Aug 26, 2012 | DUI & DWI, Uncategorized
According to a recent news article, SC law-enforcement officials plan a crackdown on drunk driving after a new study showing about 70 percent of South Carolina’s drunk-driving-related traffic fatalities involve at least one driver with blood alcohol levels nearly twice the legal limit. The S.C. Department of Public Safety and S.C. Highway Patrol held a news conference in Columbia to announce the beginning of “Sober or Slammer” program, which will try to significantly reduce drunk driving through increased DUI enforcement. This new program will run through the Labor Day weekend. Police are also expected to be much more visible in Fort Mill, Rock Hill, Lake Wylie, Tega Cay, Clover, Lancaster, and Columbia during the holiday.
The most recent research showed that about one person is killed each day in a DUI-related crash in South Carolina as more than 350 people were killed in the Palmetto State in 2010. More disturbingly, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released new data which showed that, nationally, traffic fatalities actually dropped 14 percent from 2006 to 2010 to 1,080. However, more than 340 of those deaths were caused by at least one driver with a blood-alcohol content of 0.08 or more. In South Carolina, more than 70 percent of the state’s drunk driving fatalities were caused by at least one driver with an alcohol level of 0.15 or more, more than twice the “legal limit.”
York County DUI Attorneys
This upcoming holiday weekend, the DUI attorneys at Reeves, Aiken & Hightower LLP wish you and your family a safe, restful break. Three day weekends are awesome. If you are stopped at a checkpoint or otherwise charged with a DUI or DUAC, call us to review your options. Don’t think you are guilty just because you are arrested. We can help. Compare our lawyers’ credentials against any other firm. Then, hire the best dui lawyer who you trust to fight for your case. Call us today for answers and alternatives to simply pleading guilty. 803-548-4444 or 877-374-5999 toll free.
Aug 25, 2012 | Car Accidents, Personal Injury, Uncategorized, Wrongful Death
Police have charged a local doctor after a crash killed one person in south Charlotte on May 31, 2012. Dr. Barry Davis, 35, was held and charged with misdemeanor death by motor vehicle. Dr. Davis is completing his residency at Carolinas Medical Center. The accident happened around 5:15 p.m. on Rea Road just north of Pineville-Matthews Road. According to police records, Dr. Davis was heading south on Rea when his vehicle crossed into the northbound lane, striking a Blue Max dump truck driven by 58-year-old Richard Gaddy. The impact of that collision caused the dump truck to cross the center line and crash head on with 47-year-old Edward Miller. Mr. Miller remained trapped in his car until paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene. Police also indicated that neither speed nor alcohol appeared to be factors in the accident.
Dr. Davis worked a 12 to 13 hour shift on the day of the crash. Officials said it’s unclear whether he fell asleep or not, but fatigue is probably a factor. “It would not be uncommon at all for a general surgery resident to work a 12 to 13 hour shift. That clearly would be within the guidelines,” said Dr. Mark Malangoni with the American Board of Surgery. How sad and ironic that a physician training to save lives has now ended one because of the demands of that very same training.
Charlotte Serious Accident and Wrongful Death Attorneys
If the unthinkable happens in your life, call the experienced wrongful death attorneys of Reeves, Aiken & Hightower LLP. Our seasoned litigators have over 75 years combined trial experience. Our team of personal injury attorneys include former insurance defense lawyers, a former Registered Nurse (RN), and former criminal prosecutor. We can investigate all aspects of a serious accident and hold all parties accountable for your loss. Call us today and speak directly with one of our lawyers at 704-499-9000 or 877-374-5999 toll free. We have offices in Charlotte and throughout South Carolina. We would be honored to have an opportunity to help you and your family get through this most difficult time in your lives.
Aug 25, 2012 | Uncategorized, Workers' Compensation
In order to win a denied workers’ compensation claim, the claimant must show the alleged injury arose out of and in course and scope of employment. This burden of proof usually requires the submission of medical evidence from a doctor or other health care provider relating the injury to the work accident. South Carolina law [Section 42-1-160(g)] defines “medical evidence” as “expert opinion or testimony stated to a reasonable degree of medical certainty, documents, records, or other material that is offered by a licensed health care provider.” For years, the use of a “check the box” questionnaire has been used by workers’ compensation claimants’ attorneys. The letter format is much less expensive than scheduling a doctor’s deposition, and treating physicians have become used to receiving these requests for virtually all of their workers’ compensation patients. However, as claims are increasingly being defended more aggressively by insurance companies, many are now starting to question their sufficiency as “medical evidence.”
Questionnaires are customarily used in claims where there is a dispute as to the causal relationship of an alleged injured body part; where there is a question of whether the claimant has reached maximum medical improvement; whether additional medical treatment is necessary; and/or where a prior medical opinion has been changed or even reversed. The questionnaires themselves typically consist of three or four short statements regarding the issue(s) in dispute and then provide “boxes” the option to check “yes” (to agree) or “no” (t0 disagree) with the question posed. However, the questionnaires almost never seek further elaboration from the health care provider of how the opinion was reached or what objective medical evidence was used to base the opinion offered. Hence, the dilemma. While the claimant has technically complied with the statute and produced an opinion from a health care provider, stated to a reasonable degree of medical certainty. However, there is no real foundation offered for a hearing Commissioner to consider the sufficiency of the opinion.
To date, the Commission has not issued any regulation nor given guidance on the use of these medical questionnaires. For now, the questionnaires remain admissible as “medical evidence” at a hearing. But, it appears that the sufficiency and probative value of “check the box” questionnaires will be the subject of defense challenge in the future. Better make sure your lawyer’s questionnaire is clear and shows a basis for the opinion being offered.
Robert J. Reeves of Reeves, Aiken & Hightower LLP has practiced workers’ compensation law for over 23 years. His first seven (7) years was as an insurance defense attorney. He has proudly represented injured workers and their families in York County since 1996. Prior to becoming a lawyer, he was a Registered Nurse (RN). Given his insurance defense and nursing background, Mr. Reeves understands and has successfully prosecuted all types of complex, serious injury claims. He stands ready to fight for you and your family during this difficult and scary time in your life. Call him directly today on his mobile phone 803-554-4157 for a private consultation about your particular circumstances.
Aug 24, 2012 | Car Accidents, Personal Injury, Uncategorized, Wrongful Death
Early Sunday morning, around 3:50 a.m., two people lost their lives due to a violent head-on car collision near the Horry County line.
The accident occurred in Marion County, where the County Coroner Jerry Richardson has pronounced both drivers have since deceased.
Mitchell Day, age 19 from Columbia, SC, was taken to Grand Strand Regional Medical Center immediately after the collision, but was unable to sustain life throughout the night. However, Ronald Frenchshaw Davis Jr. of Johnsonville, the other driver, died on impact when the two vehicles collided on Highway 378.
Day was reported to have been wearing a seat belt when her Suzuki SUV was travelling westward on Highway 378, and struck by Davis’ 1995 Crown Victoria, which was travelling eastward at the time of collision.
There has not been any fault assigned to either party yet, however the police are still conducting the investigation to determine which vehicle crossed over the center line.
Columbia Car Accident Attorneys
If you or a loved one have been injured or killed in any type of car accident in the Columbia area, you need an experienced accident attorney like those at Reeves, Aiken & Hightower to help you get the justice you deserve. Call us at 877-374-5999, or use this form, to speak with an attorney who can help you evaluate your claim and get you the best possible recovery.
Aug 22, 2012 | Brain Injury/Head Trauma, Car Accidents, Uncategorized, Wrongful Death
On August 16th, a car accident on Springfield Parkway ended in injuries for two victims, and traffic for the rest of the ordinary Fort Mill roadway drivers.
The accident occurred around 4:15 p.m., right near the intersection of Springfield Parkway and Merritt Road in Fort Mill, South Carolina. This particular stretch of roadway houses three separate Fort Mill schools in a three-mile span, increasing traffic delays for parents and teenagers a like, leaving school for the afternoon.
Two victims involved in the accident were airlifted to Carolinas Medical Center after the head-on collision occurred. One victim has sustained a leg injury, whereas the other victim has some head trauma injuries.
As of right now, the Fort Mill Police are not releasing any information as to what caused the accident, or if there have been any charges yet filed; however, they are actively investigating the accident and will be releasing an update as soon as it becomes available.
Fort Mil Car Accident Attorneys
If you or a loved one have been injured or killed in any type of car accident in the Fort Mill/Rock Hill area, you need an experienced accident attorney like those at Reeves, Aiken & Hightower to help you get the justice you deserve. Call us at 877-374-5999, or use this form, to speak with an attorney who can help you evaluate your claim and get you the best possible recovery.
Aug 22, 2012 | Boating Accidents, Personal Injury, Uncategorized, Wrongful Death
Force Majeure clauses ( or Acts of God Clauses) are used in contracts to prevent someone from suffering if an intervening cause interrupts the person’s performance of the contract.
However, how can one protect themselves from natural disasters in other manners, particularly; how would one deal with rescuing a double amputee during a horrific thunderstorm turned deadly.
Accordingly, a pontoon boat capsized on Lake Moultrie in South Carolina this past Sunday, claiming the life of a still unidentified person. There were 6 people who were thrown from the boat, but only one fatality has been confirmed. The other 5 victims swam safely to the nearest dam and hold on until the Rescue Team arrived.
Sadly, the unidentified person drowned while attempting to rescue a double amputee who was a passenger of the pontoon boat, and also thrown from the ship during the storm.
According to Senior Meteorologist Kristina Pydynowski, she had given the locals a warning as she announced that “damaging winds and downpours are the greatest dangers from the powerful thunderstorms targeting far southeastern Virginia and the eastern Carolinas.”
It is a tragedy that one person heard the warning, but still mounted the pontoon boat, only to later drown while attempting to rescue one who could not rescue themselves.
The South Carolina Boating Accident Attorneys of Reeves, Aiken, and Hightower, LLP.
If you have been injured as a result of any type of boating accident, you should contact the experienced attorneys at Reeves, Aiken & Hightower LLP., to help you obtain the justice you deserve.For more information about our firm, please visit www.rjrlaw.com or call us directly at 877-374-5999 for a private consultation.
