South Carolina Shooting Victim Lawyer
Gun violence is prevalent in the United States. On average, each day in the United States 316 Americans are shot, of whom 106 die and 210 suffer significant injuries. Many gunshot survivors suffer significant physical injuries (such as paralysis) and emotional trauma that require life-long medical treatment and impede their ability to work, leaving them in financial peril.
If you were seriously injured or a loved one died in a shooting, you deserve full accountability and compensation from all those responsible, whether it be a single individual, apartment complex, motel, bar, nightclub, shopping center, or another business.
At Mickelsen Dalton, we represent clients injured in mass shootings and those involving bars, nightclubs, apartment buildings, motels, shopping malls, and other establishments. Call our office to schedule a free case evaluation to learn how we can help seek justice for your injuries and losses.
There is No Fee Unless We Recover Compensation on Your Behalf!
Our Experienced Shooting Victim Lawyers Will Seek to Hold All Responsible Parties Accountable
As for shooting victim lawyers, we represent the victims of gun violence and the families who have lost a loved one in shootings. Our role is to pursue full compensation for our clients for all injuries and damages that they have suffered. We are available to bring claims against negligent third parties, including:
- Bars
- Clubs
- Shopping Malls
- Motels
- Apartment Complexes
- Convenience Stores
- Gas Stations
- Other property owners and lessees
- Security companies
- Retailers
- Government entities (including school districts)
- Individuals who supply weapons (if the shooter was prohibited from possessing a gun)
Identifying All Those Who are Liable in a Shooting
The first and most obvious person liable in a shooting will be the shooter. In many cases, however, a shooter may not have the financial means to cover a victim’s damages, especially if the shooter is convicted and sent to jail. Thus, in order to obtain justice and compensation for victims and their families, it will be critical to identify all potentially liable parties, as businesses often have more financial resources and insurance policies capable of adequately covering damages.
Are Bars, Nightclubs, Apartment Complexes, Motels, and Other Venues Legally Responsible for Shootings that Occur on Their Premises and Parking Lots?
Often, the answer is yes.
To be legally responsible in a claim for civil damages, a person or party must be found to be negligent. This means that the person or entity owed a duty of care to a person (such as a gunshot victim), and they breached this duty in some manner.
Bars, restaurants, concert and sporting venues, and other establishments all have a legal duty to make their premises safe for patrons, including their parking lots. What must be done to make their premises safe will vary upon many factors; this usually depends upon the reasonableness of what a prudent business owner would do in a similar position to ensure the safety of patrons.
How is a Case for Liability Established Against a Bar or Other Establishment?
In the case of bar shootings, there are a number of ways in which the establishment owner(s) can be liable, such as if they failed to provide adequate security, they failed to call law enforcement when a confrontation erupted, they knew that rival gang members would be visiting the establishment and did not try to defuse confrontations, they knew and allowed those with known violent tendencies to visit the bar, they knew about prior violent incidents on the premises and a number of other situations. When shootings occur, they are not only inevitable, but they are also foreseeable.
As for shooting victim lawyers, we work aggressively to uncover all of the facts of a shooting. This entails interviewing witnesses and law enforcement (often under oath through depositions), a careful review of all videos that may exist, pulling prior crime data, learning about the backgrounds of “bouncers” and other security hired and what training they were given, and many other factors.
To establish liability on the part of a bar or establishment owner(s), a case must be very carefully constructed, piece by piece. Our role is to clearly prove why the owner(s) should also bear liability to the victims and their families through the conduct and omissions that occurred.
Can Past Violence at an Establishment Be Used in Court to Show Liability?
Typically, yes.
It can be critical in court to show examples of past violence at an establishment, particularly if the establishment owner did not make changes to make the premises more secure. Often, when shooting is investigated, it will be found that there were a number of cases of previous shootings (or threatened violence involving guns) at the same location. If the shooting is foreseeable, owners and occupiers have a duty to act reasonably to protect patrons from criminal attacks.
How Much Does an Experienced Shooting Victim Lawyer Cost?
At Mickelsen Dalton, we firmly believe that legal fees should never be a barrier to obtaining quality legal representation. For this reason, we represent injury victims on contingency, meaning we do not collect a fee unless we are successful in recovering compensation on a client’s behalf. Simply put, we do not get paid unless you recover compensation.
We understand that hiring experts and conducting thorough investigations can be prohibitively expensive for individuals with limited means. Our clients do not have to shoulder the burden of upfront expenses, as we advance all litigation costs and expenses while a case is ongoing (these costs are typically fully covered by a settlement or jury award).
What is the Likelihood that My Case Will Go to Trial?
Approximately 97% of civil cases are settled without a trial; however, because we only represent victims who suffer the most egregious injuries (or who have lost a loved one), we regularly encounter fierce opposition from insurance companies, businesses, and prominent legal teams.
Insurers are for-profit companies with a singular goal of protecting their bottom lines, even at the expense of injured victims. Consequently, they will do everything possible to pay the least amount possible to victims and their families. While straightforward, minor matters often settle, the cases we represent frequently go to trial, as the potential damages are generally significant (often reaching into the millions of dollars).
Why It’s Important to Retain a Shooting Injury Lawyer as Soon as Possible
In the case of a shooting at a bar, restaurant, entertainment arena, or another venue it will be critical in investigating the scene of the shooting before changes occur, to find and interview witnesses before memories fade, and to locate any possible video that may have captured the shooting before it is recorded over or deleted.
Thus even if the statute of limitations may not expire for another a year or more, it will be in the best interest of a shooting victim or the victim’s family to retain a shooting victim lawyer as soon as possible.
Schedule A Free Case Evaluation with Our Experienced Shooting Victim Lawyers
As experienced shooting victim lawyers, we can be by your side and zealously advocate for your rights and full compensation for your injuries, if you were shot, or the compensation due to you arising from the death of a spouse or family member.
At Mickelsen Dalton, we work tirelessly to help shooting victims understand their legal rights. If you were shot or a loved one died in a shooting on the property of a business, such as a grocery store, school, nightclub, bar, or apartment complex, you may have grounds to file a lawsuit against the property owner for damages and prosecute the shooter for criminal charges.