a legal term here used to proceed against the insurance company of the driver. Sometimes that driver is your friend, family member, and/or loved one.  However, their insurance premium is going to go up regardless of what you do because they are going to have a "claim" for property damage or simply for the accident.  Thus, you are causing no more trouble and are actually using resources that your friend, family member, and/or loved one has provided for people like yourself. Medical Payments/Personal Injury Protection is additional coverage everyone should have because it benefits every occupant in a car that has been injured, regardless of who is at fault.

Unfortunately there were more than a few single car accidents in Upstate South Carolina this past week as reported by The Greenville News and Anderson Independent:

• Shannon Lee Long, a 26-year-old Easley man, was killed around 3:30 a.m., August 8, 2009, on State 93. Mr. Long was driving in an easterly direction from Easley toward Liberty in Pickens County when the SUV he was driving left the road, struck an embankment and overturned;

• Danny Coker of Honea Path died around 11:45 a.m. Monday, August 10, 2009, along Latimer Mill Road near U.S. 25, when his 2005 Dodge went off the road in a curve and struck a tree;

• Gerald Nix, 63, of Liberty lost control of his Kawasaki motorcycle about 12:20 p.m., August 8, 2009,  on Gillespie Road in Anderson County and crashed into a tree. Mr. Nix was transported by helicopter to Greenville Memorial Hospital; and

• Scarlet Brickhouse (driver) and Kevin McKeithan, both of Richmond, Va., were traveling in a 2004 Ford Explorer on I-85 on Sunday, August 9, 2009, near mile marker 6 while towing a trailer with motorcycles in it that slid from side-to-side which caused Ms. Brickhouse to lose control. The Ford Explorer flipped over on its roof and landed 30 feet to 40 feet below the interstate in a creek.

Be careful out there on the roadways. Regardless of whether you are the driver or a passenger.

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All this week and through the weekend, South Carolina attorneys that fight for the rights of those harmed by the ignorance, negligence, or omissions of others are learning, being reminded of, and networking with like minded professionals.

The South Carolina Association of Justice conducts its annual convention down in Hilton Head Island, usually during the first weekend of August. A wonderful lineup/itinerary for all trial attorneys that provide assistance to plaintiffs in the state of South Carolina and throughout the United States.

Fortunately the backdrop of this convention is set in Hilton Head at the Westin Resort on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean.  In an effort to fight more fervently for my clients and those future clients I may have, I have reluctantly forged down to the coast for this "intense" weekend of learning, networking, and being reminded of why I work so hard.

*A picture of Westin Resort in Hilton Head Island, SC.

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