The Culture That Set the Stage
The scene for this particular wreck is set, not in the hours before, but in the days and months prior to it. A young man takes on a second job as a server in a blood on the floor saloon in the colourful, but dirty Goose Creek, South Carolina. There, he leans into a culture promoted by the owner of debauchery and drinking on the job. First, as midnight approaches, he accepts shots bought for him by patrons of the bar. Things begin to accelerate as closing approaches, as the shots derive from the bartender and the ever present Owner, who participates and encourages a culture of excess.
As the bar closes, he leans into the responsibilities of closing, all the while indulging in the culture that allows continued drinking as a reward for good night. Once the task of closing up shop is done, the Staff begin to drink in earnest. There is a culture of lingering for long hours after closing, well into the wee hours of the morning.
Things take a turn when the server and the bartender exchange heated words. The bartender breaks a bottle and brandishes it at the Server. Staff walk him out of the Bar after six in the morning, drunk as a bandicoot. He pleads for the time to call for a ride share, but the Staff are insistent that he drive his own vehicle away now, at speed. He drunkenly obliges them.
A High-Speed Descent Into Disaster
Driven by fear of the bartender’s threats or demons in his head, his right foot is made of lead. He is driving in excess of 80 m.p.h. in a 35 m.p.h. zone. Seven minutes later, tragedy ensues. Weaving in and out of traffic, he flees the imaginary people pursuing him. As the road curves, he overcorrects and strikes a minivan at speed. In the minivan is a veteran of the armed services on their way to PT with their platoon at 6:45 in the morning. The impact is catastrophic. The minivan is totaled with a broken back axle, and all of the airbags in the vehicle deploy.
The driver in the minivan is tossed around like a child’s toy, suffering a concussion and permanent injuries. The Server lost control of his car, and the curve in the road means he is flying unimpeded through the air. His vehicle soars into the fence surrounding a small apartment complex, destroying it. His black sedan is unrecognizable after striking two other parked cars in the parking lot of the complex. Miraculously, he walks away with scratches and bruises.
In cases like this, where a negligent driver causes severe harm and lacks proper insurance coverage, it’s essential to work with a knowledgeable Charleston car accident lawyer who can help injured victims fight for compensation from every available source.
The Long Fight for Accountability
Naturally, his liability insurance lapsed a few days beforehand. So he cannot be held financially accountable for the injuries and hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages wrought by his poor judgment. One would think that the insurance carrier for the veteran would step up and do the right thing. Alas, that is not how insurance carriers work.
They hire a defense attorney and dig in their heels. They call into question whether the crippling permanent injuries were pre-existing. Perhaps there was something the veteran could have done to avoid the collision?
After two years of wrangling and the threat of bad-faith exposure, they finally tender the coverage to the veteran, as they should have done from the start. But at the same time, they stroke a check to the South Carolina legislators to change the law so that an uninsured insurance policy is not subject to the punitive exposure of the driver they stand in after a wreck. Is this justice?