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Hi, my name is Kenneth Berger. I’m an attorney here in Myrtle Beach and handle cases throughout South Carolina. Now, Myrtle Beach is a very popular tourist destination. In fact, we know that more than 14 million people visit the Myrtle Beach area every year. Growing up, before I practiced in Myrtle Beach, we used to vacation here a lot. It’s a great time, and it should be a great time for family and friends. Unfortunately, we’ve seen far too many vacations get ruined because of needless injuries caused by a building or a company’s negligence.

We’ve seen cases involving hotels and resorts, boating accidents, boat outings, and amusement parks. These businesses are taking someone’s money, and that’s fine. We want these businesses to make money. The trade-off in return for that is you give them your money, but in return, they can’t do anything inherently dangerous that would cause you harm. Businesses have that responsibility to help keep you safe. A lot of times, they uphold their end of the bargain, but sometimes they fail. When they fail, we want to make sure they’re held accountable so that it doesn’t increase the harm to you and so that no one else gets hurt for the same reasons.

A lot of our clients live outside of South Carolina. We have no problem working with clients who live out of town. We engage in frequent communication with those folks, either over the phone, in-person meetings, Skype, or FaceTime. We’ve yet to have a situation where one of our clients, be it in New York, Georgia, North Carolina, Ohio, or Pennsylvania, where the distance created any type of barrier. Modern technology has allowed for easy communication, and we take advantage of that to make sure that our out-of-town clients who have cases in South Carolina, where they got hurt on vacation, are served just as well as if they lived in-state.

We want you to know that if you got hurt in Myrtle Beach while on vacation, our goal for you is to be able to focus on healing. We really want you to be able to focus on getting back to life as normal or as close to normal as you can while we handle the insurance issues. If you have any questions whatsoever, feel free to reach out to us with the live chat option on the website, fill out the contact form, or call us. All consultations are 100% free. More than anything, we just want you to know that you don’t have to do this by yourself. Just because the people who caused you harm are in South Carolina and you may be several states away, something can be done, and we want to be the ones to help do it.

Common Locations of Myrtle Beach Accidents

family sandals on myrtle beachMyrtle 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:

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.

When Injuries Happen in a Myrtle Beach Hotel

An innkeeper—the owner or manager of a hotel—owes his guests something lawyers call duty of care. This is a duty to act in a reasonable manner to prevent harm from coming to other people. In fact, because the innkeeper accepts money from customers to provide safe lodgings, his obligation to take care of paying guests is a good deal stronger than that of most other merchants.

If the hotel’s staff fails to provide a safe and secure living space, then the business may be legally liable for any injuries that happen because of this negligence. “Negligence” is another legal term that means not living up to the duty of care. Negligence can take many forms in a hotel: it may consist of failure to repair damaged or dangerous facilities, or even failure to warn guests of hazards that should be avoided on the premises.

When the hotel’s staff ignores the responsibility to care for the well-being of guests, and when that negligence leads to harm for the guest, then the hotel is obligated to make things right. In many cases, though, the hotel can’t directly fix things: it can’t erase the pain of a broken leg, for instance, and it can’t refund the days an injured guest spends confined to a hospital bed. As a compromise, the South Carolina legal system uses money; the hotel will be required to pay the injured party a sum of money sufficient to balance the losses suffered.

Will the hotel pay willingly? Not likely. The hotel will have purchased insurance to compensate injured guests, and the insurance adjuster will fight to give you the least compensation he can get away with. And that’s a pity because sometimes guests have severe injuries that come along with massive medical bills and months of lost income while they’re unable to work.

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.

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.

What to Do After a Resort or Hotel Injury in Myrtle Beach

Quick action can minimize injuries and sometimes save lives after a hotel accident. The top priority should be to seek medical care right away, even if you think the injury is a minor one. Let a medical professional evaluate your condition and start any necessary treatment.

Then, as soon as you can, it is important to…

  • Notify the hotel owner or management about the event. You can do this with a phone call or visit to the front desk.
  • Notify police, if public safety is at risk. If the injury was caused by a vehicle crash, security lapse, or environmental hazard, or if the injury was fatal, then the local authorities need to know.
  • Begin gathering information for a possible legal case. Collect the names and contact information of any witnesses. Photograph the scene (cell phone images will be just fine). Take notes about what just happened and update those notes to refresh your memory later.
  • Contact your Myrtle Beach personal injury lawyer. A skilled personal injury trial lawyer is your best hope of overcoming the insurance company’s legal team and securing the best settlement or damage award available.

Visitors to the Myrtle Beach area rarely know which attorney will best suit their needs. The Law Office of Kenneth E. Berger serves injured people statewide and prides itself on treating clients like family. Contact us online today or call us at 803-790-2800. Our offices are conveniently located in Columbia and Myrtle Beach, and we have been proudly servicing clients throughout the surrounding areas. Contact us online today or call us at 803-790-2800 (Columbia, SC) / 843-427-2800 (Myrtle Beach, SC).