"Alive at 25" is a driver’s awareness course developed by the National Safety Council and focused on young drivers from the ages of 15-24. The course curriculum focuses primarily on these three areas:

  1. Defensive driving;
  2. Decision making; and
  3. Responsibility taking.

The South Carolina Chapter of the National Safety Council runs the "Alive at 25" program within the state and so far has over 79 high schools that are participating. The hard facts illustrated on the website are alarming:

  • Traffic crashes are the leading cause of teen fatalities, accounting for 44% of teen deaths in the U.S;
  • Young drivers are involved in fatal crashes at more than twice the rate of all others;
  • Young drivers are involved in nearly 28% of all crashes, even though they represent only 14% of the nations’ licensed drivers; and
  • 172 young drivers in 2010 were killed in vehicle collision in South Carolina.

The Greenville News & Pickens County Courier recently reported that Pickens County School District will require students in the next school year that want to park at the district high schools to complete the "Alive at 25" course before hand. This would encompass the following high schools in the upstate:

The facts are hard to argue against helping teens in any way make better decisions on the roadways in this state.

Since the implementation of this program in 2007, the state’s death toll among drivers 15-24 has dropped by 38%.

Any life saved is worth the $35 for the cost of the course and 4 1/2 hours the program takes to complete. Ask your high school about this course or get a group of friends together and take this course. You never know-it could save your life or the life of someone else. 

 

I have always enjoyed reading, watching, and listening to various recounts of historical information on a wide range of topics. Wikipedia is a scary resource given the ease of access and also in creating of the history online. However, for broad strokes and a general overview it has proven quite resourceful.

  • Did you know that insurance has been around in some form since humans have gathered together in communities, or societies?
  • The form of insurance as we know it culminated as a result of the mercantile trade along treacherous rivers and oceans where the chance of loss was great, thus if a merchant received a loan on the shipment they would pay the lender additional monies to cancel the loan if the shipment was lost or stolen. 
  • Did you know the first insurance company in America  was created here in Charleston, South Carolina?

I won’t bore you anymore with history but just as we have advanced as humans, so to have our societies (at least in most parts of the world), and thus our businesses, or economies. 

As stated in one of many lessons learned in Sun Tzu’s, Art of War: 

It is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperilled in a hundred battles; if you do not know your enemies but do know yourself, you will win one and lose one; if you do not know your enemies nor yourself, you will be imperilled in every single battle.

Therefore, I try to learn as much as I can about insurance companies and convey that knowledge the best I can to clients that come in with questions.  Those questions mainly consist of:

  • trying to understand how their insurance company can treat them so poorly after they have religiously paid their premiums without ever having an insurance claim;
  • trying to understand how the insurance company of the negligent, ignorant, or omitting party, will not provide them a fair amount for the injuries, troubles, and ordeals they have experienced through no fault of their own; and/or
  • why the insurance company will not call them back or appreciate what they have had to experience and instead treats them disrespectfully or with disdain.

Well, it is very simple. It’s about money. The money insurance companies want to save by minimizing the payout on your injury, property, and/or life insurance claim. Simply stated insurance companies make money two ways:

  1. Through underwriting, the process by which insurers select the risks to insure and decide how much in premiums to charge for accepting those risks;
  2. By investing the premiums they collect from insured parties.

The whole insurance business model is summed up succinctly as such:

 to collect more in premium and investment income than is paid out in losses

Your injury, or insurance, claim is the loss being referred to above. What the at fault party’s insurance company pays you cuts directly into their bottom line and therefore the less they can get out of paying your claim, the more they can invest in those really complicated structured asset backed securities, or CDO’s. You remember the recession was caused by ____? Greed.

And that greed can work both ways, on your extreme valuation or consideration of the fair amount to be paid and the insurance company’s extremely low valuation of your claim-regardless of facts.  Thankfully, advocates and plaintiffs’ attorneys exist to assist you in this eternal struggle of good vs evil. If you had to pay a plaintiff’s attorney the hourly wage the insurance company pays the defense attorneys, or advocates, I doubt you would ever be able to fight a fair battle.

Again we learn from Sun Tzu’s, Art of War:

Thus, what is of supreme importance in war is to attack the enemy’s strategy.

Please consider disrupting the strategy of insurance companies to make profit off of your injuries by low balling, denying, delaying, and defending against what you know is wrong. Just because insurance coverage has almost been made mandatory doesnt mean those same insurance companies have to make millions in profits off of your backs. Rise up and fight, now is your time! 

The popular Detroit Lions football player was enjoying some "off" time during his recent two (2) game suspension for allegedly kicking a player while he was down and now has jumped right into personal injury law.

Apparently this past weekend in Portland, Oregon, a boy named "Suh" was driving his 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle muscle car when suddenly and without warning he lost control and ran into an inanimate object.  Several reports are now indicating that Mr. Suh had two passengers in the car that incurred injuries as a result of the motor vehicle collision. 

As I tell my clients, there are always two (2) hurdles to jump in any personal injury case: 1) Who is at fault? and 2) How much is it worth? There are many other factors in summing up those two items and the more information that can be garnered by other parties, ie witnesses, medical professionals, responding police officers, video footage, and pictures, to strengthen your case.

Some reports have Mr. Suh indicating all parties are fine, while other reports have the two female passengers saying they have lacerations, contusions, and other such upper and lower extremity complaints. Mr. Suh says he was trying to pass a taxi and the passengers’ version says he was just driving too fast for conditions.

The first hurdle is most likely an easy hurdle in the above story. Mr. Suh was the driver of the car and through his driving it ended up colliding with a stationary object not in the roadway.

Hurdle #1 check.

The second hurdle is going to be harder because of the general nature of the parties, popularity of the driver, and social bias thanks to mass insurance and chamber marketing.

  • You will have those naysayers that will refute those women were ever even in the car regardless of what facts come out;
  • You will have others say, the female passengers are just trying to get money because they were in the car with a professional athlete; and
  • You will have those others that believe those two women were in the car at the time, probably got banged up from the impact of an old 1970 Chevrolet with little safety features but will minimize their injuries because they believe the women should not have been out past midnight and/or should not have fled the scene without seeking assistance.

See how quickly one simple set of facts that only three (3) potential people know the real truth to can get twisted? Mr. Suh’s will be more memorialized because of his 911 recorded statement. The other passengers have no record other then what they say that they were at the scene. Just because this case has become famous for the party that wrecked, don’t think this scenario doesn’t happen every weekend in your own county.

Be smart if you are in a collision and/or harmed by the negligence, ignorance, and/or omissions of others. Don’t think some insurance adjuster for the at fault party is going to believe you because you are you. They don’t care. Frankly neither does that jury of your peers. They care when they realize it could have just as easily happened to them. 

Don’t say it, show it. Document it. Picture it. Text it. Friend it. Tweet it. Email it. Link it in.

 

RELATED STORIES:

Single Car Accidents Leave Drivers and Passengers with Few Options

Cops: Suh car crash passenger fears retaliation

Ndamukong Suh reportedly lied to police about accident

Portland police: 2 passengers contradict Ndamukong Suh’s crash report

Drivers getting behind the wheel and texting while driving has become such an epidemic that the United States Department of Transportation has created a website entitled www.distraction.gov. The website is a wonderful research tool and information site for educators, teen drivers, concerned parents, and employers to visit and learn the facts.  Along with the website, USDOT has put together a public service announcement with a compelling and interactive video that will launch this week. 

If you or anyone you know in the family has a teen, young, and/or distracted driver this website should be a requirement before actually getting on the roadways behind the wheel. The facts section illustrates such points as:

  • In 2009, 5,474 people were killed in crashes involving driver distraction, and an estimated 448,000 were injured;
  • Sending or receiving a text takes a driver’s eyes from the road for an average of 4.6 seconds, the equivalent-at 55 mph-of driving the length of an entire football field, blind; and
  • Using a cell phone while driving – whether it’s hand-held or hands-free delays a driver’s reactions as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal limit of .08 percent.
     

Did you know that you are 23x more likely to be in collision by texting while driving? That is a scary statistic and something we have noticed here in South Carolina on the roadways of interstate 85. Please use this tool and information to help spread the word.

Go to http://www.distraction.gov/ now!

 

 

 

I would imagine lawlessness abounds greatly in every state but lately it seems so many people are driving without any automobile insurance and/or not even stopping after being involved in a collision if they are able to drive away. 

South Carolina law is clear on the requirements a driver involved in a hit-and-run must meet in order to pursue their own "uninsured" insurance coverage.  S.C. Code 38-77-170 copied below states:

 SECTION 38-77-170. Conditions to sue or recover under uninsured motorist provision when owner or operator of motor vehicle causing injury or damage is unknown.

If the owner or operator of any motor vehicle which causes bodily injury or property damage to the insured is unknown, there is no right of action or recovery under the uninsured motorist provision, unless:

(1) the insured or someone in his behalf has reported the accident to some appropriate police authority within a reasonable time, under all the circumstances, after its occurrence;

(2) the injury or damage was caused by physical contact with the unknown vehicle, or the accident must have been witnessed by someone other than the owner or operator of the insured vehicle; provided however, the witness must sign an affidavit attesting to the truth of the facts of the accident contained in the affidavit;

(3) the insured was not negligent in failing to determine the identity of the other vehicle and the driver of the other vehicle at the time of the accident. (emphasis added).

Some people will try and manipulate the system so there have to be checks and balances to ensure some validity to what is being offered. Otherwise in rural areas of South Carolina every accident "avoiding a deer" would be claimed as a hit and run. Too bad the deer don’t carry insurance or have assets.

 

 

Allegations are rampant that State Farm Insurance Company contributed upwards of $2,400,000.00 to an Illinois Supreme Court Justice’s campaign for election.  This happened back in 2004 during one of the most expensive judicial races. Why is this really important, you may be wondering? Ever heard of John Grisham’s book, "The Appeal"? It was a fictional book, right?

Well funny you ask, you see that same Supreme Court Justice failed to withdraw from participating, or recuse himself, in a billion (that’s more than a million) dollar case that was eventually overturned by the Illinois Supreme Court. Or determined that State Farm did not have to pay what a lower court and/or jury had determined they were liable, or responsible, in owing.

Since the Supreme Court justice did not recuse himself, the court did try and determine if there was any bias and it was thought that only $350,000.00 was contributed to the justice’s judicial campaign. It was thought this because that is what State Farm Insurance told the Court.

Apparently, that was not true. An FBI investigation found that number to be somewhere between $2,4000,000.00 and $4,000,000.00. Some people have some explaining to do.

I wonder if this could ever happen in little ol South Carolina? You think corporate insurance companies that make billions of dollars in net profits would ever turn their focus on our state? Why do those presidential nominees come from outside their home state to announce they are running in South Carolina?

It’s those things that make you go hmmmmmm……..

Of course they (insurance companies) are hoping you don’t even give it a thought. Look at that shiny thing over there. You already forgot about this story didnt you?

RELATED ARTICLES:

 Illinois court asked to review alleged bias by justice

State Farm Secretly Gave $2.4 Million to Ill. Judge in $1B Case

 

Petition Claims State Farm Secretly Raised Millions for Ill. Justice Who Voted Its Way in $1B Case


 

 

 

 

 

 

The injuries from a pedestrian vs. motor vehicle collision and motorcycle vs. motor vehicle collision are never minor. I just settled a pedestrian vs. motor vehicle collision that occurred in the Five Points area of Columbia, South Carolina. The client was lucky to be alive but his injuries were in no way minor and he had to undergo surgery.

As everyone knows in upstate South Carolina, especially throughout Anderson, Abbeville, Belton, Clemson, Easley, Iva,  Oconee, Pickens, Seneca, and Westminster,  rural roads can be the most dangerous. As The Greenville News indicated in their Sunday article entitled, "Highway Deaths Start to Rise":

South Carolina led the nation in the fatality rate on non-interstate, rural roads in 2009 with 4.7 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles of travel, according to numbers released earlier this month by the Washington-based nonprofit TRIP.

The news article was prompted from two separate motor vehicle collisions recently that resulted in five fatalities, the statistics are alarming for South Carolina drivers on rural roads.

I have had dozens of motorcycle collision cases and 99% of motorcycle drivers will tell you that they have to constantly watch out for other drivers in upcoming intersections, stop signs, and lane changes.

As for pedestrians on the rural roadways, you need to take every precaution possible. Since most rural roads dont have sidewalks, make sure you are facing oncoming traffic while walking so that you have time to react as the vehicle approaches. South Carolina Department of Transportation is doing their part with infrastructure and enforcement as indicated with the article "Safety Programs Target Rural Roads in South Carolina" listing these improvements:

  • Adding paved shoulder and safety edge to most rural roadways through roadway resurfacing program to address run off road crashes and shoulder drop-offs;
  • Installing rumble strips on all high speed rural roadways where adequate shoulder is available to address run off road crashes; and
  • Provide funding for overtime speed enforcement by the South Carolina Highway Patrol of high crash rural road corridors.

 

 

 

 

First and foremost for accountability when it comes time to be reimbursed for your property damage or personal injuries.  Yes, this essentially equates to insurance purposes. The person that causes the collision may be apologetic and a "really nice person" at the scene but a couple days later have a change of heart and not be so forthcoming with their admission of liability.   Therefore the primary reason is to ensure that the at fault, or sole contributor, that admits to being inattentive or distracted is memorialized by the reporting South Carolina Highway Patrol or local authorities. The primary goal of any insurance company is to protect their insured and if their insured said it was not their fault, the property damage on your car or medical treatment you incurred is not going to be reimbursed anytime soon, if at all.

Secondly, if this is a serious offense and someone is driving on the roadways under the influence of drugs or alcohol, they need to be stopped! Hopefully, no one is seriously injured and by helping this person realize the gravity of their actions, you may save lives down the road.

Thirdly, you have no idea the true impact this collision will have on any property damage to your car or any personal injuries to your person. (no pun intended). Your adrenaline is pumping, so you feel no pain initially. Or the frame of your car is bent but you don’t realize that until you pull off and the vehicle drives crooked. Too late. You let that "nice person" go with a handshake and a smile. That’s okay, I am sure you have a couple thousand dollars lying around to repair your car and medical expenses.

A few tips if you are in an accident, from both a personal injury lawyer and person that has been in two accidents (neither of which were his fault):

  • Call 911 or *HP immediately, regardless of severity. If not life threatening tell the operator and explain the details. Those calls are recorded by the way;
  • Take pictures of the property damage with your fancy phone or at the very least make a mental note;
  • Make sure to get any contact information from any witnesses, especially if they do not have time to stick around for the reporting officer. They can still be helpful but not if you don’t know how to get in touch with them. It would be better if they could stick around and talk to the officer;
  • If the other party tries to leave the scene make every effort to get their license tag, vehicle description and/or notify the 911 operator. License tags are usually only 6 characters. You can remember that;
  • If you feel any pain at all, notify the reporting officer and go get checked out when the ambulance, or EMS comes out. Otherwise, you know what the insurance company for the at fault driver will say?  "Obviously you were not hurt because you did not seek immediate medical attention."

 

Driving from Greenville, South Carolina to Anderson, South Carolina every day for work, you tend to notice the regular cars you pass, things going on along the interstate, and creative billboards.  Trust me, I knew when the Motivational Seminars were coming into town, southbound and northbound.

A billboard that made its point today gave me cause to pull over and take a picture. It reads:

 "Stop texting! You almost hit my client. i85lawyers.com."

For all the bad things you hear about lawyer advertising at least this crowd is trying to get its point across to the drivers speeding by at 80mph+  on Interstate 85 (ironically this billboard is right past the 65mph speed limit sign southbound past Exit 35). 

More preventative measures need to be taken so that lawyers and insurance companies don’t have to be involved because that means someone is injured or dead. I like my job but I will be successful at whatever, I do. Right now it just so happens to be that I fight for the individual against the faceless insurance company. Maybe with personal injury attorneys turning toward preventative messages and minimizing carelessness on the roadways we are headed for Utopia.