Video Transcript
I’m attorney David Hood and I’ve been practicing law across the state of South Carolina for over 30 years. My clients frequently ask me some questions that have to deal with traffic fatalities and how they happen in South Carolina. That’s what we’re going to cover right now.
South Carolina’s poor roads
First of all, our roads are in terrible condition. A report by the nonprofit Road Information Program found that 43% of the Palmetto States roads “are in poor or mediocre condition… and 8% of the state’s bridges are rated poor or structurally deficient.” Not surprisingly, the American Society of Civil Engineers found that South Carolina had the highest traffic fatality rate in the country.
Who’s at fault?
So, if someone has a loved one who is tragically killed in a car or truck accident, there may be another defendant who needs to be added to the lawsuit: the State of South Carolina. One may believe, logically, for instance, that if it was a one car accident, that it had to be the driver’s fault. But what if the road, bridge, or intersection had a history of traffic deaths? Then it becomes critical to quickly have a traffic engineer fully evaluate the accident scene to see if dangerous conditions were the cause of the accident. Time is important because wind & rain can make evidence disappear.
I hope this was helpful.
