In South Carolina and the rest of the United States, it’s illegal to drink and drive. Individuals with blood alcohol contents beyond the legal limits who are found operating motor vehicles may face fines, jail time, and the loss of driving privileges.

Drunk driving can be deadly. In 2012, 357 people died on South Carolina roadways as a result of alcohol-related collisions.

The legal blood alcohol content limit for drivers over age 21 in South Carolina is .08%. For commercial drivers operating work vehicles, the limit is .04%. For individuals younger than 21, the legal blood alcohol limit is .02%.

How is Blood Alcohol Content Calculated?

A person’s blood alcohol content is a measurement of the percentage of alcohol that has been absorbed into his or her bloodstream. There are four factors that determine an individual’s blood alcohol limit:

• Weight. Heavier individuals absorb alcohol more slowly than lighter individuals, which means it takes a longer time for their blood alcohol content to rise.
• Sex. Women absorb alcohol more quickly than men due to two factors:

1. The average woman is lighter than the average man.
2. Women have less ADH in their stomachs. ADH is the enzyme that helps the body metabolize alcohol.

• The speed at which the individual consumed alcohol.
• Food eaten while the individual consumed alcohol.

DUI vs. DUAC in South Carolina

In South Carolina, intoxicated drivers can be charged with a DUI, which is driving under the influence, or a DUAC, which is driving with an unlawful alcohol concentration. Title 56 of the South Carolina Code of Laws outlines the penalties for both of these offenses.

A driver can be charged with a DUI if he or she was found to be significantly impaired by alcohol or other drugs while operating a motor vehicle. Any driver who is found showing signs of intoxication such as poor control of his or her vehicle, failing a sobriety test, or showing signs such as slurred speech or poor coordination may be charged with a DUI. Individuals who are proven through a breath or blood test to have a blood alcohol content of .08% or higher may also be charged with a DUI.

An individual does not have to show signs of intoxication to be charged with a DUAC. As long as law enforcement can prove that his or her blood alcohol content is beyond the legal limit, he or she may be charged with this offense.

The penalties for a DUI and a DUAC in South Carolina are almost identical, and neither can be expunged from an individual’s criminal record. If you’ve been charged with a DUI or a DUAC, contact an experienced criminal defense attorney today.

Criminal Defense Attorneys Can Help

If you’ve been charged with a DUI or a DUAC, be proactive and contact the McGrath Law Firm at 843-606-2755 today. Our firm proudly serves individuals in the Mt. Pleasant area and will give your case the dedication it deserves.

In recent decades, it’s become more and more popular for couples to complete a prenuptial agreement before they get married. A prenuptial agreement is a document that states each partner’s obligations and rights to his or her spouse’s assets and property in the event of a death or divorce.

In South Carolina, the rules regarding prenuptial agreements are written into the state’s version of the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act. This Act was first introduced to the National Conference of Commissioners in 1983, and South Carolina adopted its own version in 2009. Currently, about half of the states in the country have adopted their own version of the Act.

What Does a Prenuptial Agreement Protect?

A prenuptial agreement can include requirements for both spouses regarding finances and property. Some examples of common items to be included in a prenuptial agreement are as follows:

• How much of each individual’s estate his or her spouse may inherit following his or her death. Generally, one’s spouse is entitled to inherit all of his or her partner’s estate. With a prenuptial agreement, an individual may divert some or all of his or her estate to the recipient of his or her choosing. This is very important for individuals who have children from previous marriages that they want to provide for after their deaths.
• Whether either partner is entitled to spousal support following a divorce. If the couple chooses, they may also include how much support the receiving spouse can receive and the length of time following the divorce that he or she may receive it. A couple may also stipulate the circumstances under which the paying partner’s spousal support obligation is terminated, such as if the receiving spouse remarries or cohabitates with a new partner. Couples may also waive their right to seek spousal support following a divorce through a prenuptial agreement.
• The division of the couple’s property in the event of a divorce. This is an important clause for any couple with considerable real estate assets or a business that they own or operate.

What Can’t a Prenuptial Agreement Do?

A prenuptial agreement cannot stipulate anything about child support or child custody following a divorce or death. When a couple marries, there is no guarantee about the number of children they’ll actually have or the financial circumstances regarding the children at the time of their divorce.

A prenuptial agreement also cannot violate state or federal law in any way.

An experienced marital attorney can help you draft a prenuptial agreement by working out what you can and can not include. Usually, any requirement that is unenforceable, such as requirements for a partner’s appearance, career, and frequency of sex can not be enforced and thus should not be included in a prenuptial agreement.

Matrimonial Attorneys Can Help

Contact the McGrath Law Firm at 843-606-2755 to discuss your questions and concerns with a marital attorney before you get married. It isn’t unromantic or defeatist to seek a prenuptial agreement – it’s pragmatic.

When a couple divorces, the noncustodial parent is usually required to make child support payments to his or her former spouse to help cover their child’s living costs. These payments are for utilities, housing, food, school supplies, extracurricular activities, and any other personal needs the child has. When a child becomes an adult, it’s expected that he or she can provide these needs for him or herself. But what constitutes an adult in terms of terminating child support payments?

In South Carolina, a child is legally an adult at the age of eighteen. However, under certain circumstances, a child may become emancipated prior to eighteen or require parental support beyond his or her eighteenth birthday. If you have questions about how your child’s pending adulthood will affect your child support obligation or other child support topics, call 843-606-7255 to contact the family attorneys at our firm. We can answer any questions you have about child custody and support laws in South Carolina.

Emancipation and Adulthood

When a child becomes an adult, he or she is considered to be emancipated. For most young adults, this is his or her eighteenth birthday. However, certain other events in a young adult’s life can cause him or her to become emancipated at an earlier or a later age.

• If an adolescent gets married, he or she is considered to be emancipated. Any individual younger than eighteen who wishes to get married in South Carolina must provide his or her parent’s consent to do so. Once the marriage is performed, the parent is no longer required to financially support his or her child.
• Serving in the United States military emancipates a young adult.
• An incorrigible child is any minor who is beyond his or her parents’ control. In South Carolina, an incorrigible child of at least seventeen years of age may become emancipated.

Child Support Beyond Age Eighteen

There are certain circumstances under which a parent can be required to continue making child support payments for an adult child. They are as follows:

• If the child has a significant physical or mental disability that prevents him or her from becoming self-sufficient as an adult, the court may require payment of child support. Sometimes, child support is put into a trust fund for this type of case.
• If the child reaches age eighteen but has not yet graduated from high school, his or her parent may be required to continue paying child support. A parent may be required to pay child support for a child up to nineteen years old if he or she is still in high school.
• The court may request the payment of child support based on any circumstance that the court deems to be exceptional.

Unlike other states, South Carolina does not require parents to cover their child’s college expenses.

Family Attorneys Can Help

For more answers to your child support questions, contact the McGrath Law Firm. The family attorneys at our firm proudly serve families in the Charleston County area and will give your case the care and attention it deserves.

 

Boating and other water sports are popular pastimes here in Charleston County. On a hot summer day, taking a quick spin on a jet ski or leisurely sipping drinks on the deck of a pontoon can be a satisfying escape from the heat on land. Like any other vehicle, boats and other watercraft pose an injury risk to their passengers and operators. Although there are many ways to reduce your risk of becoming injured while operating a watercraft, there is no way to completely eliminate this risk.

If you’ve been injured in a boating accident, you could be entitled to monetary compensation for the costs associated with your injury. It all depends on which party’s negligence is responsible for your injury and whether or not you could have avoided it.

Contact our firm at 843-606-2755 to discuss your case with one of our experienced personal injury attorneys. We can help you figure out if you have grounds for a personal injury claim and if so, the best way to approach it. Every case is unique and a strategy that worked for somebody else might not work for you and your case.

Possible Boating Injuries

There are many ways to become injured on the water. Some of these injuries are specific to boating and other watercraft and others can be sustained on land as well, through motor vehicle and bicycle accidents. The following list details ways a boat’s operator or passenger could become injured:

• Driving a boat or other watercraft while under the influence of alcohol or other drugs;
• Failing to properly maintain one’s boat or watercraft;
• Failing to obey channel markers and other traffic suggestions, including speed limits in speed-regulated waterways;
• Loading one’s watercraft beyond its weight limit with people or objects;
• Failing to obey weather warnings and other hazards ;
• Colliding with another watercraft; or
• Crashing into rocks, sandbars, and other natural formations.

These actions can lead myriad injuries that could become costly, life-altering, and even deadly. Some of these possible injuries include:

• Broken bones;
• Head and neck injuries;
• Spinal injuries;
• Paralysis;
• Fractures;
• Sprains; and
• Internal and external bleeding.

It’s crucial that you seek medical attention immediately following any type of accident. A seemingly minor injury can rapidly become a much worse affliction if it is left untreated. Always remember to put your health and safety first by obeying posted ordinances, keeping a first aid kit and life jackets on your boat, and seeking medical help when you need it.

Monetary Compensation For Your Injuries

In South Carolina, the statute of limitations for personal injury claims is three years from the date of the accident. If you think you could be entitled to monetary compensation, be proactive and start working with a personal injury attorney as soon as you can. Waiting to begin this process could have a negative impact on your eligibility for compensation.

Personal Injury Attorneys Can Help

At the McGrath Law Firm, we put accident victims first. After you’ve received medical attention for your injury, call us at 843-606-2755 for your free legal consultation. We can help you get the money you deserve.

When you’re under the care of a doctor and other medical professionals, the last thing you expect is to become injured. However, it can happen. Anything from surgery to preventative care to the birth of the newest member of your family can leave you or a loved one permanently disabled, injured, paralyzed, or dead.

When you’ve suffered from any type of injury due to medical malpractice, you deserve to have your expenses compensated by the responsible party. This can mean filing a personal injury claim against your healthcare provider. In the United States, this type of claim is alarmingly common – in 2012, $3.6 billion in payouts were awarded to medical malpractice victims. These payouts came through 12,142 settlements.

If you’ve been a victim of medical malpractice, contact one of the experienced personal injury attorneys at our firm to help build a strong case. Don’t let your healthcare provider’s mistake bankrupt you; let our firm help you get the compensation you deserve.

What Can Monetary Compensation Cover?

The monetary compensation you receive following a personal injury claim can cover all the expenses you incur due to your injury. These expenses can include:

• Medical bills
• Lost wages due to time out of work
• Accommodations for any disabilities or reduced mobility caused by the injury. This can include the installation of a wheelchair ramp at the victim’s home or a specially-modified vehicle for his or her use
• Pain and suffering. This covers all the unquantifiable hardships the victim faces, such as bruising, scarring, depression following an injury, and the changes he or she must make to his or her lifestyle to accommodate the injury

As a victim of medical malpractice in South Carolina, you may receive up to $350,000 in non-economic damages from a single healthcare provider. Non-economic damages are anything other than medical bills, lost wages and other monetary losses that can be calculated through pay stubs and bills. If more than one provider is found to be responsible for a victim’s injury, the victim may receive up to $1.05 million in payouts.

Economic damages are not capped in South Carolina.

South Carolina’s Medical Malpractice Laws

Section 15-79-110 of the South Carolina Code of Laws outlines the definition of medical malpractice in South Carolina and the rules for filing a personal injury lawsuit for victims who’ve suffered from this type of negligence.

SC Code 15-3-530 states the statute of limitations for medical malpractice claims in South Carolina is three years following the injury. This means that any individual who has been injured because of medical malpractice has three years to file his or her claim. Once three years pass, the victim no longer has grounds for a personal injury claim.

Personal Injury Attorneys Can Help

Medical malpractice is a serious issue that can affect anybody. If you’ve suffered from an injury or complication due to negligence on the part of a healthcare professional, contact the McGrath Law Firm at 843-606-2755 today. We’re here to advocate for you and help you receive the money you deserve.

The divorce process can be long, difficult, and confusing. It might seem like there’s an endless supply of divorce attorneys out there waiting to take on your case. But how do you know which attorney is best for you? Do you know how to evaluate potential divorce attorneys and seek out the right qualities in the lawyer who’ll handle your case

The following is a list of points to consider when interviewing prospective divorce attorneys for your case. Every lawyer has his or her own unique strengths in and out of the courtroom. Choosing the right attorney for your case can be the difference between reaching your goals for your divorce settlement and coming away from the process with far less than you’d hoped for.

The Attorney’s Professional History and Credentials

When you’re interviewing attorneys to potentially represent your case, ask about their professional histories. Research your prospective attorney and find out if he or she has a history of misconduct or unethical behavior. Don’t be afraid to ask about his or her case record, either. How does your prospective attorney talk about any difficulties in his or her past? Does he or she try to brush them off, or offer reasons why he or she was unsuccessful in those cases and plans for ways to improve on them?

Learn all you can about every potential attorney’s experience with family law and divorce. Take the time to discuss the specifics of your case and how the rules written out in Title 20 of the South Carolina Code of Laws can affect it.

Is He or She a Professional?

Your case deserves the utmost dedication and attention to detail from your attorney. If you feel like you’re just a number to him or her, chances are you’re not getting the best customer service. An attorney is providing a service and he or she should be professional and treat your case as a top priority.

Does your prospective attorney return your phone calls and emails in a timely manner? Is he or she open with you about the process? It’s your divorce; you need to be an active part of it.

Attorney’s Fees and Divorce Costs

Don’t be afraid to ask about his or her rate per hour. When you first meet with a prospective divorce attorney, ask him or her how much he or she charges per hour. It is also a good idea to ask for an approximate estimate of your divorce’s total cost. Your attorney can’t know exactly what the divorce will cost or what unexpected issues will arise, but he or she should be able to look at your case and, based on past experiences, make a good guess about its total cost.

South Carolina Divorce Attorneys Can Help

If you’re beginning the divorce process, call the McGrath Law Firm at 843-606-2755 to discuss your case with one of our team’s family attorneys. We’re here to advocate for you and help you seek your ideal divorce settlement.