South Carolina Wrongful Death Lawyers

Your neck and back help support large parts of your body, including your head, shoulders, trunk, and more. When you suffer any musculoskeletal injuries to your neck or back, it can have a serious effect on almost every aspect of your life. You may not be able to work, exercise, or even do household chores or pick up your toddler. Many neck and back injuries keep you from walking until you’ve undergone a long course of physical therapy.

A defendant takes an action against another person and knows his or her actions are wrong and will cause injury, yet still takes those actions. These include intentional torts such as kidnapping, assault, battery, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and trespassing against a person.

If the defendant kills the plaintiff, or the plaintiff dies later, as a result of injuries suffered during the commission of these crimes, the plaintiff’s estate can file a wrongful death action against the defendant.

If a defendant’s actions do not exhibit reasonable care for the safety of others, his or her actions are negligent. In a negligence claim, the plaintiff must show that the defendant had a legal duty to the plaintiff and that the defendant breached that duty. The plaintiff must suffer an injury due to the defendant’s breach of duty and must show proof that the defendant’s actions cause his or her injury.

A common form of negligence is speeding: The person behind the wheel has a legal duty to protect others from the negligent action of speeding; the speeding driver loses control of his or her vehicle and runs into you, causing your injuries; you can show proof of the speeding driver’s negligence by showing a police report where the police investigation found that the defendant was speeding.

For a plaintiff to recover punitive damages, he or she must show gross negligence, which is more than the simple negligence described above. Using the above example, change speeding to driving under the influence. Everyone knows that driving under the influence is likely going to cause an injury or fatal accident. A person that drives while under the influence has a reckless disregard for the lives and/or safety of others on the road, but gets behind the wheel anyway.

The decedent’s estate brings the wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of the family members. If the decedent has a will, the administrator initiates the lawsuit on behalf of the estate. If the decedent died intestate (without a will), the court appoints an administrator. The wrongful death lawsuit could only be brought once the court appoints the administrator.

The proceeds of the wrongful death lawsuit get distributed directly to the heirs as if the decedent died without a will. Because the proceeds bypass the estate, creditors who have a claim against the estate do not have a claim against the proceeds of a wrongful death lawsuit.

Furthermore, because the court distributes the proceeds as if the decedent died without a will, those who receive the proceeds might not be the same people named in the will. Those who get the proceeds of a wrongful death lawsuit are:

• The spouse would get 100 percent of the proceeds if the decedent did not have children.
• The spouse would get 50 percent of the proceeds if the decedent had children with the spouse. The other 50 percent is divided equally among the children.
• If the decedent is divorced or widowed, the children split 100 percent equally.
• If the decedent does not have a spouse or children, then the proceeds go to the decedent’s surviving parents.
• If the decedent’s parents are not living, then the proceeds are divided equally between the siblings and other heirs as dictated by South Carolina statutes.

Yes. If a child is illegitimate, that child could also share in the children’s share of the proceeds.

Yes. The defendant might receive fines and jail time, or other penalties, but he or she could still have to pay damages in a civil action.

Yes. The defendant might receive fines and jail time, or other penalties, but he or she could still have to pay damages in a civil action. The statute of limitations for a wrongful death lawsuit is three years from the date of the decedent’s death. Keep in mind that some actions take time, so the estate should file the wrongful death lawsuit as soon as possible. For example, if the court has to appoint an administrator for the estate, the estate can’t bring the wrongful death action until after the court assigns the  administrator. Once that happens, it takes time to investigate the incident and gather evidence. If the estate wishes to try to settle first, that also takes time. While three years sounds like a long time, in reality, it could be a very short amount of time.

Yes. The probate court, circuit court, or a United States District Court must approve the settlement.

A wrongful death lawsuit includes the survival action. In a nutshell, a survival action is a claim against the defendant for damages that the decedent would have recovered had he or she lived after the defendant’s actions. The survival action recovers damages to pay for any medical expenses and lost wages that the defendant incurred between the accident and his or her death.For example, if the defendant’s actions caused injuries, but the decedent did not die until days after the incident, the decedent’s estate can recover any medical expenses and lost wages for the time of the incident through the time of death.

You could recover three types of damages for a wrongful death lawsuit: economic damages, non-economic damages, and punitive damages. The court would order economic damages and non-economic damages in an attempt to make you whole again. While money cannot bring back a loved one, that is the only option you have in wrongful death cases. The money does help to reduce the financial stress of figuring out how to care for your family on one income.

Economic damages. Special damages, also known as economic damages, are those with a monetary value.

They include:

• Past medical expenses that your loved one incurred as a result of the incident.
• Past lost wages that your loved one lost as a result of the incident.
• Psychological therapy for the decedent’s loved ones.
• Replacement or repair of personal property that was destroyed or damaged in the incident.
• Attorneys’ fees and costs.
• Funeral, burial, and/or cremation expenses.

Non-economic damages. General damages, also known as non-economic damages, are those that do not have a monetary value.

They include:

• Emotional distress.
• Loss of companionship and support.
• Loss of consortium.
• Inconvenience (loss of services).

Punitive damages. The court orders punitive damages as a punishment for the defendant—not to make the plaintiff whole again. When asking for punitive damages, the plaintiff must complete the first stages of the trial to determine if he or she gets economic and/or non-economic damages. Because the statutes require a bifurcated trial, the second part of the trial is to determine if the defendant should pay punitive damages and, if so, for how much.

If the trial is a jury trial, the court uses the same jury. The plaintiff must provide evidence that the defendant’s actions were grossly negligent or intentional. If the court finds in favor of the plaintiff, the statutes do not cap punitive damages.

Additionally, if the defendant is convicted of a felony that is related to the plaintiff’s injuries or death, and the felonious conduct was the “proximate cause” of the plaintiff’s injuries or death, the statutes do not cap punitive damages.

Finally, the statutes do not cap punitive damages if the defendant’s actions injured or killed the plaintiff while the defendant was under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Before you make that decision, keep in mind that insurance companies are in business to make a profit. If they have to pay more claims, their bottom line takes a hit. Thus, the insurance company may try to find a reason to deny your claim or make an offer that is unfair and unreasonable.

For any type of accident, but especially a wrongful death accident, you should give the insurance company limited information. This includes your name and contact information, the defendant’s name and contact information (if you have it), the defendant’s insurance information (if you have it), and any special licenses the defendant might have.

If the wrongful death was the result of a motor vehicle accident, you could also give the insurance company the defendant’s registration information. In all cases, give the insurance company your South Carolina wrongful death attorney’s name and contact information, including the phone number, email address, and physical mailing address.

Never discuss the accident or incident, especially the cause of the accident or incident. The insurance representative may try to get you to give him or her that information. Simply continue referring the representative to your attorney.

After the death, the funeral home usually asks you how many certified copies of the death certificate you need. Because it takes some time to get the death certificates, you should make sure you have enough originals to hand out to those who will need them.

You might need a death certificate for Social Security, the Veteran’s Administration, to transfer retirement accounts and bank accounts, to transfer title to vehicles, and other reasons. You will also need an original for the probate court and will need one for each defendant in a wrongful death case.

To save time and hassle later on, always order more death certificates than you think you will need. If you do run out, you can order a death certificate online, over the phone, in person, or by mail. Only certain people can order death certificates since they do not become public record for 50 years after the death of your loved one.

Immediate family members—the spouse, children, grandchildren, siblings, parents, and grandparents, and the legal representatives of the listed relatives—are the only people that can order a death certificate.

If you do have to order additional death certificates, you will have to provide the decedent’s full name and date of death, the county where the decedent was pronounced dead, your signature and mailing address, your relationship to the decedent, and your full name, phone number, and mailing address.