You are not screwed because you're broke.

That's the first thing.

A carpenter in North Charleston who gets hit by a vehicle with known brake problems still has a case even if the cop doesn't write a ticket and the insurance company's hired doctor claims the MRI is "basically normal." That IME report is not some magic reset button. It's one piece of evidence, and usually a very self-serving one.

The bigger danger is what you do next.

The first screwup: treating this like a simple car wreck

If the brakes failed because of a known mechanical defect, this is not just "driver hit me." It can turn into a much uglier evidence fight.

That matters around North Charleston more than people think. Between I-26, I-526, Dorchester Road, Rivers Avenue, and all the port traffic feeding in and out of the Charleston terminals, vehicles take a beating. Work trucks, vans, fleet vehicles, delivery units, old pickups hauling tools - half the problem is maintenance, and the other half is somebody pretending they had no clue.

If you only chase the driver's basic insurance and ignore the brake issue, you may miss maintenance records, repair invoices, recall notices, text messages, shop reports, and company logs showing the defect was known before the crash.

Those records disappear fast.

The second screwup: believing the IME doctor is neutral

He's not your doctor.

He's the insurance company's doctor. Independent medical exam is a nice clean phrase for a pretty dirty setup. A lot of these exams are brief, dismissive, and written to give adjusters cover.

If your MRI shows actual damage but the IME says nothing is wrong, do not let that report become the whole file. This is where people wreck their own claims by skipping follow-up care because they get intimidated.

That's exactly what the insurer wants.

A broken leg in two places is obvious. But once you're talking about knee damage, back injuries, hip compensation, ankle instability, nerve symptoms, or shoulder injuries from bracing during impact, the IME doctor will often act like you're exaggerating unless your treatment record is consistent and current.

Mistakes that kill these cases

• Missing appointments after the IME says you're "fine"
• Going back to framing, roofing, trim work, or ladder jobs too early and telling everyone you're "good enough"
• Failing to preserve the MRI, imaging reports, operative notes, and work restrictions
• Not documenting wage loss when your trade depends on climbing, lifting, kneeling, and carrying sheets, saws, and lumber
• Letting the insurer frame it as a wear-and-tear injury instead of crash trauma
• Waiting too long to pin down the brake defect evidence before the vehicle gets repaired, sold, or junked

South Carolina's blame rules are where this gets ugly

South Carolina uses modified comparative negligence. If they can push you over 50% at fault, you get nothing.

So when the mechanical defect looks bad for them, they start shopping for another story.

Maybe you were speeding on Leeds Avenue. Maybe you "came out of nowhere" near Remount Road. Maybe you should have braked sooner on I-526. Maybe your injuries are old. Maybe your carpentry work caused the MRI findings. Maybe the driver had no warning at all that the brakes were defective.

You can see the game.

The no-citation police report does not mean no case. Cops are not rebuilding brake systems on the roadside. They make an immediate scene call. Civil claims are broader than that.

Money is the trap most people misunderstand

A lot of injured workers hear "lawyer" and think retainer, hourly billing, thousands down up front.

That's not usually how injury cases work.

The more immediate financial mistake is worse: using your own cash for every medical bill, taking a garbage early settlement because the mortgage is due, or giving a recorded statement before you understand how the IME report and defect evidence fit together.

If you're a carpenter out of work in North Charleston, the real leverage in your case is not just pain. It's functional loss. Can you climb? Can you kneel? Can you carry material? Can you work a full day at a site off Montague, Ashley Phosphate, or out toward Hanahan without your leg blowing up?

That loss needs to be documented like your paycheck depends on it, because it does.

The brake defect issue can widen the case

Known defect cases can involve more than one insurance bucket. Driver. Owner. Employer. Maintenance company. Sometimes more.

That's another reason people mess this up when they assume the IME doctor already killed everything.

He didn't.

But if you let the vehicle get fixed without inspection, stop treatment because one paid doctor shrugged at your MRI, and fail to tie your physical limitations to your carpentry work, then yeah, the case can go sideways fast.