South Carolina personal injury and wrongful death settlements provide money compensation for two basic things. The legal term for this money is “damages.” There are two types of damages: actual damages and punitive damages.
Actual damages cover two broad categories:
- Economic damages. This compensation is for things that can be fixed or helped, like medical bills for healing treatment. The law calls these economic damages because it's easy to put a dollar value on them.
- Non-economic damages. This money makes up for what cannot be fixed or helped, like pain from an injury or a family suffering from the wrongful death of a loved one. The law calls these non-economic damages because it's much harder to put a dollar value on them.
PRO TIP: There's no personal injury or wrongful death settlement calculator. This is where an experienced South Carolina nursing home abuse attorney can make a huge difference in your case. Our job is to help figure out the right value that should be paid, keeping your loved one from being cheated out of a proper settlement by the facility’s overbearing insurance company.
Punitive damages in South Carolina are designed to punish reckless conduct, deter others from acting similarly, and vindicate the rights of the victim. Proving punitive damages requires a tougher legal standard than proving actual damages. As a result, punitive damages are hard to get, but it can be done.
Because most cases center around actual damages, this is the focus here. I'll show you what you might qualify for in a settlement for a South Carolina nursing home or assisted living facility neglect case.
Exactly what you get the money for and who it gets paid to depends on the type of case. A case involving non-fatal injuries grants a settlement directly to the victim. Wrongful death settlements are paid to qualifying members of the victim’s family.
Let's take a closer look at how this works in each type of case. Before we do that, you need to understand one critical fact about South Carolina nursing home abuse cases: they are hard-fought and extremely complicated.
- The facility will not admit fault.
- The facility will not take your case seriously unless- and usually until-it knows you will hold them accountable in a lawsuit.
- Legally, South Carolina nursing home and assisted living facility neglect cases are handled by courts the same way as medical malpractice cases. To win, you've got to have a qualified expert to prove the nursing home or assisted living facility violated a safety rule that caused the injury.
The bottom line is you can't win this case without professional help. Get started with a free, no-pressure strategy session with a Spartanburg, SC nursing home and assisted living facility neglect attorney. Call toll-free at 888-230-1841 or fill out a Get Help Now form.
Injury Settlement Money in South Carolina Nursing Home and Assisted Living Facility Neglect Cases
Elderly residents who get hurt in South Carolina nursing homes and assisted living facilities from neglect or abuse can qualify for a settlement covering several major categories of harm and loss.
Economic damages in these cases usually involve the medical bills incurred because of the injury.
Non-economic damages a victim could qualify for include:
- Pain, discomfort, and suffering. This includes compensation for the physical pain your loved one experienced because of the neglect or abuse. The amount depends on the severity of the suffering and how long it lasted.
- Loss of enjoyment of life. Nursing home residents deserve to live with dignity and respect. When abuse or neglect robs them of that right, it can be grounds for compensation. Loss of quality of life covers the loss of what the victim loved about their life that the injury took from them.
- Permanent injury. Injuries like hip fractures can cause dreadful permanent consequences, leaving a relatively mobile resident dependent on a walker or completely bedridden.
- Physical disability. Your loved one can be compensated for anything in life that became harder or impossible as a result of the neglect or abuse.
- Mental disability. If a resident suffers a brain injury or a decline in mental functioning as a result of an injury, she can be compensated for that.
- Disfigurement or permanent scarring. This can include the ugly scars caused by bed sores or surgery.
- Emotional trauma, mental anguish, and embarrassment. Abuse and neglect can cause psychological trauma, anxiety, depression, and fear. If your loved one suffered emotional distress due to the conduct of the facility, it can be included as a form of non-economic damages.
I call these categories of damages "human loss" because the settlements compensate for the harm to the victim as a person. They are often the biggest part of the case. To obtain the best opportunity at a full settlement for these hard-to-value amounts, you need a trained professional who's skilled in telling the story of who your loved one is and how it affected them. That's exactly what a skilled South Carolina nursing home abuse attorney can do for you.
And we can't forget this. The victim's spouse can recover damages for harm to their marriage caused by the injury.
If you're unsure how to calculate a settlement for a South Carolina nursing home injury, call me toll-free at 888-230-1841.
Sadly, injuries caused by nursing home and assisted living facility neglect or abuse, like bed sores and hip fractures, can lead to wrongful death.
Wrongful Death Settlement Money in South Carolina Nursing Home and Assisted Living Facility Neglect Cases
If your mom, dad, or loved one sadly passes away from injuries at a facility, South Carolina law provides two types of cases to compensate for the loss:
- A wrongful death case to compensate certain closely related family members.
- A “survival action” to compensate the victim’s estate for the victim’s harm and loss from the injuries before they passed away.
The case is brought by the personal representative of the victim’s estate, appointed by the probate court.
Wrongful death damages include money for emotional trauma and the loss of your beloved family member’s companionship. These are non-economic damages, meaning they are hard to value. The nature of this case generates powerful emotional distress, which keeps you from thinking clearly. You need an experienced South Carolina nursing home neglect and wrongful death lawyer who can help you put your loss into words to get a fair settlement.
If my team does nothing else, we will listen to your story and help you work through it with compassion and assurance. Even if you're not ready to take legal action, get some guidance. Call me toll-free at 888-230-1841 or fill out a Get Help Now form.
Survival action damages include compensation for the victim’s conscious pain and suffering, plus medical bills incurred as a result of the injury leading to them passing away. These damages get paid to the victim’s estate, meaning they go through probate.
PRO TIP: An experienced South Carolina wrongful death attorney can help you strategize the best way to divide the settlement for wrongful death and survival to avoid tying up the money in probate.
Proving Damages in South Carolina Nursing Home Abuse Cases
To successfully recover a fair settlement in a South Carolina nursing home or assisted living facility injury or death case, you need the right evidence presented the right way. This may include:
- Medical records and bills
- Testimony from health care providers who treated your loved one for their injuries.
- Witness statements and testimony, including critical ones from family members who can attest to poor treatment at the facility and the impact of the injuries on the victim.
- Documentation of the facility’s practices and behavior
- Proof the facility violated safety rules causing the injury, which is where your expert witness comes in
- Photos or videos showing injuries or neglect
Hiring a skilled attorney is essential in these cases. It's our job to help you prove your case to get a fair settlement for your loved one or their family. We help gather evidence, figure out a fair settlement amount, and protect your loved one’s rights.
The Facility Failed Your Loved One -Don't Let It Happen Again
You entrusted a South Carolina nursing home or assisted living facility with the life and care of your mom, dad, or other beloved relative. In response, the facility did little or nothing to protect them. Don't expect anything different when you seek justice from them without professional legal help. They are professionals, and you are an amateur. They will not deal with you unless you appear with someone who can level the field.
You need an experienced South Carolina nursing home and assisted living neglect and abuse attorney. The sooner you act, the better. Believe me, the wagons begin to circle at the facility as soon as the injury is reported. Critical evidence can disappear. Administrators gather staff quickly so they can “get their story together.” The insurance company might be notified, which could trigger the facility to contact their lawyer before you ever think about it.
Nobody wants to call a lawyer, but sometimes, you have no choice. This is one of those times. If your loved one suffered serious injury or even death that you suspect happened because of neglect or abuse at a South Carolina nursing home or assisted living facility, do the hard thing for them.
Call me toll-free at 888-230-1841. My team and I strive to make it easy on you. Not convinced? Check out these Google reviews from actual clients that I don't write, edit, or pay for.
