South Carolina Lawyer Blog

A homeless man who was shot with a .22 caliber rifle by an Oregon State University fraternity member has been awarded over $6,000 for medical expenses and $35,000 in non-economic damages, totaling over $40,000.

The jury found both the Association of Alpha Beta Chapter of Alpha Gamma Rho (AGR) and a former member responsible for the 2006 shooting. The national organization was not held responsible, according to news reports.

Witnesses testified that the fraternity members were known to shoot BB guns from the fraternity building windows and had talked about shooting homeless people with BB guns. After a search of the fraternity house, police found more than 24 firearms. The guns are allowed according to the AGR guidelines as long as they are securely locked.

The individual found liable in the case testified he was aiming at a dumpster and not the homeless man. After the shooting incident, he was kicked out of the fraternity.

Personal injury law deals with injuries caused by another person, whether by negligent, reckless or intentional acts. If you or a loved one has been injured in South Carolina due to the negligence of another person, the attorneys at Louthian Law Firm can help. Call us for a free consultation at 1-866-410-5656.

Man Awarded Damages After Shooting Incident

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The Gadsden (Alabama) Times reported that an Etowah County Circuit Court jury has awarded $8.5 million to a woman injured in a 2003 Mercury Mountaineer rollover.

Two people were killed in the accident and two were injured, including Latoya Duckett. Ms. Duckett filed a product liability lawsuit against Ford Motor Company alleging the vehicle was unstable and rolled over too easily.

As a result of the accident, Ms. Duckett's right leg had to be amputated just below the knee and her left arm is paralyzed and suffered brain injury, the paper reported in October.

The case against Ford Motor Company in the deaths of the father and daughter was settled for an undisclosed amount several years ago.

No punitive damages were awarded, but the $8.5 million in compensatory damages was the largest in the county's history, the paper reported.

If you have been in an accident, it’s important to make sure you understand your legal rights. You may be able to recover money for medical bills, lost wages, funeral costs, as well as compensation for wrongful death or permanent disability. Contact the experienced car accident attorneys at the Louthian Law Firm for a free evaluation of your case at 1-866-410-5656 or fill out our confidential online contact form.

Ford Rollover Accident

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Posted In: Auto & Car Accidents , Personal Injury , Product Liability

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The Observer-Dispatch of Utica, N.Y. reports a 67-year-old Vietnam War veteran has been awarded $350,000 as a result being beaten by a Utica police officer. Once the attorney fees are added to the earlier jury award of $60,000 for pain and suffering, the total amount would be $500,000.

According to reports, the veteran, who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, experienced a mental health episode at St. Elizabeth Medical Center, becoming agitated and belligerent. After the officer had the veteran in handcuffs, he continued to punch and knee him to "gain compliance." The incident left the veteran bruised and bloodied.

After the incident in 2008, the police officer was terminated by the Utica Police Department.

Personal injury deals with injuries caused by another. If you or a loved one has suffered at the hands of another, the attorneys at Louthian Law Firm can help. Call us for a free consultation at 1-866-410-5656.

Personal Injury Verdict

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A Lexington, KY hairdresser who became paraplegic after a routine heart surgery has been awarded $9.89 million in the largest medical malpractice verdict ever in Fayette County.

The plaintiff had valve surgery in April 2006. The surgery took less than an hour and was successful, but medical experts testified that the surgeon misplaced a hose to a machine that pumps blood during the surgery, causing too much blood and oxygen to be pumped to her right hand -- and too little to her brain and thoracic spinal cord.

If you or someone you care about has been injured by the carelessness of a medical professional, you should speak with an experienced South Carolina medical malpractice attorney like the ones at the Louthian Law Firm as soon as possible. Our attorneys can help you evaluate your case; protect your legal right to the courts; stand by your side throughout the legal process; and get you the best possible results. For a free consultation, call the Columbia SC Medical Malpractice Lawyers at Louthian Law Firm today at 1-866-410-5656.

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A Spokane, Wash. jury has awarded $14.8 million to a woman who alleged a local dentist was negligent in a series of jaw surgeries in 2000 and 2001 that left her permanently disabled.

Medical and dental malpractice is a politically charged issue, which has led to an extremely complex set of state laws governing malpractice lawsuits. If you or someone you care about has been injured by the carelessness of a medical professional, you should speak with an experienced South Carolina medical malpractice attorney like the ones at the Louthian Law Firm as soon as possible.

Our attorneys can help you evaluate your case; protect your legal right to the courts; stand by your side throughout the legal process; and get you the best possible results. For a free consultation, call the Columbia SC Medical Malpractice Lawyers at Louthian Law Firm today at 1-866-410-5656.

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An Indiana woman whose husband committed suicide in January 2008 has filed a lawsuit against Pfizer, the manufacturer of Chantix, a smoking-cessation drug her husband was taking.

The woman alleges that the company failed to warn consumers that the prescription medication might cause serious psychiatric symptoms such as suicidal thoughts.

If you or someone you care about was seriously injured by a prescription drug, you should speak with a South Carolina pharmaceutical litigation attorney at the Louthian Law Firm as soon as possible. We have won justice for South Carolinians since 1959, and recovered millions of dollars to help sick and injured people heal and move on. And because we know injured people are often suffering financially as well as physically, we never charge for an initial case evaluation. For a free consultation, call us today at 1-866-410-5656.

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Posted In: Personal Injury , Prescription Drugs , Product Liability , Wrongful Death

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Victims of last summer’s August 1st bridge collapse in Minneapolis, which claimed the lives of 13 people while injuring 145 others, have filed preliminary paperwork to sue the state, according to an Associated Press report published on January 22nd. The dozens of victims who were injured when the Interstate 35W bridge plummeted 60 feet into the Mississippi River had a deadline of 180 days from the accident to notify the state of their intent to sue for personal injury, that deadline date was January 27th.

As of the time of the report, Attorney General Lori Swanson’s office had received notice of potential legal claims from 73 injured bridge victims and their family members. Families of six of those killed also had outlined plans to sue the state for compensation, as did 3 insurance companies and the owner of a school bus that was destroyed in the collapse.

“This is a predecessor to the lawsuits,” said Chris Messerly, a wrongful death attorney for a pro bono coalition of law firms representing more than 60 bridge victims.

Continue reading "Bridge Victims Prepare To Sue" »

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A baby-sitting grandfather. A BB gun. A lost eye. The recent Bryan v. Garcia case in Texas has a tall tale to tell about supervision, negligence, and personal injury. While their parents were out of town, two brothers ages 5 and 8 stayed with their grandfather. When a first cousin came to play with a BB gun in hand, the boys asked and received permission from their grandfather to take his own BB gun to the house to play with their cousin. Tragedy struck when the cousin shot the younger brother in the eye with a BB gun.

The child had to undergo both eye removal surgery and prosthetic eye insertion, incurring nearly $90,000 in medical expenses and an estimated $76,000 along the way. The boy’s father sued both the grandfather and the cousin (through the boy’s parents) for negligence. He claimed that the grandfather had both failed to supervise the children and contributed to the shooting by allowing the boys a “dry run” with the guns, which the grandfather supposedly had checked for pellets. In addition, he claimed that the cousin should not have pointed and fired the BB gun at his cousin’s face.

Continue reading "BB Gun Lawsuits Holds Parents Responsible For Kids’ Negligence" »

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A recent Louisiana car accident lawsuit can teach personal injury victims an important lesson about the many routes to justice that can be taken by an experienced legal team. In the Turner v. Iafrate case, plaintiff Turner was struck by a car while riding as a passenger. 35-year-old Turner, who is a homemaker, was in the passenger seat when the driver of the vehicle made a left-hand turn across an intersection whose signs had been removed due to construction. The impact of another vehicle caused a fracture in her C4-6 vertebrae, causing quadriplegia and partial paralysis.

Paralysis isn’t the only thing that Turner suffered – she not only accrued medical expenses in excess of $435,000 but will need nearly $4 million in lifelong medical care and has lost potential future earnings of nearly $500,000. Though the vehicle in which Turner was injured was only struck by one driver, Turner’s legal team decided to sue the parish, construction contractor, and project engineers whose negligence caused “no left turn” and “one way” signs to be removed during construction.

Continue reading "Car Accident Tragedy Has Lessons To Teach About Personal Injury Lawsuits" »

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Posted In: Auto & Car Accidents , Personal Injury

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It was a tight squeeze – and when a woman operating an electric power wheelchair lost control in a church bathroom, a lawsuit and hefty verdict was born. Plaintiff Olsen, age 69, was run into by Reid, in a women’s bathroom at her church. Reid, who was trying to get into the restroom, pinned Olsen’s knees underneath the bathroom vanity. Unfortunately, Olsen, who had already had two knee replacements, suffered serious injuries, which included a broken right leg that necessitated screws and rods.

Olsen’s injury has caused ongoing pain and suffering, including limited range of motion, depleted strength and leg pain. It also caused a medical bill to the tune of over $60,000. Tired of her ongoing struggle, she filed a lawsuit against Olsen, claiming that Olsen’s failure to control her wheelchair constituted negligence that led to her personal injury.

Continue reading "Electric Wheelchair Accident Leads To Hefty Verdict, Ongoing Struggle " »

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For Egil Krogh, it was a commuter flight gone terribly wrong – when his Corporate Airlines flight crash-landed in a limited-visibility situation, he not only saw the death of 11 passengers, the pilot, and co-pilot, but suffered extreme injuries himself. Krogh not only has post-traumatic stress disorder, but experienced fractures of the back and rib, a dislocated hip, and a http://www.louthianlaw.com/brain_injury.htmltraumatic brain injury. The medical bills totaled a whopping $200,000, and an unspecified amount of future medical costs.

Krogh, an orthopedic medicine professor, decided to fight back, suing Corporate Airlines for his injuries, disability, future medical care, and past and future lost wages. Workers’ compensation found that Krogh was 24 percent disabled. He claimed that the pilot tried to land the aircraft at a speed that was too high for the low-visibility conditions present at the landing. In addition, Krogh’s defense used the “sterile cockpit rule” to argue that crew members engaged in nonessential activities too close to landing time. They were apparently suffering from fatigue as the result of a long flight schedule preceding the crash. Krogh claimed that a more alert staff would have prevented the crash landing and its hefty toll on life and limb.

Continue reading "Crash-Landing Results In Confidential Settlement" »

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The Beaufort County School District has agreed to pay $4.6 million to settle six of seven lawsuits filed after a former teacher at Coosa Elementary School molested at least nine students.

The students were molested by music teacher Phillip Underwood-Sheppard between 1999 and 2002. The students were between the ages of 6 and 13. Some of the students were forced to perform sexual acts on the teacher in his music room office.

Underwood-Sheppard, 49, was sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2003 and is serving his sentence in Lee Correctional Institution in Bishopville, South Carolina. He had been a teacher for 17 years.

Details of the settlements, including the names of the students and their families, have been sealed under a court order.

Right now, the district is having to cover all but $300,000 of the $4.6 million award after its insurer refused to pay more of the costs.

The district has sued South Carolina School Boards Insurance Trust, saying it should be covered up to $5.5 million.

According to Chief Financial Officer Phyllis White, if the lawsuit fails, the district would likely have to raise taxes to cover the costs.

For more information, please contact a South Carolina lawyer at Louthian Law Firm.

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A Conway, South Carolina woman recently cut her mouth on something sharp in a hamburger she was eating at a Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Cracker Barrel.
The prepared hamburger patties which are used at the restaurants with the same or similar product codes were immediately pulled from Cracker Barrel shelves according to Cracker Barrel spokeswoman, Julie Davis. Ms. Davis went on to say that the restaurant should begin serving hamburgers again soon.
All Cracker Barrel restaurants in the country had stopped serving a batch of hamburger patties from a Wichita, Kansas supplier after the lady in Myrtle Beach said that she cut her mouth on something sharp.
Irene Graham, 56, who told police that she had cut her mouth on something imbedded in the Cracker Barrel hamburger, was recovering at home. Ms. Graham’s report prompted investigations by the restaurant, Myrtle Beach police and Cargill’s Meat Businesses, which was the producer of the hamburger patties for Cracker Barrel.
After being rushed to Grand Strand Regional Medical Center Ms. Graham was bleeding from her mouth and complained that it felt like something was stuck in her throat. “I was in shock more than anything.” Ms. Graham said on Monday. The restaurant manager took the half eaten hamburger from Ms. Graham’s table and told police that he found a piece of razor blade in the middle of the hamburger patty. He then turned the hamburger over to investigators who found another piece of razor blade in the patty.
The manager immediately reported the incident to Cracker Barrel’s headquarters and Cracker Barrel put out an alert to more than 500 restaurants around the country not to serve any hamburger meat. Ms. Davis, the Cracker Barrel spokeswoman, said that the chain is still not going to serve meat from the same product code the hamburger Ms. Graham ate came from. “We are being, very, very conservative,” Ms. Davis said.
Mark Kline, the spokesman for Cargill’s, said that his company was also investigating the matter.
Myrtle Beach police said that Ms. Graham’s x-rays show that there was no damage to her esophagus and no foreign matter in her stomach. She appears to have some cuts inside her mouth but she is too shaken up about the matter to say much about it.
Ms. Graham is not sure if she will return to the restaurant but did state “I frequent the restaurant quite often, and I love it”.

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South Carolina’s State newspaper reported on April 18, 2007 that a former North Charleston middle school teacher who claimed she had worked in a racially hostile environment and was verbally abused settled her lawsuit for $200,000.

The teacher, Elizabeth Kandrac, worked at Brentwood Middle School in North Charleston for less than a year. Ms. Kandrac, a white teacher who worked at the predominately black school, claimed that the school staff never took her complaints seriously. She left the school when her bike tires were slashed.

If you or a loved one has been the victim of discrimination, please contact a South Carolina personal injury attorney at the Louthian Law Firm for a free consultation.

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The State newspaper reported on April 17, 2007 that Benedict College agreed late Sunday afternoon to settle a lawsuit brought by a professor concerning an academic policy. Former Benedict professor, Millwood Motley, sued the college in 2004 alleging that he had been fired because he had refused to implement the Success Equals Effort “SEE” policy. This policy’s grading system gave greater weight to effort and participation than to academic achievement.

Professor Motley alleged in his lawsuit that the president of Benedict College, David Swinton, had ordered him to utilize the system to make sure that a higher number of students would qualify for state and federal scholarship programs.

The terms of the settlement are confidential and both sides claimed victory.

If you or a loved one has been the victim of a wrongful termination in South Carolina call the Louthian Law Firm for a free consultation with a South Carolina wrongful termination attorney.

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The State newspaper reported on Thursday, April 12, 2007 that all charges have been dropped against 3 Duke Lacrosse players who were accused of sexually assaulting an exotic dancer.

Larry Pozner, a defense attorney and former president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers said “the landscape is littered with ruined reputations. Tell me who won. Certainly not the complaining witness. Not the school. Not the defendant. Not (District Attorney) Mike Nifong.”

North Carolina’s top prosecutor said the athletes were innocent victims of a “tragic rush to accuse” by an overreaching district attorney.

With legal bills estimated at more than $3 million, the families of the accused lacrosse players are considering civil lawsuits to recover their expenses and attempt to restore the reputations of the players.

If you or a loved one has been the victim of sexual harassment or sexual assault in South Carolina, please contact a South Carolina sexual harassment lawyer at the Louthian Law Firm for a free consultation

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For the last 18 months CNN correspondents Drew Griffin and Kathleen Johnston have been investigating mostly small, fender-bender accidents and how insurance companies are handling the claims made by individuals who are injured in these accidents.

The investigation focused in part on how Allstate Insurance Company handled the claim of Roxanne Martinez who was in an accident in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Her medical bills and lost wages as a result of the accident added up to $25,000. Allstate offered only $15,000 to settle the claim and Ms. Martinez didn’t know what to do. The CNN correspondents report that Ms. Martinez’ case represents what 10 of the top 12 automobile insurance companies are doing in an attempt to save money.

Former insurance industry insiders say that if you are in a minor impact crash and get hurt, the insurance companies will most likely do the same thing to you that they did to Ms. Martinez: delay the handling of the claim; deny that you were hurt; and then defend their decision in a long drawn out court battle. It is called the three D’s: delay, deny and defend.

Allstate and the other insurance companies are betting that you’ll take what they offer and walk away. The correspondents found actual language in the Allstate training manuals concerning how to offer “walk-away” settlements.

Shannon Kmatz, a former claims adjuster for Allstate, told CNN that sometimes she would offer as little as $50.00 to settle a case. She said that poor people would often take the low ball offers fearing that if they didn’t, they would end up with nothing.

Continue reading "INSURANCE COMPANIES FIGHTING LEGITIMATE CLAIMS" »

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“Personal Injury” is the broad term used to describe any type of physical or emotional injury that is caused to a person as the result of someone else’s negligence or carelessness. An individual can suffer a personal injury on the job, in a car accident, as a mistake during medical care or treatment or as a result of using a faulty or defective product. There are also many other ways an individual can suffer personal injury as a result of the negligence or carelessness of someone else.

If you suffer a personal injury in South Carolina due to the negligence or carelessness of someone else you need to contact a South Carolina personal injury lawyer right away.

Many individuals who are injured, particularly in automobile accidents, attempt to handle their insurance claims on their own, hoping that they will get a quick settlement. Unfortunately, not all insurance companies treat victims of personal injuries fairly. The obligations of the insurance companies are to their own policy holders and shareholders, not to people who have been injured.

A lawyer who is experienced in South Carolina personal injury law knows how the court system works, can deal effectively with the insurance company and make sure that you receive compensation you deserve due to your injuries.

Continue reading "Do I Need A Lawyer for my South Carolina Personal Injury Claim?" »

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