South Carolina Personal Injury Law Blog

Plaintiff’s Medical Malpractice Case Based on Failure to Diagnose Lung Cancer Should Have Gone to the Jury, According to South Carolina Court of Appeals

Published on: December 31, 2017 | by Patrick E. Knie

South Carolina medical malpractice cases can arise in a number of contexts, including not only obvious mistakes, such as leaving an instrument inside a patient’s body or surgically removing the wrong organ, but also more complicated situations, such as a failure to make a timely diagnosis of lung cancer.

While the physician may not have caused the underlying medical condition (such as cancer), if it can be said that his or her failure to make a diagnosis in accordance with the applicable standard of care caused ultimate harm to a patient, there is a possibility that a medical malpractice claim may lie against the doctor.

Of course, each case is fact-specific, and there must be competent evidence from expert witnesses – other doctors – to explain to the jury exactly what should have happened, what went wrong, and how the error ultimately affected the patient. Without expert testimony, most medical malpractice cases fail regardless of how seriously the patient was injured (or even if he or she passed away due to the alleged mistake).

South Carolina Court of Appeals Holds that Employer Had Notice of Workers’ Compensation Claim After Employee Fainted After Challenging Physical Work

Published on: December 31, 2017 | by Patrick E. Knie

Notice can be an important issue in a case involving injuries or wrongful death. While sometimes the simple act of filing a claim within the statute of limitations is all that is required, there are some kinds of cases in which other, earlier action is required.

South Carolina workers’ compensation cases, for example, require the giving of notice of an injury or accident to one’s employer within a certain time period. (Cases in which negligence is alleged against the government or a governmental employee may also have a formal notice requirement.) While it might seem like the issue of whether appropriate and timely notice was given in a particular case would be easy to resolve, this is not always so.

The Facts of the Case

South Carolina Court Appeals Court Dismisses Negligence/Outrage Claim Against Military College by Alleged Victim of Sexual Abuse

Published on: December 31, 2017 | by Patrick E. Knie

In a South Carolina personal injury case, the plaintiff must be able to prove negligence in order to recover damages. This requires proof of four distinct elements: duty of care, breach of duty, actual/proximate causation, and damages.

In negligence cases, the jury typically resolves factual issues, but the trial court judge has the task of resolving questions of law. Whether or not a defendant owed a duty of care in a particular situation is usually a legal question for the court to resolve. If the court finds that there was a duty of care owed to the defendant by the plaintiff, the issue of whether that duty was, in fact, breached falls to the jury in most cases.

Facts of the Case

Appellate Court Agrees With Workers’ Compensation Commission That South Carolina Man Was Employee, Not Independent Contractor

Published on: December 31, 2017 | by Patrick E. Knie

Spartanburg and Greenville workers’ compensation cases are sometimes met with much resistance from the employers of those who are injured, as well as from their insurance companies.

This is unfortunate because, very often, workers’ compensation is the injured worker’s only means of obtaining much-needed medical care and temporary disability benefits. Although it is wise to consult an attorney any time you are dealing with an insurance company, this is especially true in disputed workers’ compensation cases. Quality legal representation can make all of the difference.

Facts of the Case

South Carolina Appeals Court Affirms Judgment Against Employee in Workers’ Compensation Case

Published on: December 31, 2017 | by Patrick E. Knie

Those who have been hurt at work have certain legal rights, including the right to seek certain benefits like medical care and temporary disability payments from their employer (or the employer’s workers’ compensation insurance carrier).

Although the compensation available in a South Carolina workers’ compensation case is typically less than what the worker could have recovered in a traditional negligence claim, the trade-off is that the worker does not have to prove fault on the part of the employer. However, the worker does have to prove that he or she suffered a compensable injury in the course and scope of his or her employment. If the employer denies the claim, it may take months or even years for the case to be resolved.

Facts of the Case

South Carolina Supreme Court Says Mother Should Have Been Allowed to Amend Medical Malpractice Claim to Add Individual Claim for Child’s Medical Expenses

Published on: December 31, 2017 | by Patrick E. Knie

When someone is a victim of medical malpractice, he or she may incur substantial medical expenses because of his or her injuries. When the injured person is a minor child, it is usually the parent who bears the financial responsibility for those expenses. The state’s highest court entertained a South Carolina medical malpractice case earlier this month in which the issue was whether a minor had the right to sue for his or her medical expenses or whether only a parent had that right.

Facts of the Case

In a recent case under consideration by the South Carolina Supreme Court, the plaintiff was the mother of a minor child who allegedly suffered an injury during her birth in 2007. The mother, acting as the child’s next friend, brought two separate medical malpractice actions in York County, one in 2009 against the doctor and medical group and one in 2012 against the medical center. The lawsuits were consolidated.

Worker Was Entitled to Presumption of Total Disability, According to South Carolina Supreme Court

Published on: December 31, 2017 | by Patrick E. Knie

A difference of just 2% might not sound like much, but it can make a huge difference in deciding how much an injured worker will receive under South Carolina’s scheduled-member workers’ compensation statute.

This is because a worker who has suffered 50% of more loss of use of his or her back due to an on-the-job injury is presumed to be totally disabled, while a worker with only 48% loss of use of his or her back is presumed to be only partially disabled.

South Carolina Supreme Court Answers Certified Questions in Federal Product Liability Case Arising from Gas Tank Fire

Published on: December 31, 2017 | by Patrick E. Knie

Product liability claims can involve multiple theories of liability by the plaintiff – and also a variety of possible defenses by the manufacturer, wholesaler, or seller against which the plaintiff’s claims are made.

Recently, the state’s highest court was asked by a federal district court to answer certain certified questions of state law in a product liability lawsuit filed by a victim of a fiery crash in Greenville County, South Carolina, that occurred in November 2012.

South Carolina Supreme Court Refuses Non-Settling Defendants’ Attempt to Add Settling Party as a Third-Party Defendant in Car Crash Case

Published on: December 31, 2017 | by Patrick E. Knie

Suppose that three people are involved in an automobile accident, and the parties agree that one of the three was completely faultless with regard to the cause of the crash.

How should the issue of fault be resolved between the remaining two drivers? What if the innocent party settles his negligence claim with one of the drivers but not the other?

The state’s highest court was recently called upon to rule in a case involving such a situation.

Federal District Court in South Carolina Grants Summary Judgment in Favor of Store After Customer’s Slip and Fall

Published on: December 31, 2017 | by Patrick E. Knie

When members of the general public think about lawsuits in which a person has been injured or killed due to another party’s negligence (such as a South Carolina premises liability case), they may envision the case going to trial and a jury deciding whether the defendant was negligent and, if so, the amount of compensation to which the plaintiff is entitled.

However, not every plaintiff gets to have a jury decide his or her case. Often, the defendant in a personal injury or wrongful death case will file what’s known as a “motion for summary judgment.” In reviewing such a motion, the trial court judge is called upon to decide whether, in viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, there are genuine issues of material fact. Only if the answer is “yes” does the case proceed to a jury trial.

Facts of the Case