Personal Injury & Accident Attorneys in Columbia, South Carolina

Louthian Law Firm, P.A.

The Marlboro Building, Suite 300
1116 Blanding Street
Columbia, South Carolina 29201
USA

(803) 454-1200 or (866) 454-1200

www.louthianlaw.com

Contact Bert Louthian

Law Firm Overview Free Consultation

At Louthian Law Firm, P.A., our South Carolina Personal Injury lawyers has been helping accident victims obtain fair compensation for their injuries since 1959. Our firm provides each of our clients with individual attention. At the Louthian Law Firm, our clients' needs come first. If you or someone you care about was hurt or killed in a personal injury accident, we can help.

When you have the Louthian Law Firm representing you, you will have an experienced personal injury legal team working with you during the entire process. It won't cost you anything to discuss your injury case with us. If we handle your case, our fee will be a set percentage of any money we obtain for you. We are happy to meet with you at your home or in the hospital, if that is what you need.

The Louthian Law Firm's main focus is on helping injured people. We do not represent banks or insurance companies. We work for injured people, not big companies. Our South Carolina personal injury practice areas include car accidents, motorcycle injuries, serious and catastrophic personal injury and medical malpractice. We also represent individuals in elder abuse / nursing home negligence, employment matters, including sexual harassment, breach of contract, sex, race, age and disability discrimination, social security disability, FLSA, FMLA, ERISA and WARN statute claims. There may be a charge for consultations in employment law cases.

Languages: Spanish; English

Practice Areas

Additional Practice Areas: Breach of Contract; FMLA & WARN Statute Claims; ATV Injuries; Automobile Defects; Bausch & Lomb Renu Lens Solution; Benzene Injury; Distracted Driving Accidents; Drunk Driving Accidents; Hit and Run; Machinery Accidents; Natural Resource Damage; Predatory Lending; Prescription Drug Injury; Drowning Accidents; Tire Defect Accidents; Toyota Acceleration Accidents; USERRA Lawsuit

Practice Areas Description

The Louthian Law Firm, P.A. practices in the following areas of law:

- Automobile Accidents

Car wrecks are many drivers’ worst nightmares, and with good reason: They’re the leading killer of Americans between the ages of 3 and 33, and a leading cause of traumatic brain injuries. South Carolina law gives you the right to hold that person legally responsible for the injuries he or she caused. You can ask a court for compensation for your medical bills, repair bills, missed work and any other financial costs that the accident caused; as well as for pain and suffering, permanent disability and other non-economic losses. If you’ve been in an accident, it’s important to make sure that you understand your legal rights. South Carolina law on car wrecks is complex, and the statute of limitations for filing a claim can be short. You should consider speaking to the Louthian Law Firm as soon as you think you may need a South Carolina car accident lawyer.

- Airplane Accidents

Statistics show that airplanes are one of our safest modes of transportation, responsible for far fewer accidents than cars and trucks. But when aircraft do get into accidents, they can be much more devastating, affecting hundreds of victims and their loved ones at once. With no warning, a loved one is taken away forever, without a chance to say goodbye -- and often, because of someone else’s negligence. Whether the aircraft was a commercial airliner, a private aircraft or even military and emergency response equipment, victims of an aviation accident have the right to hold the careless people who caused the crash responsible for their actions. Unfortunately, pilot error is still the leading cause of plane crashes. However, problems with the design and maintenance of the aircraft; bad judgment about weather safety; and defective parts may all cause an airplane accident as well. Because aviation accident cases are so complex, it’s important to make sure you’re represented throughout any official investigation by an experienced aviation accident attorney like the ones at the Louthian Law Firm.

- Bicycle Accidents

Bicyclists are a minority on South Carolina roads, but a vulnerable one. Like motorcyclists, they don't have the advantage of seat belts, air bags and a cage of reinforced steel to keep them safe in a collision. Unlike motorcyclists, they must stay on the sides of roads, where they're harder for motorists to see, impossible to hear and vulnerable to driveways, and at risk for opening car doors and the debris and water that collects at curbs. And helmets are not required in South Carolina for cyclists over the age of 20, which means adult bicyclists are often exposed to death or disabling brain damage from traumatic brain injuries, which often result when a careless motorist hits a bicyclist.

- Boating Accidents

With a beautiful coast that attracts industry and tourists from around the United States, South Carolina may end up with more than its share of boating accidents. Inattention, intoxication or ignoring the rules of the sea can turn a relaxing and fun day on the water into a nightmare. The most common type of boating accident was a collision, but the most fatal type of accident was capsizing or falling overboard, which caused 59% of the boating deaths. The most dangerous types of boats were open motorboats, personal watercraft (such as a Jet Ski) and cabin motorboats. The Coast Guard reports that the top ten factors that contribute to boating accidents are: Recklessness or carelessness; Inattention; Speeding; Inexperience; Behavior of passengers or skiers; Alcohol; Hazardous waters; No lookout; Machinery failure; Weather.

- Hit and Run Accidents

A hit-and-run can be one of the most devastating types of car wrecks. In addition to the catastrophic physical injuries an accident can cause, victims are often left with a sense of betrayal by the irresponsible driver who refused to stop. The federal National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says hit-and-runs make up more than 10% of all accidents -- and they've gone up by 15% since 2000. The agency has also found that vulnerable pedestrians are disproportionately the victims of hit-and-runs; such crashes cause a fifth of all pedestrian deaths. Research shows that chronic drunk drivers, uninsured drivers, undocumented immigrants who don't qualify for a driver's license and drivers who have had their licenses revoked are all strongly associated with hit-and-runs.

- Motorcycle Crashes

Bikers are some of the most vulnerable travelers on South Carolina roads. Traveling without a cage of steel around them, they may feel liberated, but they’re also at risk for serious injuries in the event of a crash. Sometimes, this extreme vulnerability is worsened by drivers’ prejudice or hostility toward bikers; drivers also often report “not seeing” motorcycles that are right in front of them. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that in 2004, per miles traveled, bikers were 34 times more likely to die in a crash than drivers of cars or trucks, and eight times more likely to be injured. Motorcycle crashes are also going up nationwide, according to the NHTSA; between 1997 and 2006, the agency projects a staggering 125% increase in the number of motorcycle fatalities.

- Pedestrian Accidents

Without seat belts, air bags, helmets or other means of protection, pedestrians are some of the most vulnerable travelers on our roads. And in our car-centered culture, many drivers of cars and trucks simply don't look for or don't notice pedestrians; many are unaware of or simply ignore local laws requiring them to yield to pedestrians trying to cross a street. That can mean serious injuries or death for the pedestrian. If you or someone you love has been involved in a pedestrian accident, you should speak to the knowledgeable pedestrian accident attorneys at the Louthian Law Firm as soon as possible.

- Railroad Accidents

Railroads contribute to some collisions with inadequate warning about approaching trains; poor maintenance of existing warnings; poor maintenance of their trains, tracks and other equipment; and overloading cargo. Railway accidents can also be caused by mechanical failures due to defective parts or bad decisions by those in charge of the trains. Some of our nation's older tracks may not be able to handle the speed and design of modern trains. While the most common type of train accident is an accident at a place where the tracks meet a street, trains may also derail, collide with one another or spill their cargo, some of which is hazardous. Railroad employees who are injured on the job are covered by the Federal Employees Liability Act, a substitute for workers' compensation that requires an injured railway employee to prove that his or her employer was negligent before recovering money. Others who are injured by a train accident have all the same rights under South Carolina personal injury law that other injured private citizens have. In both cases, you may be able to collect compensation for medical bills, living expenses, pain and suffering, mental anguish and other costs caused by the train accident.

- Truck Wrecks

Anyone who’s driven past an 18-wheeler, big rig, tractor-trailer or other large truck on a busy highway knows they could be dangerous in the wrong hands. Personal cars, trucks and SUVs are engineered to withstand a crash with other private vehicles -- not with a large truck, which can be up to 20 times their size. When trucks collide with smaller vehicles, they bring all of that extra weight to bear on the vehicles -- and, inevitably, on the people in them. Regardless of who caused the accident, the occupants of the car are almost always killed or seriously injured. Studies by the federal Department of Transportation show that while trucks make up three percent of the vehicles on American roads, they were involved in 12 percent of fatal accidents in 2005.

- Yamaha Rhino ATV Injuries and Deaths

The Yamaha Rhino ATV is a popular off-road vehicle, with approximately 120,000 of the model 450 and model 560 having been distributed nationwide since 2003. Unfortunately, the Rhino has a history of accidents which have caused both serious injury and death. Many of the accidents involve rollovers, even at low speeds, due to the narrow, top heavy design of the vehicle. Despite the fact that Yamaha has issued several recalls and free fixes over the years, the Rhino is still in use by consumers. The South Carolina vehicle injury attorneys of the Louthian Law Firm can help you today if you have been injured in an accident involving a Yamaha Rhino ATV. We have proudly represented the rights of accident victims in South Carolina since 1959.

- Workers’ Compensation

Nobody likes workplace injuries -- not the employer, not insurance companies and certainly not the injured worker. But when a worker is injured on the job, employees and their bosses sometimes find that they disagree over what to do next. Because workplace injuries can be a politically charged subject, communication between the injured person and his or her supervisor can be strained. A worker who is afraid of retribution may hesitate to report an injury, file a workers’ compensation claim or contact authorities to report an unhealthy situation. However, South Carolina and federal laws are generous in their protection of workers who sustain or report on-the-job injuries.

- Defective Products

When we buy something, we assume that it wouldn’t be offered for sale if it weren’t safe to use. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. Every year, thousands of Americans are injured by unsafe consumer products such as defective children’s toys, unsafe household items, contaminated food and many others. Manufacturers have a legal duty not to offer us unsafe products without warning. When they fail in that duty and someone is seriously injured or killed, we have the right to hold them legally and financially responsible for those injuries.

- Wrongful Death

A "wrongful death" is a death caused by the carelessness (negligence) or misconduct of another person or organization -- including failure to act to avert a death. A wrongful death could be caused by a car wreck; a workplace accident; a defective toy or other consumer product; or medical malpractice, among other causes. Like all of our states, South Carolina has passed laws defining a wrongful death and allowing the survivors to seek compensation for their loved one's death from the people or organizations whose carelessness contributed to the death.

- Burn Injury

Almost everyone has suffered a minor burn injury during the routine activities of life -- cooking, drinking coffee, working on the lawn on a hot day. But for thousands of Americans each year, burns are more than just minor annoyances -- many are serious, life-threatening injuries. Another common cause of burn injuries in South Carolina is car wrecks and truck accidents. In a crash, some cars and trucks catch fire, often due to defects in their design or manufacture. When they do, they have a large, conveniently located source of fuel to keep them burning -- the gas tank. Again, occupants of the vehicle must get out quickly in order avoiding serious burns and other injuries. Other sources of burn injuries include work-related accidents, chemical burns, exploding boilers or water heaters, extreme cold, electric shock, gas explosions and radiation.

- Medical Malpractice

Medical malpractice is essentially when health care professionals make a mistake that harms a patient they’re supposed to help. Legally, malpractice occurs when a doctor, nurse or other medical caregiver fails to care for a patient according to the accepted standards of care within the medical profession. This failure causes a new injury or illness to the patient, or aggravates an existing one. Common types of medical malpractice include: Delay or outright failure in diagnosing a time-sensitive or serious disease; Failure to treat a disease correctly; Botched surgeries and incorrect doses of anesthesia; Failure to care for a pregnant woman and her baby properly, leading to birth injuries; Prescribing a drug that’s wrong for the patient’s medical condition, existing drug regimen or body chemistry; Unnecessary surgery (often Cesarean sections, hysterectomies or non-elective circumcisions); Not giving patients complete information (informed consent) that may change their minds about whether to undergo a procedure.

- Brain Injury

A brain injury occurs when there is physical damage to the tissue and blood vessels of the brain. At least 1.5 million Americans sustain traumatic brain injuries each year. More than 50,000 of these traumatic brain injuries are fatal, and approximately 80,000 leave the individual with lifelong disabilities. Traumatic brain injuries are the leading cause of death and disability in persons under the age of 44. The leading cause of traumatic brain injury is transportation-related accidents (car crashes, bicycle accidents, motorcycle wrecks, pedestrian accidents and truck wrecks). Other events that can lead to traumatic brain injuries are sport accidents, falls, misuse of firearms, domestic and elder abuse. Please see the Brain Injury Association of America and the National Center for Brain Injury Prevention and Control websites for more information.

- Slip-and-fall Accidents

A slip-and-fall, or premises liability, case happens when unsafe conditions cause an unsuspecting person to fall and get hurt. Slip-and-fall lawsuits are often trivialized in the media, but in fact, they can cause very serious and completely preventable injuries. A slip-and-fall accident can occur in a business, a private home, on government property, or even on public streets. Common causes of slip-and-fall accidents include: Wet, slippery or otherwise hazardous floors; Inadequate lighting that conceals hazards; Failure to clear snow and ice; Hidden or hard-to-see holes and drops; Defective flooring; Hidden drop offs; Improperly secured floor or door mats.

- Birth Injuries

Birth injuries, also known as birth trauma, are injuries that a brand-new baby sustains during pregnancy and delivery. Some will go away in the baby’s first year of life; others are lifelong afflictions that could require significant ongoing medical care. Experts estimate that about seven out of every 1,000 babies born in the United States sustain some type of birth trauma. Common injuries babies could sustain during delivery include: brachial plexus injuries, especially Erb’s palsy; cerebral palsy; other types of brain damage due to oxygen deprivation; bruising, bleeding and swelling of the baby’s head (caput succedaneum and cephalohematoma); bruising, facial paralysis and other injuries from forceps; broken bones, especially collarbones; broken blood vessels in the eyes (subconjunctival hemorrhage).

- Construction Accidents

Building something new can be very satisfying work. Unfortunately, it’s also one of the deadliest civilian jobs in the United States, with the nation’s third-highest rate of fatalities, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. Common types of construction accidents include: Falls from a ladder or roof; Welding accidents; Collapsing structures and cave-ins; Electric shock; Fires and explosions; Collision with heavy machinery; Exposure to dangerous chemicals; inadequate warnings of dangerous conditions.

- Serious Scarring

Scars are tough, fibrous skin that grows over normal skin after any injury to the deep tissues of the body. Scarring takes place because although skin can repair itself, it cannot return itself to its original unblemished condition. All injuries, except very minor ones, produce some sort of scarring. Many scars are small and minor, and do not significantly affect a patient's appearance. However, other scars have long-term physical consequences that restrict their movement and ability to function normally. And those with injuries to the face, injuries that cover significant percentages of their skin or very serious injuries may end up with permanent, disfiguring scars that can change the way they live their lives.

- Store Accidents

Most people can go shopping without injury; it's one of the most common routines of modern life. But accidents (often slip and fall accidents) do happen at grocery stores, chain retailers, malls and other stores. Causes of store accidents include: Slippery floors; Icy walkways; poorly stacked merchandise; Crowding; Bad behavior by employees or other patrons; insufficient lighting; unexpected holes in the floor; Construction-related incidents.

- Swimming Pool Accidents

Inadequate supervision is one of the most common causes of accidental drowning. The CDC found that 70% of fatalities take place in natural "swimming holes" or the ocean, whereas 75% of non-fatal injuries took place at pools, which are more likely to have lifeguards or adult supervision. Even when authorities are present, not all of them enforce safety measures like life jackets as well as they should. Safety problems that could contribute to a serious drowning accident include: Safety equipment is absent, defective or poorly installed; No adult supervision of children; Alcohol abuse; No warnings about risks; Markings showing depth of a pool are illegible or absent; No fencing or alarm system preventing children from wandering into the pool area.

- Machinery Accidents

Workers in any field that uses heavy machinery -- construction, warehousing, manufacturing and many more -- are at risk for serious accidents with that machinery. The federal government estimates that three million U.S. workers are at risk for machinery accidents when they clean, maintain, repair or unjam equipment. State and federal laws require employers to maintain safe and hazard-free workplaces. Employers must provide safety equipment, ensure that machinery is working correctly, clear the work site of hazards and make and enforce safety procedures and rules. When machinery is being serviced, workers should follow lockout / tagout procedures that help avoid preventable, horrifying accidents. Certain machinery should only be used by workers over 18, or workers with special credentials. Unfortunately, not all employers are willing to follow those laws when they can save money by ignoring them. If workers are seriously injured as a result, they have the right to hold the employer legally liable for their injuries.

- Unsafe Toys

Five thousand new toys are placed on the market each year. While most of these are safe, some are not; the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reports that 150,000 families visit emergency rooms annually because of a toy-related injury, and that choking is the leading cause of toy-related death. Like all manufacturers, toy manufacturers have an obligation to make sure that their products are safe to use and warn consumers of potential hazards. Toy manufacturers must also follow special toy-industry laws designed to stop toy injuries. For example, manufacturers should include labels on packaging showing what age group the toy is appropriate for, which helps adults avoid buying age-inappropriate toys that could hurt a small child. Manufacturers must also warn toy buyers about potential choking, poisoning or other hazards. And on toys meant to be used without adult supervision, labels should be understandable by children in the appropriate age group.

- Dog Bites

Humans think of dogs as harmless, even loyal, companions. And frequently, they are. But even a dog that has always been friendly before may attack viciously and without warning. Some dogs are also trained to attack and then poorly supervised by negligent owners. As a result, 47 million Americans seek treatment for dog bites each year; 6,000 are admitted to hospitals and about 17 die. And sadly, the vast majority of these preventable deaths are the deaths of children and the elderly. Dog bite victims who live often live with fractures, permanent nerve damage, disfiguring scarring, infections and illnesses, even amputations.

- Prescription Drug Injury

Prescription drugs make many people's lives better -- and for some people, they make life possible. But with the flood of new drugs to market over the past decade and the FDA's 1997 decision to allow drugs to be marketed directly to consumers, prescription drug use is rising rapidly. Because prescription drugs are so profitable, they are often raced to market without the independent testing needed to ensure that they are safe. Prescription drug injuries can be very serious. Not only can they affect the deepest and most vital parts of the human body, but in many cases, medical professionals may not realize that a patient's illness was caused by a drug, causing them to lose precious treatment time. If you or someone you care about was seriously injured by a prescription drug, you should speak with a South Carolina pharmaceutical litigation attorney at the Louthian Law Firm as soon as possible.

- Consumer Protection

Consumer protection is a catchall term for the area of the law that makes it illegal to take advantage of a buyer, through lies, trickery, implied threats or other immoral and illegal practices. Situations that could fall under the category of consumer protection include: Defective products; Identity theft; unnecessary services (such as auto shop scams); false charities; Predatory lending; "Snake oil" -- medicines or supplements that don't work as advertised; Investment or work-from-home scams.

- Natural Resource Damage

The natural world is beautiful and irreplaceable. Just as importantly, it's where we live; contamination of our water, soil and air has a direct effect on human health. And natural resource damage law touches on the rights of Native Americans, as well as national and state parks and other public resources. Cases seeking to stop pollution or irreversible harm to the natural world for any of these reasons are natural resource damage lawsuits.

- Benzene Injury

Benzene is an industrial chemical once used as a gasoline additive and now often used to make plastics, nylon, rubber, dyes and other common household materials. It has fallen out of use in some industries because scientists now realize that benzene is a carcinogen; it causes a rare type of bone cancer, acute myeloid leukemia (also known as acute myelogenous leukemia), as well as more common types of leukemia. Benzene has also been associated with anemia, immune deficiency and infertility in women. Though exposure to large amounts of benzene does sicken victims, the health effects of benzene are often worse in people who have been repeatedly exposed to small amounts over a long period of time. In some cases, a benzene-related illness can show up a decade or more after the exposure.

- Predatory Lending

Predatory lending is a blanket term for the practice of forcing or tricking people into taking out very bad loans. The term includes a wide range of practices used by unscrupulous lenders; examples could be loans with an interest rate of 500%, repeated, unnecessary refinancing or lending to someone who the lender knows cannot afford the payments. The companies and people behind these types of loans often get consumers to agree to them through unscrupulous tactics like bullying, manipulation, intimidation. Common targets include the elderly, particularly people who are isolated or infirm; people with bad credit or very short credit records; the poor; non-native speakers of English; and anyone who does not understand how aboveboard lending should work. These practices are illegal under federal and state laws.

- Food Poisoning

While most people with food poisoning improve within a few days, a few will develop deadly complications that can cause death or serious injuries. These people are most likely to be the very young, the elderly or people with medical conditions that make it harder to fight off infections (such as AIDS or lupus). However, healthy adults exposed to a very high level of bacteria or other poison may also fall gravely ill. Serious and deadly complications from food poisoning include: Severe dehydration from vomiting and diarrhea, which can lead to death if the victim is not hospitalized; Reiter's syndrome, a complication from salmonella poisoning that causes chronic joint pain, eye irritation and painful urination; Hemolytic uremic syndrome, a complication of e.coli whose victims develop temporary anemia, profuse bleeding and permanent kidney failure; Botulism, which paralyzes the muscles, causing blurred or double vision, slurred speech, trouble swallowing, weakness, paralysis of the arms and legs and, eventually, death.

- USERRA Lawsuit

When our nation is fighting a war, most Americans rally around the troops -- the men and women who serve in the armed forces. Unfortunately, not all of our troops can count on unconditional support from their civilian employers. For financial reasons or out of prejudice, a few employers each year fire, demote or otherwise penalize employees who are called away by an obligation to serve in the armed forces. Fortunately, federal law protects the troops from this type of firing with a law called the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA), which requires employers to reemploy workers called away for up to five years of military service; preserve an employee’s benefits while he or she is gone; preserves his or her seniority; and requires employers to reasonably accommodate a disabled veteran. Employees can file a claim for violations of USERRA through the government or through the courts.

- Social Security Claims

Disability is the most commonly denied Social Security program; statistics show that fully 60% of disability claims are initially denied, often for procedural or technical reasons. You are eligible for Social Security disability payments if: You cannot work because of a medical condition that will last for a year or more, or a condition expected to cause death, and have worked long enough, including recent work. The work requirements depend on your age; You are the spouse of somebody who is disabled, and you are over 62, or are any age if you’re caring for a child under 16 or with a disability; You are the child of a disabled person and you are under 18, under 19 if you’re still in high school, or any age if you are disabled; You are a divorced spouse of a disabled person and meet certain criteria.

- Elder Abuse

Elder abuse is a horrifying breach of the trust an older adult and his or her loved ones put in a caregiver. The National Center on Elder Abuse estimates that between one and two million adults over the age of 65 have been abused, neglected or exploited in some way by a caregiver. Frighteningly, the same study suggested that only one out of every six incidents is reported, perhaps reflecting the helplessness of some abused elders. And despite many people's prejudices, nearly 90 percent of elder abuses take place in a private home, not a nursing home. Only about 35 percent of abusers are not relatives.

- Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment is legally defined as unwelcome sexual advances in the workplace that affect an employee’s ability to do his or her job. Despite what many people may think, harassment is not always committed by a man against a woman; it may be committed by a woman against a man, or between two people of the same gender. It also does not have to be committed by a supervisor against an employee; the harasser could be a co-worker, a supervisor without direct authority over a victim, or sometimes even a non-employee.