What happens if I can’t return to work?

A common question we get is “What happens if I cannot return to work due to my work injury.”  The fear of not being able to return to work is a real concern if you have been involved in a work related injury.  Often we counsel with people who have given their best years to an employer only to end up with a debilitating injury caused by their work.  Like any hard working individual, they are concerned with their ability to recover and get back to work as quickly as possible.  Unfortunately, many individuals suffer injuries so bad that they are no longer able to meet the work requirements of their job.  Sometimes these injured workers are ill informed that their injury is limited to a recovery solely based on the injured body part.  The insurance company, or its attorney, will try to hurriedly rush an injured worker into a settlement that neither represents the fully injured body part or takes into account their inability to return back to work.  Many injured workers will reluctantly accept a quick settlement only to find out they don’t have a job to be able to return to and can’t support their family.

Fortunately, the South Carolina Workers Compensation Laws provide a mechanism where injured workers can receive an award to address their inability to return to their job instead of just the injured body part.  To be eligible for wage loss the worker must be able to demonstrate they meet the necessary elements of a wage loss claim.  If left to handle these complicated issues by themselves, injured workers may end up without the benefit of the law, or worse miss the requirements to be eligible for wage loss recovery.  At the Goings Law Firm we routinely assist injured workers to determine if they may be eligible for a wage loss recovery.   To determine if you need help with a workers’ compensation injury contact Attorney and Workers’ Compensation Managing Partner Christian E. Boesl with the Goings Law Firm.  Let us help you get the medical treatment you deserve to back to work, or get the money you are entitled to receive if you are unable to return to your job.

Many of Our Clients Are Injured in the Worst Intersections in Columbia and Richland County by Reckless Drivers

The Most Dangerous Intersection in the entire State of South Carolina is located in Columbia.  A study performed by The State Newspaper in Columbia determined that the most intersection collisions in the entire state of South Carolina occurred in Columbia a I-20 and U.S. 176 (Columbia), with a total of 669 collision from 2011-2015.

In this study, the State Newspaper also analyzed the most dangerous intersections based on reports of collisions that occurred in Columbia and Richland County during 2016.  The data was obtained from incident investigated by the Columbia Police Department and S.C. Highway Patrol.

The State compiled the following list of intersections in Columbia and Richland County with the highest number of crashes:

INSIDE COLUMBIA CITY LIMITS

1. Assembly Street and Elmwood Avenue: 50 collisions, 10 with injuries

2. Taylor Street and Huger Street: 49 collisions, nine with injuries

3. Devine Street/Garners Ferry Road and Rosewood Drive: 45 collisions, 10 with injuries

4. Main Street and Elmwood Avenue: 38 collisions, four with injuries, one fatal

5. Gervais Street and Huger Street: 37 collisions, nine with injuries

JUST OUTSIDE COLUMBIA IN RICHLAND COUNTY

1. I-20 and Broad River Road: 142 collisions, 26 with injuries

2. I-20 and I-26: 84 collisions, 15 with injuries

3. I-26 and Broad River Road: 78 collisions, nine with injuries

4. Killian Road and I-77: 75 collisions, 10 with injuries

5. Two Notch Road and Sparkleberry Lane: 64 collisions, eight with injuries

The Highways in South Carolina are Among the Most Dangerous in the Nation

Wall Street 24/7 has released its latest study of United States Roadways, ranking the safest and most unsafe by state.   In ranking the safest and most dangerous states to drive in the United States, data of roadway fatalities from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the Federal Highway Administration was reviewed.  The state with the safest roads was Rhode Island.  The state with the most unsafe road was Mississippi.  Surprisingly, 9 of the 10 safest states were in the Northeast.  Six of the top ten worst regionally fall in the Southeast with South Carolina coming in this year’s survey as the 3rd worst state for roadway safety.  As the number 3 dangerous state, South Carolina has the following statistics:

South Carolina  (#3 most dangerous roads in America)

Road deaths per 100,000: 20.5

2016 roadway fatalities: 1,015 (13th most)

Seat belt use: 94%

Deadliest holiday in 2016: Martin Luther King’s Birthday (16 fatal crashes)

Fatal crashes on rural roads: 60%

If you or a loved one have been injured or suffered death as as result of a collision in South Carolina, you need to hire an honest, aggressive, and experienced attorney that can help you get the compensation that you deserve.  You need a Real Lawyer, with Real Results.  Contact the Goings Law Firm today at 803-350-9230 to see how we can help you.

We find that car collision are often caused by drivers who are breaking the speed limit or driving too fast for conditions.  Unfortunately, there are a lot of car accidents in Columbia, South Carolina, and a new study may explain why–  Columbia drivers are heavy-footed Speeders!

A new study ranks drivers in Columbia, South Carolina as among the fastest drivers in the United States.  Columbia ranked 6th in the top 25, with drivers who break the speed limit.  Charleston ranked 9th and Greenville, SC ranked 11th in the study.  The study was published by QuoteWizard, an online insurance comparison website.  QuoteWizard analyzed self-reported data from users on driving infractions, which includes speeding tickets. These rankings are based on over one million data points on speeding infractions from 2017. Cities ranked ‘speediest’ have the highest rate of speeding tickets per driver.  A more detailed look at the study can be found here:  more detailed looks at the fastest specific markets is available here: https://quotewizard.com/news/posts/fastest-driving-cities-2018

From faster to slower, these are the top 25 fastest driving cities in the US:

The National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries Prove that Hiring a Workers Compensation Attorney Is Important

Fatalities and serious workplace injuries are on a rise in the United States.  Year after year, workplace deaths are increasing South Carolina.  If a loved one has died at work, or you have suffered a serious on the job injury, it is important to hire an experienced workers’ compensation attorney so that you are fully protected under the laws of South Carolina.  Without an attorney, the insurance company can take advantage of you and quickly deny benefits that the law affords you for medical treatment, pay while not at work, and disability payments for permanent injuries or death.  The insurance company has a team of lawyers, so should you!

Based on the current National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries published by the U.S. Department of Labor Statistics, there were a total of 5,190 fatal work injuries recorded in the United States in 2016, a 7-percent increase from the 4,836 fatal injuries reported in 2015, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See chart 1.) This is the third consecutive increase in annual workplace fatalities and the first time more than 5,000 fatalities have been recorded by the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) since 2008. The fatal injury rate increased to 3.6 per 100,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers from 3.4 in 2015, the highest rate since 2010.  https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/cfoi.pdf

Work injuries involving transportation incidents remained the most common fatal event in 2016, accounting for 40 percent (2,083). Violence and other injuries by persons or animals increased 23 percent to become the second-most common fatal event in 2016. Two other events with large changes were exposure to harmful substances or environments, which rose 22 percent, and fires and explosions, which declined 27 percent.