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    With more than 350 golf courses and dozens of beach communities and neighborhoods in the state, golf carts are a common sight in South Carolina. It’s part of our culture here in the Palmetto state, and anyone who’s spent even a little time in South Carolina has likely seen a golf cart or two zipping around. While golf carts are convenient for playing 18 holes and taking a quick trip down to the water, they offer very little protection for their drivers and passengers during accidents, especially when the accident involves a larger vehicle.

    Despite being low-speed vehicles that are typically driven in areas with reduced speed limits, golf cart accidents are more common than you might think. In 2020, a study published in Science Direct found that 156,040 people needed treatment in emergency rooms nationwide for golf cart accident-related injuries between 2007 and 2017. At Joye Law Firm, we know how commonly used golf carts are throughout our state—and how common serious injuries are when they’re involved in accidents. We have extensive experience handling these types of cases, including a $1 million+ settlement for a woman injured in a DUI golf cart accident. If you or someone you love was hurt while driving or riding on a golf cart, we want to help. Contact our South Carolina golf cart accident lawyers today for a free consultation.

    How We Can Help After Your Golf Cart Accident

    After a golf cart accident, Joye Law Firm is here to help you get the justice you deserve. Here’s how we can help:

    • We’ll listen to your story—Many law firms are only interested in finalizing claims, getting paid, and moving on to their next clients. Our lawyers want to get to know you, your family, and your story.
    • We’ll prove you weren’t at fault—The insurers of at-fault parties of accidents like golf cart crashes often argue that victims are at fault. We know their tactics, and we will work to collect enough evidence that makes it impossible for them to ignore the facts of what happened.
    • We’ll accurately calculate your total damages—Between medical bills and lost wages, victims in golf cart accidents often face huge expenses. We’ll work hard to determine exactly how much money you’re owed.
    • We’ll demand fair compensation from the at-fault party—The at-fault party’s insurer probably won’t offer you fair compensation right away. In fact, they may deny your claim altogether. We have decades of experience handling uncooperative insurance companies, and we know what it takes to get our clients the full settlements they need.

    Experience Helping Golf Cart Accident Victims

    Joye Law Firm successfully represented a Hilton Head resident who became a victim of a golf cart wreck during a Fourth of July celebration. The accident occurred when an erratic driver caused the cart to swerve and flip, resulting in the woman sustaining multiple injuries, including broken ribs, a broken collarbone, and fractured vertebrae. She required extensive medical treatment and incurred significant medical bills.

    Joye Law Firm attorney, Randell ‘Ran’ Stoney III, took on the case. Through skillful negotiation, Atty. Stoney secured settlements from all three insurance companies involved, resulting in a $1.2 million settlement for the client. This compensation covered the victim’s medical expenses, future treatment costs, lost wages, and pain and suffering.

    Read more about this golf cart accident case here.

    What are the Causes of Golf Cart Accidents?

    Just as car accidents can have many causes, so too can golf cart accidents.

    Some of the most common causes of Collisions involving other drivers include:

    Speeding drivers
    Speeding drivers
    Whether they’re driven on golf courses, in beach communities, in private neighborhoods, or on public streets, golf carts are typically driven in areas with reduced speed limits. When people in cars, trucks, and SUVs ignore those speed limits, they’re much more likely to hit and seriously injure golf cart occupants.
    Distracted drivers
    Distracted drivers
    Distracted driving is one of the most common causes of all types of motor vehicle crashes, including golf cart accidents. Golf carts are much smaller than average passenger vehicles, and they produce far less noise. When other drivers are texting, eating, or looking anywhere other than the road, they may crash into golf carts that they never saw or heard.
    Aggressive drivers
    Aggressive drivers
    While some can be modified to travel at up to 30mph, the basic golf cart reaches top speeds of around 15 mph. While they are fast enough to get around South Carolina’s golf courses and side streets, they’re always fast enough for impatient drivers. When drivers attempt to aggressively and recklessly pass golf carts, they may run them off the road or even crash into them.
    Aggressive drivers
    Intoxicated drivers
    Driving while intoxicated is one of the biggest risk factors for all types of crashes, including golf cart crashes. Drunk and impaired drivers are more likely to speed, less likely to see golf carts in front of them, and more likely to collide with them.

    Other drivers aren’t the only causes of golf cart crashes.

    Sometimes, they’re caused by the people who are driving them.

    Golf cart drivers can seriously injure themselves and their passengers when they:

    Drive while impaired
    Drive while impaired
    When someone gets behind the wheel of a golf cart after having a few too many drinks, their intoxication can cause them to drive recklessly and dangerously—and that can cause serious injuries.
    Drive while distracted
    Drive while distracted
    Because they’re low-speed vehicles, some people are more relaxed behind the wheel of golf carts. In some cases, that relaxation turns into negligence, and they may look at their phones or their passengers instead of the road ahead. Distracted golf cart driving can lead to devastating accidents and injuries.
    Drive recklessly
    Drive recklessly
    Unfortunately, many people treat golf carts like they’re toys. They may race them, drive them over uneven terrain, turn them too quickly and sharply, and drive them too fast for weather and road conditions. When people drive golf carts recklessly, they can crash into other golf carts, nearby vehicles, or trees, or they can end up flipping the golf cart entirely.

    What Are Common Injuries Associated with Golf Cart Accidents?

    Whether they’re caused by other drivers or drivers of golf carts, golf cart accidents can cause devastating and disabling injuries, including:

    • Head and brain injuries—Golf carts aren’t equipped with seat belts or airbags. When they’re involved in crashes, occupants may suffer serious head injuries due to striking their heads on the steering wheels, posts, seats, dashboards, and more. They also may suffer head and brain injuries if they’re thrown from their golf carts during crashes.
    • Broken bones—The lack of seatbelts in golf carts means occupants can be thrown from them during crashes. When people are ejected from vehicles, including golf carts, they have a high risk of landing awkwardly and suffering simple or compound fractures to the bones in their hands, wrists, legs, feet, and more.
    • Crushing injuries—In addition to lacking seat belts, golf carts are also open-air. That means when they tip over or roll, they can land on top of drivers and passengers who are inside them or who have been thrown out of them. Despite being small vehicles, golf carts weigh between 800 and 1,100 pounds—enough to cause serious crushing injuries when they land on top of occupants.
    Icon What Compensation Can Golf Cart Accident Victims Receive?

    Because golf cart accident injuries are often so serious, victims often need significant compensation. The damages that golf cart accident victims may be eligible to receive include:

    • Medical bill expenses Head and brain injuries, broken bones, crushing injuries, and other types of injuries that are common during golf cart accidents often require immediate emergency care. Victims may also need prolonged hospital stays, physical rehabilitation, and even surgery to recover. The costs of the medical care associated with golf cart accidents can be overwhelming even for victims who have health insurance.
    • Lost wages People who are injured in golf cart accidents are often unable to work for weeks, months, or even years. Some victims are even permanently disabled. When victims can’t work, they can’t earn paychecks to support themselves and their families—but they can recoup some or all of their lost wages through golf cart accident claims.
    • Pain and suffering The physical and emotional trauma that golf cart accident victims suffer can be significant. It’s common for victims to experience debilitating pain that makes it difficult to enjoy their hobbies, spend time with family and friends, and even sleep. They also may develop mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
    • Punitive damages In South Carolina, punitive damages are sometimes awarded when at-fault parties are extremely negligent or reckless. Although they are awarded to victims, they are not only designed to compensate them for the violation of their rights, but they are also designed to punish at-fault parties. In the case of golf cart accidents, they may be awarded when drivers cause crashes because they were racing, extremely impaired, or intentionally trying to injure others.

    Trust Our South Carolina Golf Cart Accident Lawyers’ Experience and Dedication

    Golf cart accidents are painful and devastating for victims. Whether they’re caused by people in other vehicles or by the people driving them, the victims of these crashes often bear the physical and mental scars for years to come—and even for the rest of their lives.

    Don’t trust the insurance company to give you a fair settlement on your own, and don’t rely on just any law firm to get you full compensation for your damages. Get a law firm that knows South Carolina injury law, knows the area where you were injured, and knows how to win.

    We offer free consultations, and we charge nothing unless we get money for our clients. There’s no risk in contacting our firm to tell us what happened and learn your options for getting compensation. Reach out to Joye Law Firm today to find out how we can help you during this difficult time.

     

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