Every year, millions of visitors come to Myrtle Beach to spend time on the beautiful Atlantic coast and soak up the sun. The beach isn’t without its perils, though. A fun day in Myrtle Beach can quickly turn dangerous when people and businesses don’t prioritize your safety.
If you’ve been injured in Myrtle Beach and believe someone is responsible for the harm you’ve experienced, you have the right to hold them accountable. Our Myrtle Beach attorneys are here to answer your questions and can be reached via phone, live chat, or contact form.
- Common Locations of Myrtle Beach Accidents
- Common Causes of Beach Injuries
- Steps to Take After Being Injured in Myrtle Beach
- Benefits of Working with a Local Attorney After a Beach Injury
Common Locations of Myrtle Beach Accidents
Myrtle Beach has been acknowledged as one of the premier tourism centers of the United States, with over 19 million visitors every year. Tourists have also drawn in multiple businesses that provide fun activities for visiting families. If these companies don’t prioritize safety, however, innocent people can suffer harm while on vacation. Common locations for tourist injuries include:
- Amusement parks
- Water recreation
- Cruises
- Beaches
- Hotels
- Pools
- Boat tours
If you’ve been injured due to another person or business’s negligence while enjoying one of these activities, you have a right to seek financial recovery for all of your losses, including medical bills, lost wages, physical pain, and possibly punitive damages.
Common Causes of Beach Injuries
While you’re enjoying Myrtle Beach, do your best to be safe and aware of your environment both in and out of the water. All it takes is one person being careless, reckless, or negligent and your life can be changed forever. Below are some of the most common dangerous situations we’ve witnessed in Myrtle Beach.
- Crowded Waters. It can be very dangerous when too many people congregate in one area in the water, especially if there are a mix of activities going on. Users of speed boats, jet skis, kayaks, banana boats, or other water crafts should all steer clear of each other and swimmers as much as possible.
- Inexperienced Watercraft Operators. Many tourists come to Myrtle Beach to take advantage of boat and jet ski rentals. These inexperienced boaters may not know the proper steps to take during an emergency or even know all the rules of the water, which can lead to dangerous boating accidents that cause harm to passengers or even innocent bystanders.
- Dangerous Business Practices. Businesses have an obligation to keep their patrons safe. It is especially important that businesses in the adventure/amusement park category in Myrtle Beach have proper maintenance schedules and safety measures put in place to ensure their customers can safely participate.
- Recklessness in Rough Waters. Strong currents, waves, or heavy wakes can cause people to suddenly and violently slam into one another, boats, or other floating structures, especially if someone is acting negligently or recklessly.
- Drowning and Secondary Drowning. The risk of drowning is a major concern near the water. But near-drowning carries the hidden perils of “dry drowning” or “secondary drowning” hours later, too. Secondary drowning results in difficulty breathing, caused by inhaled water building up in the lungs, causing pulmonary edema (excess fluid buildup.) It’s good to make sure that someone who has been pulled out of the water after a near-drowning incident gets medical help, even if he or she seems fine at the moment.
Report Dangerous Activities to Myrtle Beach Patrol Division
For the safety and protection of residents and visitors, the Myrtle Beach Police Department maintains a special division, called the Beach Patrol Division. These brave officers are trained lifeguards and first responders who are responsible for public safety on the beach shorelines within the city limits of Myrtle Beach. The city of Myrtle Beach also contracts with private lifeguard companies to provide guards for the beaches; Beach Patrol and private lifeguards work together to keep you safe and act swiftly in case of an emergency.
Steps to Take After Being Injured in Myrtle Beach
If you’ve suffered an injury while on vacation, there are a few steps you should take to ensure your legal rights are not violated. While you may not need an attorney immediately after the accident, it’s still important to follow these steps so that you have the right information if the need for legal action arises.
- Prioritize your health. If you have suffered an injury, put your health first. Allow a doctor to examine you and document, diagnose, and treat your injuries.
- Report the accident to the responsible party. Whether you are injured in your hotel room or condominium, at an amusement park, or while on a boat tour, you should inform an employee or manager of your injury and request that an incident report be created. Make sure to get a copy of the report because it will provide proof of where, when, and how the incident happened.
- Document the scene of the accident. What caused the accident to happen? Was there an unmarked hazard that made the area dangerous? If you are able, take pictures of the scene and gather the contact information of people that witnessed the accident.
- Contact a Myrtle Beach injury attorney. While you may not need to hire an injury attorney, we recommend at least consulting with a local lawyer to ensure all your legal rights are protected. If a business or individual is responsible for the accident, they, or their insurance provider, should cover any damages you incurred.
Benefits of Working with a Local Attorney After a Beach Injury
Tourists from South Carolina and those visiting from other states all have the same rights to safety while visiting the Grand Strand. As a Myrtle Beach personal injury firm, we can promise:
- Knowledge of South Carolina Laws. South Carolina, like every other state in our country, has a unique set of laws that govern how personal injury cases proceed. After being injured in Myrtle Beach, it’s important to work with an attorney that is licensed to practice law in South Carolina. Lawyers that are familiar with SC laws can help ensure your legal rights are upheld.
- Local Presence. Being injured on vacation differs from other accidents because once your vacation is over, you go back home and cannot easily return to the scene of the accident. Our team is conveniently located here in Myrtle Beach, making it easy for us to analyze the scene, gather evidence, identify witnesses, make court appearances, and take all other steps a thorough lawyer should.
- Regular Communication. We pride ourselves on our client communication practices. We never want our clients to feel “out-of-the-loop” on their case, so we schedule regular client meetings with our attorneys to ensure all your questions are answered and you feel 100% confident in your legal case. Though you may not live in South Carolina, we do not allow that to prevent regular communication. Phone calls, emails, Zoom, or Facetime sessions, all enable us to build a strong attorney-client relationship that prioritizes your long term health and well-being.
Negligence Costs Lives: Talk to a Myrtle Beach Injury Lawyer
People living in and visiting Myrtle Beach deserve to have a stress-free experience at the beach. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always happen. If you’re injured or someone you love is killed in an accident at the beach, and you believe that someone else may be to blame, you should talk to a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible. An experienced attorney will be able to answer your questions, direct a proper investigation, and seek to hold the negligent party responsible for the harm they have caused.
You can reach us by calling (843) 427-2800, filling out a contact form, or by starting a live chat. My firm has provided guidance to many people who were injured in Myrtle Beach, and we look forward to helping you as well.
