Auto Accident Lawyers Can Help
An untimely death is always a difficult thing for surviving family members to deal with. When your loved one’s death was caused by another driver’s negligence in an auto accident, the grieving and reconciliation process is even harder.
In addition to the emotional toll, there are also economic hardships that result from a wrongful death in a vehicle accident. There are not only medical bills and funeral costs, but also economic losses caused by the death of a relative.
In order to help ease this financial burden, South Carolina law allows certain surviving family members to bring a wrongful death action against the negligent motorist. While no sum of money can replace a lost loved one, a wrongful death lawsuit can help the family achieve closure and obtain the funds they need to get on with their lives.
Joye Law Firm’s Wrongful Death Lawyers Have Experience
If your close relative was killed in a car crash because another driver was negligent, the wrongful death vehicle accident attorneys at Joye Law Firm can help. You can count on our lawyers and staff to fight for your rights while treating you with the compassion, respect and care you deserve.
Just Call Joye and get our wrongful death accident attorneys working for you. Since 1968, we have helped bereaved families like yours recover not just the money they are entitled to, but also their lives. We can help you too. Just Call Joye. You can reach us at (888) 324-3100 or fill out an online form for a free case review.
Joye Law Firm’s wrongful death by vehicle accident attorneys serve clients in Charleston, North Charleston, Mount Pleasant, Goose Creek, Moncks Corner and Summerville. We are also ready to take on your case anywhere in South Carolina.
Put Our Experience To Work For You
The proven vehicle accident attorneys at Joye Law Firm are committed to our clients. With more than 110 years of combined experience litigating cases, several of the South Carolina wrongful death attorneys at Joye Law Firm have received an AV rating from the prestigious Martindale-Hubbell law firm rating service, and several of our attorneys have been recognized as Super Lawyers.
Our wrongful death accident attorneys are proud of our record of securing positive outcomes for our clients. While every case is different, and past results in no way guarantee that similar outcomes can be reached in future matters, past results obtained by a law firm show the depth of the firm’s experience when it comes to wrongful death cases. Our law firm has obtained numerous settlements in excess of $1 million for the family members of persons killed in automobile accidents due to someone else’s fault. For more details about the results obtained for previous Joye Law Firm clients, please click on the Results tab on our home page.
About Wrongful Death By Vehicle Accident Lawsuits
S.C. Code Ann. § 15-51-10 establishes South Carolina’s wrongful death action. In order to recover under a wrongful death claim, the person’s death must have been “caused by the wrongful act, neglect or default of another.” An additional requirement is that the deceased person would have been able to recover damages from the negligent party if the deceased person had survived.
Any type of fatal vehicle accident can be the subject of a wrongful death action, including auto accidents, pedestrian accidents, trucking accidents, motorcycle accidents and bicycle accidents.
The deceased’s spouse and children are allowed to bring a wrongful death action under the state statute, and the deceased’s parents may sue if the deceased left no spouse or children. The wrongful death action will be for the benefit of the deceased’s heirs if there were no spouse, children or parents. In any event, the wrongful death action must be brought by or in the name of the executor or the administrator of the deceased’s estate.
If damages are recovered in the wrongful death action, they must be divided among the spouse, children, parents and heirs in the same shares that the individuals would have been entitled to if the deceased had died without a will and the recovery had been part of the personal assets of the estate.
Damages Under A Wrongful Death Vehicle Accident Suit
The damages that are available in a wrongful death action are somewhat different from what the deceased could have collected in a personal injury lawsuit if he or she had not been killed in the vehicle accident. Wrongful death actions generally allow the survivors to recover the damages that they incurred as a result of the deceased’s accidental death, including:
- Medical bills for the deceased’s treatment;
- Funeral and burial costs;
- Loss of financial support and benefits;
- Loss of household services;
- Loss of companionship, love and guidance;
- Pain and suffering; and
- Punitive damages in exceptional situations where the defendant was reckless, willful or malicious in causing the death.
Contact Our Wrongful Death Vehicle Accident Lawyers Today
If you’ve lost a loved one in a vehicle accident in South Carolina that was caused by someone else’s negligence, you can trust our dedicated wrongful death attorneys to get you the money and benefits you and your family deserve. Just Call Joye! Let the proven wrongful death attorneys at Joye Law Firm help you. Call us at (888) 324-3100 or fill out an online consultation form.
