A car accident can leave you with painful injuries that require costly medical care. You will also face insurers who work to minimize what they owe or deny your claim entirely. They will shift blame or exploit legal loopholes to reduce their financial responsibility.
In South Carolina, the legal stakes for auto claims are high. If you’re assigned 51% or more of the fault, you cannot recover compensation. Insurers know this and often try to shift blame to you or spread fault among multiple parties to limit what they have to pay.
Auger & Auger Accident and Injury Lawyers know how insurers operate, and we’re ready to fight back. Our car accident lawyers in North Myrtle Beach protect accident victims from insurer blame-shifting and fault disputes. We identify all applicable liability policies and respond with evidence when insurers try to give you the run-around.
Our North Myrtle Beach personal injury lawyers handle every part of your case, and with the A&A Zero Fee Guarantee™, you pay nothing unless we win. Contact us today to get started with a free initial consultation.
What Our North Myrtle Beach Lawyers Do to Protect Your Car Accident Claim
Insurance companies frequently use South Carolina’s modified comparative negligence laws and other liability rules to shift blame and reduce what they have to pay.
Our team of North Myrtle Beach car accident attorneys protects your claim from these tactics by providing our clients with the following:
- Experience that counts: Since 1995, we’ve fought for accident victims across South Carolina, recovering over $100 million and earning a 99.5% success rate in the cases we’ve taken on. We have handled cases involving large trucking companies, rideshare drivers, or government vehicles, where blame is heavily contested.
- Counterarguments for insurer blame-shifting tactics: Insurers often argue that you acted negligently or try to point to third parties, like road construction crews, mechanical failures, or even government agencies, to further dispute liability. We anticipate these arguments and investigate every applicable source of liability coverage to seek as much compensation as possible under the law.
- Legal strategies designed to protect you: We handle every part of your claim and communicate with insurers, so they have no room to misinterpret facts or pressure you into taking a lowball settlement. We may even work with accident reconstruction specialists to protect your claim.
- A client-first approach: As a family-run firm, Auger & Auger takes pride in being accessible and supportive. We know how confusing a personal injury claim or lawsuit can be, so we take the legal stress off your shoulders and keep you informed every step of the way. Your recovery is our priority.
Insurance companies often have teams of defense attorneys on their side. Our lawyers meet them head-on and advocate for your best interests and meaningful recovery.
Insurance Companies Work to Shift Fault and Dispute Liability in Multi-Vehicle Crashes
Insurance companies will try to reduce or deny payouts by spreading blame among everyone when multiple parties are involved in a crash. Even when you are not primarily responsible for the collision, insurers use shared responsibility arguments to justify lower settlement offers.
South Carolina’s updated Tort Reform and Liquor Liability Act (Act 42) means that if your crash occurred on or after January 1, 2026, a liable party that bears 50% or more at fault is jointly and severally liable for the full amount of an indivisible loss.
Insurers also try to add nonparties to the verdict form to push their insured’s percentage below 50%. Insurance companies know that if their policyholder is assigned 50% or more of the fault, they could be responsible for paying all of the damages regardless of other parties’ involvement.
Insurers will shift as much fault as they can onto you or third parties by arguing that you drove negligently or that faulty road conditions, poor signage, or work zones contributed to the collision. By reducing the share of fault assigned to their client, they deflect liability and shrink their financial exposure.
What We Do About It
Our North Myrtle Beach car crash attorneys know how to counter these blame-shifting strategies to protect your claim. We take the following actions to build a trial-ready case:
- Building a compelling claim: We investigate the accident independently to pinpoint exactly how it occurred, using police reports, crash data, and weather or road condition reports.
- Gathering supplemental evidence: We may secure data from accident reconstruction specialists to provide a clear picture of fault.
- Challenging liability manipulation: When insurers try to offload blame onto you or external factors, we dismantle their arguments with thorough legal and evidentiary analysis, ensuring their policyholder’s full share of responsibility is accounted for under joint and several liability laws.
- Identifying all compensation sources: Even when multiple parties are involved, we identify all potential coverage, whether from commercial policies, government entities, or secondary coverage like uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) policies, to pursue the compensation you need.
Commercial operators, large insurers, or municipalities will try to evade responsibility by twisting updated liability laws. We respond by positioning your case for fair financial recovery. Every legal move we make is so that you’re not left holding the financial burden of an accident caused by someone else.
How Our North Myrtle Beach Car Accident Attorneys Protect You From Lowball Settlement Offers
Even after proving you meet the legal requirements to recover compensation under modified comparative negligence laws, insurers will send quick, lowball settlement offers before you have the chance to understand the true value of your claim. These offers may seem tempting, but they rarely, if ever, reflect the extent of your damages.
Insurers will downplay the seriousness of your injuries before your doctors have time to understand the ongoing medical complications they may cause. Accepting a lowball offer risks you being unable to afford future medical treatments, physical therapy, or lost wages from long-term recovery.
When you sign a settlement agreement, you legally forfeit the right to pursue further compensation, even if new injuries develop or the cost of treatment escalates.
How Our Car Accident Lawyers in North Myrtle Beach Level the Playing Field
Our firm ensures that you’re never pressured into accepting less than what your case is worth. We take the following steps to protect your claim:
- Calculating the value of your damages: We assess your medical records, consult additional medical experts to determine ongoing care needs, and evaluate the full financial and personal impact of your injuries.
- Countering insurers’ arguments: When insurers try to justify their low offers, our North Myrtle Beach attorneys refute their determination of fault with solid evidence, including specialist testimony and detailed documentation that reflects your losses accurately.
- Negotiating with your best interests in mind: Whether through skilled negotiation or legal action, we fight to secure fair compensation.
- Taking it to court if necessary: If insurers refuse to offer a fair amount, we have no hesitation in bringing your case to trial. We prepare your claim for this route from the very beginning, even if it means sending preservation letters and subpoenaing evidence.
You don’t have to face unfair settlement tactics alone. Our car accident attorneys in North Myrtle Beach are in your corner from the beginning of the claims process.
How Delay Tactics Risk Your Right to Recover Anything
Insurance companies will drag out settlement discussions, which can have serious consequences for your ability to recover compensation. South Carolina law imposes a strict statute of limitations on personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits.
According to S.C. Code Ann. § 15-3-530, you typically have three years from the date of the accident to file a personal injury lawsuit. For wrongful death cases, the three-year clock begins on the date of the victim’s death. If you fail to file within this time frame, you permanently lose your right to recover any compensation.
At our firm, we act quickly to protect your right to compensation. Here’s how we counter insurer delay tactics:
- Investigating promptly: We secure time-sensitive evidence like surveillance footage and eyewitness testimony as soon as possible. Waiting too long risks losing this valuable information.
- Keeping the case on track: We handle all communication with the insurer and push back against unnecessary stalling tactics, ensuring your case progresses efficiently.
- Filing on time: While the statute of limitations provides a three-year window, waiting until the deadline approaches risks losing critical momentum or making costly procedural errors. We prepare your claim for trial well before the need to file, well within legal time limits, giving insurers no chance to argue that it’s invalid.
Building Your Case Without Upfront Costs Under Our A&A Zero Fee Guarantee™
You may be hesitating to pursue legal action out of concern about the cost of hiring an attorney. That’s exactly what insurance companies rely on, and they expect you to delay because of financial uncertainty.
Our A&A Zero Fee Guarantee™ eliminates this concern. Here’s how our contingency fee arrangement benefits our clients:
- You pay no upfront costs: We start investigating and handling your claim at no financial risk to you. Whether it’s gathering evidence, hiring an accident reconstruction specialist, or analyzing insurance policies, we cover the costs upfront.
- You pay no attorney fees unless we win: You owe us nothing unless we recover compensation on your behalf. You can take action now without worrying about how to pay legal fees.
The statute of limitations does not pause while we build your case or negotiate a settlement, so starting as soon as possible puts you in the best position to protect yourself.
How Insurers Use Your Statements Against You in Car Accident Claims
Insurers use claimants’ own words and documents to undermine their cases by:
- Taking statements out of context: When insurers request a recorded statement, they look for opportunities to twist your words or use your description of the accident against you to argue that you were more at fault than you really were.
- Fishing for inconsistencies: They look for even minor discrepancies between your forms, statements, and evidence to suggest you are exaggerating or fabricating claims. For example, they may compare the timing of your medical treatment with your injury report to argue that your injuries aren’t related to the accident.
- Using broad medical releases: Insurers often ask claimants to sign broad medical authorizations that allow access to their entire medical history. They will comb through your records looking for pre-existing conditions or unrelated incidents to use as a basis for reducing your settlement.
- Creating delays: Requiring excess paperwork distracts you, delays the process, and puts additional stress on you, all while you’re trying to recover physically and financially.
Insurers use your unprepared or incomplete responses to damage your credibility or claim that your injuries are not as severe as you say. Every misstep on your part gives them an opportunity to pay less or avoid liability altogether.
How Our Lawyers Intercept These Tactics
We know these strategies inside and out, and we take over to shield you from their tactics. The moment we take your case, we handle all forms, documentation, and communication with the insurance company. You won’t have to deal with their traps or overwhelming paperwork.
We advise claimants not to provide any recorded statements to insurers without legal guidance. If one is necessary, we prepare you in advance and stand by your side so that nothing you say can be taken out of context.
Our North Myrtle Beach Car Collision Attorneys Are Ready to Handle Your Claim
Dealing with insurance companies after a car accident doesn’t have to feel overwhelming. Let Auger & Auger take on the entire process, from handling endless paperwork to standing up to insurer tactics. You won’t have to make statements, negotiate settlements, or worry about missed deadlines. We’ll handle everything.
Don’t let the insurance companies dictate the outcome of your claim. Contact us now for a free consultation.
