Read The South Carolina Personal Injury And Car Accident Blog To Stay Up To Date On The Latest Accident Information

I Settled My Case on My Own, Can I Change My Mind?

Once you settle your injury case with the insurance company for responsible party, your case is over. Shelly Leeke Law Firm offers free case evaluations for Charleston and all South Carolina residents. Call 843-277-6061 today.

Just a Few of the Myths Circulating About Insurance Companies

Insurance Adjuster's will do whatever it takes to get you to take a low offer for your car accident case. These are a few of the many myths you may have heard about auto accident cases. Shelly Leeke Law Firm offers free reports and information for Charleston accident victims and accident victims throughout South Carolina. Call 843-277-6061 today.

South Carolina Officials Prepare for Winter Weather Road Emergencies

With the winter temperatures lingering in South Carolina, state emergency officials prepare for roadway emergencies caused by snow, icy roads and other inclement weather conditions. Shelly Leeke Law Firm is a personal injury law firm in Charleston, South Carolina. Focusing on Auto, Truck accidents and wrongful death accidents. Call 843-277-6061 today.

SC Highway Patrol Offers Free Chic-Fil-A For Buckling Up

the SC Department of Highway Patrol launched a new incentive to encourage drivers to buckle up. Highway Patrol offered free chicken for those caught breaking the law while wearing their seat belt. Shelly Leeke Law Firm offers free a free book, reports and more to help South Carolina Accident victims. Call 843-277-6061 today!

Protect Your Life and Save Yourself a Ticket During the Holidays- Wear Your Seat Belt

Safe travels are made safer by taking one simple step, fasten your seat belt. South Carolina motorists and passengers can be ticketed for not wearing their seat belt. Nearly half of all fatal car accidents could have been prevented with the use of a seat belt. Shelly Leeke Law Firm offers free consultations for Charleston and South Carolina accident victims. Charleston, Goose Creek, Mt. Pleasant, Summerville, North Charleston, Moncks Corner, Awendaw, McClellanville.

What You Do on Facebook Will be Used Against You--- Charleston South Carolina Accident Lawyer

You could make a serious mistake in your accident case if you leave your social media accounts, such as Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, or another number of sites, open to the public for anyone to view.

What you may not know is that if you are injured in an accident and have an injury case, it is almost guaranteed that the insurance company, their agent or attorney will search these sites to find your profile. They will view your page, including your friend’s posts, your posts, your pictures and pictures other people post of you. They will gather all information they can to build their case against you. The insurance company will use the information they find to devalue your case.

They may use pictures to say that your injuries are not as serious as you claim, or use them to paint a negative picture of you. Even if your case eventually settles before court, you can bet that the insurance company will use all information it gathers from your social accounts in its effort to discount the value of your case. You may even find yourself settling for less than you would if you had NOT given them full access to your private information on your Facebook and/or social accounts. With millions of users on Facebook alone, it pays for accident and injury victims to protect their personal information by privatizing all social accounts.

The Insurance Company Offered Me Money To Settle My Accident Case, What Should I Do?

I received this question again today, one that is not uncommon in my practice of personal injury law.

A few days ago the caller was injured in an auto accident that was not his fault. Just a few days after the wreck, he got a call from the at fault driver's insurance company offering to pay his medical bills. The adjustor was very polite and told him she would pay the "reasonable" medical expenses and even give him a few hundred dollars to settle the case. Luckily, this caller had read The South Carolina Accident Book, and knew the tricks that insurance adjustor's will pull to entice injury victims to take a quick settlement. He called me to get an honest evaluation of whether or not he needed an attorney.

My opinion is this... you may not need a lawyer for your case if you are involved in a car wreck where there is little property damage and you are not hurt. However, if you are injured in an auto accident and your phone starts ringing a few days later with the adjustor offering you money, you can bet it is not because she really wants to take care of you. One of the first signs that you should look seriously at hiring an experienced injury attorney for your accident case is when the insurance company calls and offers you money.

The adjustor's job is to save the insurance company money. Adjustors get raises and bonuses based on how much money they save the insurance company by paying LESS than a case is worth. This caller did the right thing. He did not accept the quick settlement, and turns out, not surprisingly, his case is probably worth a lot more than the few hundred dollars he was offered by the adjustor.

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Learn more about what to do if you are in a car accident!

• Order your Free copy of The South Carolina Accident Book: Avoid the Mistakes that Can Wreck Your Accident Case today!

• Contact Shelly Leeke Law Firm for a Free Consultation.

Bad Driver? Maybe You Were Born With It…

A New Study Correlates Genetics With Poor Driving Skills.

The study was published in the Cerebral Cortex Journal and says people with a certain gene variant related to activity perform far worse on driving tests than those without the gene variant.

Ordinarily, when a person performs a task, a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is secreted to the part of the brain that is associated with that activity. But, in people who have the gene variation, BDNF secretion is limited, which slows communication among brain cells and decreases memory retention.

Turns out, 30% of Americans have the gene variant. Does this explain the high number of traffic collisions in the US?

Well, maybe, but there is no data available to show whether the accident rate is higher for drivers with the gene variant. So bad driving skills,  while perhaps linked to genetics, is still no excuse for causing a car accident.

Coastal Carolina Student Fatally Struck While Crossing The Street

CCU teen fatally struck while crossing the street in Conway, South Carolina. Shelly Leeke Law Firm offers free reports and information to pedestrian accident victims in South Carolina. Call us today for your free copy of The South Carolina Accident Book. Call 1-877-216-6723.

Five Things The Insurance Companies Don’t Tell You About Car Insurance

1.    “Young Drivers Will Pay More, Guaranteed.”

Drivers under age 25 pay significantly higher rates than older drivers on average, and it usually takes around three years of driving to qualify for a lower insurance rate. What can you do?
Read the Full Report.

2.    Your Car is Worth Less After an Accident, Even After Repairs.

Once your vehicle is involved in an auto accident, more than likely, it will be worth less than it was immediately before the accident happened. What can you do?

For more information on settling your property damage claim, download our full Report, The Do It Yourself Guide to Settling Your Property Damage Claim.

3.    “I May Encourage You To Buy The Policy That Gives Me The Highest Commission.”

Many insurance companies offer commissions to agents who sell their policies, which may lead to an agent suggesting the policy that provides the agent with the best return. What can you do?

For more information on types of coverage you need, download our full report on Purchasing Automobile Insurance in South Carolina.

4.    If your car is Totaled, You May Not Get Full Value for the Vehicle.

Although most consumers are familiar with Kelley Blue Book or Edmunds, many insurance companies do not use these values in determining the total loss value of a vehicle. Many hire claims service companies to assess the value of the vehicle based on local comps. What can you do?

For more information on settling your property damage claim, download our full Report, The Do It Yourself Guide to Settling Your Property Damage Claim.

5.    "We Own The Repair Shop."

Most insurance companies each have their list of preferred repair facilities, which helps them to cut costs and could mean shortcuts in repairs for your vehicle. Allstate went so far as to announce it was buying a chain of repair shops in 2001. What can you do?

For more information on settling your property damage claim, download our full Report, The Do It Yourself Guide to Settling Your Property Damage Claim.

Woman Killed in Car Crash with Wild Hog

Fatal accident involving SUV and a wild hog. The woman was propelled out of her vehicle after striking a wild hog in the roadway. Shelly Leeke Law Firm is a personal injury firm representing accident victims. We offer free books and information to Charleston and South Carolina accident victims. Call 843-277-6061.

Friendly Game of Football Turns Heated When Boy is Tackled By a Wild Deer

Boy attacked by a deer while retrieving an overthrown football pass. The boy's friend rushes in to beat the deer with a stick until the animal retreats. Shelly Leeke Personal Injury Law Firm. Call for free books and information on South Carolina Auto and Injury Accidents. Call Today, 843-277-6061.