Car accidents can be painful in many ways, especially for your wallet. Even if you’re not at fault and doing everything right, one moment of a stranger’s negligent driving is all it can take to cause an expensive accident that you may have to pay for.
Medical costs, lost productivity, car repairs, and more can all put your purse in pain, but there are also many other costs you might not have thought about, all of which add dollar signs to the total you may have to pay to get your life back after an accident.
What’s worse is that if you try to get the at-fault driver’s insurance to cover your damages, some insurers may try to use your words and actions against you to reduce your payout to zero. Fortunately, an experienced car accident lawyer or personal injury lawyer can help you seek full compensation when you’ve been injured in a car accident – and counter the insurance company’s tactics.
In this article, I will discuss the high economic cost of car accidents in South Carolina and the potential costs you may have to pay if you’ve been injured by another on the road.
Contact us online or at 1-866-900-7078 today if you’ve been in a car accident for a free evaluation of how much your case might be worth.
What Is the Total Financial Cost of Car Accidents for Individuals?
Some of the most common costs you may face after being in a car accident include:
- Medical costs, present and future
- Lost productivity, or the inability to work and earn a wage
- Repairs to your vehicle’s damage
In addition, there are several other costs you may incur that you might not have thought about or be aware of, including:
- Towing and storage of your damaged car
- Car rental fees
- Increased car insurance rates (even if the crash wasn’t your fault, your rates will likely go up)
- Decreased car value
- Destroyed property within your car, or aftermarket parts not covered by insurance
- Disrupted vacation plans including nonrefundable plane tickets and hotel charges
- Living space modifications if you’ve become disabled
- Travel to resolve the accident if it happened far from your home
- And other expenses
The National Safety Council estimated in 2021 that the average cost to individuals in car accidents, depending on the severity of the accident, was:
- Death – $1,778,000
- Disability – $155,000
- Injury, but not disabling – $40,000
- Possible injury – $24,000
- No injury – $6,700
- Property damage only – $5,700
According to the “South Carolina Traffic Collision Fact Book,” there were 147,724 total collisions in S.C. in 2021, of which:
- 1,112 were fatal
- 2,392 led to serious injury
- 34,068 led to other injury, or no injury
- 110,152 led to property damage only
In all, car accidents cost South Carolinians nearly $5.6 billion in 2021.
What Is the Economic Impact of Car Crashes on Society?
In addition to how much you as an individual might have to pay if someone causes you to be in a car accident, there’s another level of costs as well. Crashes, even a simple fender-bender, can add to the economic impact of car crashes on South Carolina residents in the following ways:
- Increased insurance rates in the marketplace
- Traffic congestion that slows the transfer of goods, services, and people throughout the state
- Overburdening of first responders and medical professionals, leading to greater overtime costs and higher employee turnover costs
- Overcrowding of hospitals and medical facilities, increasing healthcare costs
- Damaged roadway infrastructure requiring significant costs to repair and maintain
- Reduced property values, tourism, and business in areas that are prone to wrecks
- Increased taxes to cover costs to state and local municipalities
- Environmental costs of cleaning up hazardous materials that can harm the environment, such as oil and gasoline
How Can a Car Accident Lawyer Help You After a Wreck?
If you’re facing the costs of a car accident and you don’t know how you’ll cover them, a car accident lawyer can help.
Some of the things a lawyer can do for you after you’ve been in an accident include:
- Evaluate the potential value of your case based on the total costs of the damages you may have suffered
- Search for multiple insurance policies that may apply, possibly increasing your overall compensation
- Push back against insurance company tactics to delay or reduce your potential compensation
- Interview witnesses, collect evidence, and put together your claim to try and maximize your total compensation
- Use their knowledge and experience to increase the likelihood that you’ll receive a larger payout than you would’ve otherwise
Remember that the deadline for filing a car accident claim in South Carolina is generally three years after the accident. That may sound like a long time, but it really isn’t in the context of a personal injury claim – that’s why it’s a good idea to reach out to a lawyer as soon as possible after your car accident.
Why Choose James Scott Farrin Different as Your Car Accident Lawyers?
We are committed to fighting for those who’ve been injured and who are going up against powerful forces like the insurance company. Most insurers make more by paying less for claims! But we put you first. Always.
But don’t take our word for it:
Contact us online or by calling 1-866-900-7078 today if you’ve been a car accident, and see how much your case may really be worth.
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