It’s wild to realize how much can change in ten years.
In 2013, TikTok didn’t exist, Uber was barely a thing in most places, and AI was just science fiction for most people. Fast forward to today: we live differently, work differently, and yes, we get hurt in ways the law didn’t fully consider a decade ago.
Personal injury claims are adapting fast to a new world, and if you live in South Carolina, there’s a good chance these changes could affect you.
“We’re in an era where you can be injured by a product you didn’t touch, a driver you never saw, or a decision made by software. That fundamentally changes how we approach personal injury law,” says personal injury lawyer Charles W. Whetstone, Jr. of Whetstone Perkins & Fulda.
Here are six trends that matter more than most people realize.
Trend 1: Class Actions Give Victims More Power
When you’re hurt by a big company’s mistake, it’s easy to feel outmatched. They have legal teams. They have money. They have time. However, one of the most significant trends in personal injury law is that you don’t have to fight alone.
Just look at the $6 billion settlement in the 3M earplug case, where service members stood together after being issued defective gear. Or the PFAS water contamination lawsuit against Tyco Fire Products. These weren’t solo fights. They were class actions. And they worked.
Class actions turn scattered voices into a chorus. They let people who might not be able to afford a case team up and take action together. For South Carolinians who feel small against big companies, these cases are a reminder that there’s real power in numbers.
Trend 2: Gig Workers Are Filing Injury Claims and Winning
Increasingly, personal injury law is shaped by the realities of the gig economy. Think about it: nearly 1 in 6 Americans work through an online platform like Uber or DoorDash. That’s according to the Pew Research Center. Many do it full-time.
However, when accidents occur on the road, in someone’s driveway, or during a delivery, these workers often lack the legal safety net that traditional employees take for granted.
But the tide is turning. Uber and Lyft are being held accountable in states like New York and Massachusetts, where they’ve settled for hundreds of millions of dollars and agreed to treat drivers more like employees.
Meanwhile, a case in Summerville, South Carolina, made headlines for another reason. After an Amazon gig driver hit a motorcyclist, the victim sued Amazon and won. The jury awarded $44.6 million. It was one of the first times a company like Amazon was held directly responsible in a personal injury case involving a gig worker. And it probably won’t be the last.
Trend 3: Self-Driving Cars and Tech-Based Accidents
Cars that drive themselves once sounded like sci-fi movies. But today, they’re clocking real miles. Waymo’s autonomous fleet numbers have grown to over 1,500 vehicles. Tesla’s Autopilot system is already in the hands of consumers. Amazon’s Zoox is developing robotaxis.
But accidents happen, and when they do, the question isn’t just how it happened but who’s responsible? In one case, a Tesla in Autopilot mode crashed and killed a man. His family said Tesla oversold what the system could do. They sued, and in 2024, Tesla settled.
That same fog of liability hangs over Uber, which quietly paid out after one of its test vehicles fatally struck a pedestrian. These cases set a precedent, illustrating how complex issues can arise when software is at fault. South Carolina may not have robotaxis lining its streets yet, but testing is underway, and laws haven’t yet caught up. This is a space to watch and one that could impact personal injury law for decades.
Conclusion
Life has undergone significant changes over the last ten years. So, too, have our jobs, our cars, and even the way we interact with companies. And when accidents happen in this evolving world, it’s not always obvious who should be held accountable, or even if anyone can be. But you don’t have to figure that out alone. If you’ve been hurt, contact a lawyer. A quick conversation might open doors you didn’t know were there.