Rock Hill Personal Injury Law Blog

Readers in Rock Hill have no doubt heard of the series of lawsuits, including wrongful death suits, filed by former pro football players and their survivors against the National Football League. There has been a great deal of concern in recent years about the long-term effects of brain injuries, which have been linked to depression, dementia and other chronic problems.

While most stories about traumatic brain injury and long-term damage discuss either wounded veterans or football, hockey players may also be vulnerable to the symptoms. Among them was former NHL enforcer Derek Boogaard, who died of a drug overdose in May 2011, his family says. They have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the NHL, saying that the league failed to disclose what it knew about the risk of blows to the head and triggered his addiction to prescription drugs by handing him "pain pills like candy" during his career.

A woman who was the victim of a hit-and-run driver while driving on the interstate in South Carolina says she is grateful for all the kind people who stopped to help her after the accident. She suffered several injuries in the hit-and-run accident, most notably a head injury, but received quick medical care thanks to the good Samaritans.

On April 20, the woman was transferring from Interstate 20 to Interstate 26 in Columbia. As she was merging onto I-26 West, she says, a car sideswiped her SUV. The SUV tipped onto two wheels and slammed into a retaining wall.

Bicyclists in Rock Hill may already know this, but May is National Bicycle Month. This is a time to consider riding more often, perhaps while commuting to work or taking other opportunities to leave the car at home.

Unfortunately, as we have discussed several times in this blog, bicycle accidents are all too common in South Carolina. Though some cities, such as Spartanburg, are getting a reputation for being bike-friendly, in much of the state motorists cause collisions with bicycles through reckless or negligent behavior. When a heavy, fast-moving car or truck hits a bike, the cyclist often suffers severe injuries, even when he or she is wearing a helmet.

The driver of a car that struck and killed the mother of a 2-year-old boy in South Carolina in late March may face no more than 30 days in jail after prosecutors charged him with careless driving. Some observers say that the charge is too lenient given the victim's death and injuries to her son and another man in this pedestrian accident.

According to the Aiken Standard, the victim was walking on the sidewalk with her son and a man when the defendant's car left the road and struck all three. The woman was killed and the man was seriously injured. His current status is unknown, though authorities said they wish him a full recovery. The 2-year-old was treated at the hospital and released.