A pedestrian accident often leaves victims suffering from life-threatening injuries, but insurance companies often point fingers at the victim to minimize or deny payouts. In South Carolina, comparative negligence laws bar you from recovering compensation if you’re found 51% or more at fault.
Bearing any amount of fault can also drastically reduce your payout. Insurers use every detail, like the clothes you wore or your position on the road, to argue you’re partially responsible and minimize what they owe.
We know how to counter these tactics. Since 1995, Auger & Auger Accident and Injury Lawyers has helped injury victims. Our pedestrian accident lawyers in North Myrtle Beach fight back against false blame, preserving evidence and identifying all applicable liability policies.
Let us handle the legal process under our A&A Zero Fee Guarantee™ so that you pay nothing upfront and no attorney fees unless we win. Contact us today for a free initial consultation so our North Myrtle Beach personal injury lawyers can get started.
Why You Need Auger & Auger to Protect Your Claim From Insurer Blame Games
Insurance companies routinely use South Carolina’s laws to shift fault away from their policyholders to reduce or completely deny your compensation. Because fault directly affects what insurers may have to pay, adjusters look for every opportunity to argue that someone else shares responsibility for the crash.
Effective January 1, 2026, the updated South Carolina Tort Reform and Liquor Liability Act (Act 42) complicates these cases even further. Under Act 42, an at-fault driver must be found 50% or more responsible to be held liable for the entire damages award.
To keep their policyholder’s liability below that 50% mark, insurance adjusters will try to dilute fault by dragging other entities into the claim. For example, if you were hit by a car, the insurer might claim that a poorly maintained city crosswalk or a sudden construction zone contributed to the collision.
These finger-pointing tactics harm your case in two distinct ways:
- It creates massive delays: Blaming potential third parties triggers extended investigations and complex legal disputes that drag out your claim.
- It sets a legal trap for you: By scattering fault across multiple entities, insurers try to artificially inflate your personal share of blame over that 51% cliff to legally wipe out your right to a settlement.
How Our North Myrtle Beach Pedestrian Accident Attorneys Fight Back
We do not let insurance companies twist the law or the facts of your accident against you. Since 1995, Auger & Auger Accident and Injury Lawyers has successfully handled thousands of personal injury claims. We have recovered over $100 million for our clients, maintaining an impressive 99.5% success rate in settled cases.
Our pedestrian accident lawyers in North Myrtle Beach shield your claim and counter blame-shifting strategies with an aggressive legal response:
- Conducting independent investigations: Our team works with specialists to handle accident reconstruction. We gather time-sensitive physical evidence, send immediate preservation demands for surveillance footage, and secure witness statements to pinpoint exactly who caused the crash.
- Challenging third-party blame: If insurers try to deflect liability onto commercial contractors or municipalities, we present clear evidence to hold the primary driver accountable and properly establish everyone’s true portion of liability.
- Using joint and several liability laws to your advantage: When our investigation proves that a responsible party is 50% or more at fault, we pursue the full amount of the damages award from them, preventing them from escaping accountability in multi-party cases.
- Scrutinizing all insurance coverage: We audit every potential policy available. This includes third-party liability, commercial vehicle coverage, and your own uninsured motorist (UM) coverage to position you for the maximum financial recovery.
- Removing the legal burden from your shoulders: As a family-run law firm, we put your needs first. Our North Myrtle Beach pedestrian accident lawyers take over the paperwork, handle all insurer negotiations, and track strict legal deadlines so you do not have to face insurer tactics alone.
Pedestrian Laws Insurers Cite to Shift Blame
Blame-shifting tactics insurers specifically use against injured pedestrians will focus on South Carolina’s pedestrian laws to argue you were careless or violated the rules, even when driver negligence is the real issue.
For example, insurance companies representing drivers or commercial trucking companies will cite the following laws when determining fault:
- Jaywalking: Insurers will cite S.C. Code § 56-5-3150, arguing that pedestrians who cross outside marked crosswalks or in areas near traffic signals caused the accident themselves. They ignore circumstances like a lack of crosswalks or the driver’s negligence, such as speeding or failing to yield.
- Failure to yield: S.C. Code Ann. § 56-5-3150(A) states that pedestrians crossing outside a crosswalk must yield to vehicles. Insurers use this statute to claim you didn’t follow the law, even if the driver ignored your presence or acted recklessly.
- Improper use of roadways: Insurers rely on S.C. Code Ann. § 56-5-3160, which requires pedestrians to stay on sidewalks when available or on the road shoulder. They twist this law to argue you were improperly positioned, even if the accident happened in an area with no sidewalks or poor visibility.
- “Due care”: S.C. Code Ann. § 56-5-3130(b) states that a pedestrian cannot suddenly leave a curb or safety zone and step into the path of a vehicle that is too close to yield. Insurers may try to claim that you stepped in front of the vehicle.
Any alleged violations can increase your share of fault. If insurers can push your fault above South Carolina’s 51% threshold, you lose your right to recover anything. Even minor percentages of fault reduce your recovery, giving insurers every incentive to shift blame in multi-party cases.
Our North Myrtle Beach Lawyers Have Strategies to Counter These Arguments
We dismantle these arguments by highlighting situations like poor road design, unclear crosswalks, or driver distraction that make fault-sharing arguments unfair.
Our North Myrtle Beach pedestrian accident attorneys explain how pedestrian laws are applied unfairly in your case while emphasizing the driver’s duty to pay attention and yield as required.
When applicable under Act 42, we force the responsible driver to pay their share of damages even if multiple parties contributed to the accident.
Insurance Delay Tactics and How They Harm Your Right to File a Lawsuit
Insurance companies know that if they can delay your claim long enough, they can weaken your ability to take legal action. Per S.C. Code Ann. § 15-3-530, your statute of limitations for filing a personal injury lawsuit is generally three years from the date of the pedestrian accident.
Missing this deadline means you have no legal recourse against any liable party or their insurance providers. Insurers aim to:
- Exhaust your patience: By dragging out the claims process, insurers hope to frustrate you into accepting a lowball settlement or even abandoning your claim entirely.
- Run out the clock: If the three-year deadline passes without a lawsuit being filed, your claim is permanently barred, leaving you without legal recourse.
- Risk your ability to gather evidence: Over time, accident scene details and surveillance footage can be overwritten and lost for good, making it harder to build a claim against a liable party.
We act with urgency to protect your claim and counteract these delay tactics. Our attorneys identify time-sensitive information, send preservation demands, and subpoena evidence early on to protect your claim and make it trial-ready.
Our North Myrtle Beach Attorneys Start Your Pedestrian Accident Case With No Upfront Costs
You shouldn’t have to hesitate to take action due to concerns about legal costs, and insurers count on this delay to weaken your position. Our A&A Zero Fee Guarantee™ allows us to start investigating and protecting your claim immediately without upfront fees.
You don’t pay anything out of pocket for our services. Our law firm only gets paid if we successfully recover compensation for you. This aligns our goals with yours, which is securing the best possible outcome for your case.
With this arrangement, we can act confidently and quickly to shield you from delay tactics and preserve your ability to recover fair compensation.
How Insurers Use Gaps in Medical Treatment to Undermine Your Case
Some injured pedestrians delay seeking medical care or experience gaps in ongoing treatment due to financial constraints, insurance denials, or the belief that their injuries will heal on their own.
Insurers closely monitor your treatment timeline, looking for any gaps or inconsistencies, then use them to argue that your injuries aren’t as severe as you claim or aren’t related to the accident at all.
If there are delays between the date of the accident and when you sought medical care, insurers will argue that your injuries were unrelated or caused by something else. Gaps or missed appointments give insurers an excuse to claim that your injuries weren’t serious enough to require consistent care, minimizing pain and suffering damages.
Follow Through With Your Medical Treatment Plan and Let Our Attorneys Handle the Insurers
Any inconsistency in your medical records gives insurers leverage to negotiate lower settlements or deny portions of your compensation. If they argue successfully that your injuries aren’t adequately proven, you risk losing out on the financial support you need for recovery.
You can support your pedestrian accident claim by seeing a doctor immediately, even if you did not require emergency medical treatment at the time of your accident. Keep all medical bills and documentation, and make your appointments and follow through with your prescribed treatment plan.
This helps our attorneys present clear, evidence-based counterarguments to protect your claim. We may also bring in additional medical experts to provide testimony linking your injuries directly to the accident.
Our North Myrtle Beach Pedestrian Accident Lawyers are Ready to File Your Claim and Fight for Your Recovery
You don’t have to face insurance companies, legal deadlines, or blame-shifting strategies alone. Let Auger & Auger handle every part of your pedestrian accident claim, from investigating fault to negotiating with insurers. Our North Myrtle Beach pedestrian accident lawyers take on the burden of dealing with South Carolina liability laws so you don’t have to.
With our A&A Zero Fee Guarantee™, there’s no financial risk to get started. You pay absolutely nothing upfront, and you owe us no attorney fees unless we recover compensation for you. We handle the process, protect your claim, and fight to shield you from insurer tactics.
Contact us today for a free consultation and let us start building your case.
