Articles Posted in Auto & Car Accidents

Because the Louthian Law Firm has handled South Carolina auto accident cases for nearly 50 years, unfortunately we’ve seen firsthand that younger drivers are more likely to make bad decisions out of inexperience. That’s why we were pleased to see that the South Carolina legislature is considering a bill that would require defensive driving courses for teens. Right now, South Carolina teens can get a conditional license at age 15 and a provisional one at 16, but they must pass a driver education course, pass a test and log at least 40 hours behind the wheel. The new law would require that they pass a defensive driving course as well, after Dec. 31 of this year.

If you’ve ever looked into car and truck accident statistics, you may know that younger drivers almost always have a higher rate of accidents than older ones. That’s why auto insurance rates are more expensive for younger drivers, and may explain why most car rental companies choose not to rent to drivers under age 25. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the federal agency that tracks traffic deaths and injuries nationwide, drivers ages 15 to 20 were 6.3% of all licensed drivers in 2005, but accounted for 13.2% of fatal crashes in 2006.

Continue reading

A state department of transportation road maintenance foreman died after being hit by a pickup truck while on the job, according to an AP wire report. Standra Jones of Gaston , South Carolina died of multiple injuries at 6:21am at Lexington Medical Center following the truck accident according to authorities. Jones was standing on the side of the road supervising a crew that cleaned concrete safety barriers overnight when he was struck.

Jones was hit by a vehicle driven by Robert Cunningham of Gaston, state troopers said. Authorities said it was unclear why Cunningham’s 1992 Chevrolet pickup ran off the right side of the highway as it headed west, colliding with a state truck and then Jones. Jones is one of 3 agency workers to die in the last 5 years while engaged in road maintenance.

While this tragic case is an example of the worst type of South Carolina workplace injury, one-time accidents aren’t the only type of on-the-job injuries. Many employees in offices, factories or other indoor workplaces find themselves with repetitive stress injuries, which can be just as devastating as accident injuries. Mental health issues directly caused by work may also qualify as injuries to be compensated under the law. Those who work with or around dangerous chemicals — whether they know it or not — are also at risk for diseases caused by occupational exposure to toxins. Employers who are careless about using, storing or disposing of substances that threaten human health can cause serious, even life-threatening, health problems to their employees. They are also breaking federal and state laws. They can and should be taken to court to stop this illegal behavior and compensate the victims of their wrongdoing.

Continue reading

Owners of rollover-prone Ford Explorers scored a major victory Nov. 28 when Ford Motor Co. agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit brought by consumers. About a million people in Texas, Illinois, Connecticut and California had alleged that their SUVs were prone to roll over, which hurt their value because of the actual or perceived danger. They sued Ford for false advertising, claiming the company knew Explorers had an unsafe tendency to roll over when they advertised them as safe family vehicles.

The settlement allows owners of the millions of suspect Explorers, which are model years 1991 to 2001, to apply for a $500 voucher for a new Explorer, or a $300 voucher toward another Ford or Lincoln Mercury product. Ford must also disclose the Explorer’s safety problems and limit its claims that the vehicle is safe. The settlement resolves all of the false advertising litigation aimed at Ford Explorers and their original defective Bridgestone/Firestone tires. However, many other claims have been filed by people who’ve been seriously injured or lost a loved one in an actual Ford Explorer rollover accident. Those lawsuits continue.

In both types of claim, the trouble stems from design defects in the SUVs and in their tires. By now, it’s well known that some SUVs, including the Ford Explorer, are unreasonably likely to tip over because of their high centers of gravity. That problem was compounded by the Explorer’s using Bridgestone/Firestone tires, which were likely to fall apart in a way that experts call tire tread separation. The tire’s first layer of rubber literally peels off in a tire tread separation, exposing the steel belting underneath. Sudden separations can cause tire blowouts or loss of driver control — quickly leading to a deadly accident, especially when the blowout happens at high speeds. This combination of defective tires and defective vehicle affected millions of vehicles throughout the 1990s, causing at least 250 deaths and hundreds more injuries, according to the Associated Press.

More teens die each year in the U.S. from automobile crashes than any other cause, a group said Tuesday, and the national rate doubles among S.C. teens.

The South Carolina National Safety council said it wants Alive at 25, a defensive driving survival course for young drivers 16 to 24, to become available in all S.C. high schools. The program, which began at Dutch Fork High in April after three students were killed in car accidents, is available in less than a dozen schools. It is a 4.5-hour course taught by off-duty sheriff’s deputies and police officers, designed to help young drivers make better decisions behind the wheel.

Last year 315 young drivers were killed on S.C. roads, according to the safety council.

If you commute for any substantial amount of time on South Carolina roads, you see it on a daily basis; the remnants of dangerous, sometimes deadly, automobile accidents on the shoulders of our highways. Emergency vehicles treating the injured, highway patrol officers directing traffic and clearing the roads of the wrecked automobiles. Whether the accidents involve trucks, motorcycles, or pedestrians the result of these collisions is almost always serious injury and in the worst cases, death. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration gathers information regarding traffic accidents for all states, and makes that data available to all citizens through their webpage. The numbers are in for South Carolina, and they paint an unfortunate picture.

Over 1,000 people died on South Carolina roads in 2006 and some of the trends of those fatalities are detailed in the table below:

Alcohol Related Crashes
By far, the single factor that results in most fatal South Carolina automobile accidents is drivers that are impaired by alcohol. Of the 1,037 drivers who died in car accidents in 2006, 523 of them (50%) were considered “alcohol related” crashes. The fact that half the fatal road crashes on South Carolina highways have alcohol to blame as the cause is, for lack of a better term, sobering.

South Carolina has strict laws regarding driving after drinking alcohol and all drivers throughout the State must abide by them. In South Carolina the rights of victims of drunk driving accidents are also taken very seriously. Victims always have the right to financial and criminal legal actions after an accident. All victims of drunk driving accidents and their families should seek legal assistance to aid them in their case. A South Carolina drunk driving accident lawyer can help the family recover significant damages and help ensure that the driver does not harm anyone else.

Speeding Involved Crashes
Another factor in fatal car accidents in South Carolina is speeding. 412 (40%) of the total 1,037 auto accident fatalities in South Carolina involved speeding vehicles. This number is slightly higher then the national average of 32%. Speeding reduces the reaction time drivers need to avoid obstacles, which increases the likelihood of crashing and the severity of accidents. Statistics show that 40% of all high-speed collisions occur at curves, twice the rate of non-speeding fatalities that occur on a curve (20%). Speed also increases the distance needed to stop a vehicle and drivers in speeding autos may not be able to judge distances as well which puts other drivers and pedestrians at greater risk.

If you’ve been in an accident, it’s important to make sure that you understand your legal rights. South Carolina laws on car wrecks are complex, and the statute of limitations for filing a claim can be relatively short. You should consider speaking to the Louthian Law Firm as soon as you think you may need a South Carolina car wreck lawyer. We have protected the rights of accident victims and other injured South Carolinians since 1959, and we’re committed to providing personalized service to you while aggressively going after wrongdoers. And because we know how financially devastating an accident can be, we never charge you a dime until your case is won. For a free evaluation of your case, call us today at 1-866-410-5656.

A bus driver was killed and 30 of his passengers were injured when his tour bus drove off a South Carolina highway into some trees on early Monday morning. The bus accident happened on a rural stretch of highway and no other vehicles were involved. The tour bus was traveling from St. Stephen to Miami for a cruise, according to an Associated Press report.

George William Thomas, 58, veered off Interstate 26 at around 1 a.m. after he suffered a brain aneurysm, according to Dorchester County officials. He died from injuries related to the crash near Ridgeville, about 25 miles northwest of Charleston, South Carolina. The 30 passengers on the bus mostly suffered minor injuries.

South Carolina Bus accidents can be some of the most serious and often tragic vehicle accidents on our highways. City buses and interstate buses are required to abide by several important safety regulations. Drivers must not drive over a certain amount of hours in a 24 hour period, they must be properly trained and licensed, and they must travel at slower speed limits than other drivers.

A pedestrian was struck and killed Wednesday morning off Monticello Road in Richland County.

Michael D. Stevenson, 48, of Margate Street, died on the scene about 6:30 a.m. of multiple trauma, said Richland County Coroner Gary Watts.

The incident happened on Blue Ridge Terrace off Monticello, said S.C. Highway Patrol spokesman Lance Cpl. Josef Robinson. William Austin, 56, was traveling east in a 1989 Dodge van when he hit Stevenson, who also was walking east in the roadway, Robinson said.

Two men died in Charleston, South Carolina on Friday when their SUV blew a tire and plunged off the Don Holt Bridge, according to an Associated Press Report published October 3rd.

Castillo Izaquirre, 31 and Pineda Cardenas, 21 both died from trauma resulting from the 90 foot fall. A Coast Guard spokesman indicated that the two men of Mexican descent, were driving a Ford Explorer at 11:00am when the accident occurred.

Continue reading

A 20-year-old Cayce woman who was a passenger in a car died early Wednesday in a collision in the 1700 block of Two Notch Road, according to a news release from the Lexington County coroner’s office.

Ashley Crumpton, 20, was pronounced dead at the scene of the 6:30 a.m. accident, the release said.

She was in a Nissan Maxima that was traveling west, crossed the center line and struck a van, the release said.