Jun 27, 2012 | DUI & DWI, Uncategorized
Yesterday, 3 years after the accident, Jabari Harding, a 30-year old Army staff sergeant, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for killing two college girls, in Columbia.
He was drinking when it happened. What might have been just a DUI or a tragic traffic accident became reckless homicide.
It happened in August 2009 at the corner of Gervais and Harden Street. Harding’s blood alcohol concentration was 0.08% as he was leaving a bar, and his truck crashed into another car killing two college girls, ages 20 and 18.
The 10 year sentence was part of the second plea deal worked out for Harding. In the first plea agreement, the sentence was 7 years, but a judge rejected 7 years as too lenient for two counts of reckless homicide.
DUI Lawyer
If you have been charged with any drunk driving offense, it is important to retain a lawyer as soon as possible to protect your freedom. The experienced DUI lawyers at Reeves, Aiken & Hightower are ready to fight for you. Browse our website, and compare our credentials with those of attorneys at any other firm. Then, call us at 877-374-5999 or contact us at this link for a private consultation.
Jun 27, 2012 | Car Accidents, Uncategorized
This year to date, York County fails to rank amongst the most fatal roads in South Carolina.
The most fatal 7 counties are:
- Lexington County – 32
- Greenville County – 26
- Spartanburg County- 25
- Charleston County – 23
- Richland County – 23
- Anderson County – 20
- Horry County – 19
Most of the fatalities, at least in Lexington County, had alcohol as their root cause. Drunk driving is obviously dangerous and is on the rise during these trying economic times.
Other contributing factors commonly cited by officials are:
- failure to wear seatbelts
- failure to wear helmets (on motorcycles)
Serious Accident Attorneys
Whether you or someone you love has been injured on a motorcycle, in a commercial trucking accident, or in an auto accident, the attorneys at Reeves, Aiken & Hightower are here for you. Compare our credentials to any other firm, then call us at 877-374-5999 (or contact us at this link) for a private consultation.
Jun 26, 2012 | Uncategorized, Workers' Compensation
A lot of people who find themselves hurt on the job are surprised to find that they are entitled only to a set recovery based on the type of their injury. They find themselves wondering why they are not entitled to damages based on pain and suffering and why they are not able to argue that they are entitled to greater compensation.
The unsatisfying answer is mainly historical accident. The law in regard to injury developed before industrialization and factories. People rarely got seriously injured and when they did it was usually at their own hand. When the law that developed in that environment was applied to workers getting injured in factories and working on the railroads, invariably the worker was unable to win a lawsuit against their employer for some reason or another, whether because of contributory negligence or assumption of risk or some other doctrine. The worker who was enriching their employer by working for him was left out in the cold to fend for him or herself after being injured on the job.
Clearly this was unjust.
The state legislatures stepped in to create employer liability for the first time. Obviously, employers were well represented before the legislatures and workers, maybe not so much. The laws largely passed based on this compromise: workers get compensation without regard to fault, but that compensation is severely limited. Today that means no pain and suffering and mere fraction of what a recovery would be in a negligence action.
Still, workers compensation assures a remedy for those actually injured on the job. Proving the actually injured on the job bit is often the hard party and it is where especially clever lawyers can especially help.
Workers Compensation Lawyers
The SC workers compensation lawyers at Reeves, Aiken, & Hightower know the South Carolina worker’s compensation system and are ready to get you the recovery you deserve. Browse our website, examine our credentials, and compare us to any other firm. Then call us at 877-374-5999 or contact us at this link for a private consultation.
Jun 26, 2012 | Products, Uncategorized
Products are typically recalled when manufacturers recognize that they have realized they have released products to the public that are likely to injure members of the public. When you have been injured by such products, you are very likely entitled to relief from the product’s manufacturer. Below are products that have recently been recalled.
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Jun 26, 2012 | Brain Injury/Head Trauma, Uncategorized
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) doesn’t cause as many fatalities as some other forms of traumatic injury, but it does cause affect brain function for a lifetime. Not to mention the cumulative cost of a lifetime of more expensive medical treatment.
Now though, research shows that an existing diabetes drug can be used to keep the effects of traumatic brain injury (TBI) from worsening. This is certainly good news for sufferers of traumatic brain injury (TBI) accidents. The drug is already approved for treatment of diabetes. Although it was originally designed to keep diabetes in check, and although it is effective in that role, it has already been found affect at protecting the brain against the ravages of certain brain disorders, like Alzheimer’s.
As always though, there is more research to be done. Although this drug is effective in theory, to bring it into full effectiveness against the results of traumatic brain injury (TBI) accidents, its dosage and combination with other drugs will have to be worked out.
Traumatic Brain Injury Attorneys
If you think you or someone you know have suffered a brain injury, seek medical help immediately. Then seek the counsel of experienced brain injury attorneys like those at Reeves, Aiken, & Hightower. We know how to fight for you and your family in serious brain injury cases. Compare our credentials to any other law firm. Then call 877-374-5999 or contact us at this link for a private consultation. Don’t worry. We are here for you.
For more information about this drug research click here.
Jun 26, 2012 | Trucking/Tractor-Trailer Accidents, Uncategorized
One problem in trucking accident cases is that semis are capable of doing far more damage than the truck driver (sometimes the only obvious negligent party) can afford to compensate, either from their own savings or from their personal insurance. A good negligence claim is no guarantee of an actual monetary recovery. A negligent party must actually have the resources to compensate the plaintiff. The trucking line or carrier, unlike the trucker him or herself, is likely to have the means, or at least the insurance, to compensate the victims of trucking accidents. So, a plaintiff’s lawyer will most often need to find a theory of liability for the trucking line.
The most obvious theory is the same theory that would allow a shopper at Walmart to sue the Walmart corporation for the actions of one of their local Walmart employee’s actions: Respondeat Superior. That Latin phrase simply refers to the legal doctrine of holding “masters” (employers) responsible for the negligence of their “servants” (employees). If the truck driver in the accident was actually an employee or the trucking line or carrier exercised sufficient control over the trucker, the carrier or line will be liable for the driver’s negligence in the accident.
Often though, carriers will try to avoid this liability by distancing themselves from the truckers who would traditionally be their employees, by making the truckers independent contractors. In order for this to work, the carrier will have had to separate themselves enough that plaintiffs would be unable to prove that the driver was actually an employee. In these independent trucker cases, negligence of the truck driver will not be enough to hold the carrier liable for the plaintiff’s damages in a truck accident.
The plaintiff’s lawyer will have to prove negligence of the carrier itself. There are a number of theories under which trucking lines will be held liable for the plaintiff’s damages; most though will flow from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations. These regulations require the carrier to keep watch over the truckers they contract with to ensure that the carriers who are profiting off of their pseudo-employees are not shirking the liability that should come with those profits.
Serious Truck Accident Attorneys
If you or someone you know has been injured in an accident involving a commercial truck, you should contact an experienced trucking accident attorney like those at Reeves, Aiken, & Hightower. We know how to fight for you. Compare our credentials to any other law firm. Then call 877-374-5999 or contact us at this link for a private consultation at no cost to you.
