The Short Answer: It Depends on Your Losses
No dollar figure is right for every crash. An amount that covers one person's losses may fall far short for someone else.
What matters is what the crash cost you, now and later. That includes your medical care, your lost pay, and how the injury affects your daily life. It also depends on how fault is shared and what insurance is available to pay. A lawyer can explain how this works for you.
Why Does This Amount Come Up so Often?
South Carolina requires drivers to carry at least $25,000 in liability coverage per person, $50,000 per crash, and $25,000 for property damage.1
So the number often reflects the other driver's insurance, not the size of your injuries.
Why Does It Matter Whether I Am Done With Treatment?
Before treatment ends, you may not know the full cost of your injury. A doctor may later recommend more care, therapy or a procedure.
Follow your doctors' treatment plans and keep every record. You can read more about whether to accept a first offer.
Want someone to look at your situation?
Talk with our team about what happened and ask the questions on your mind.
Can My Own Insurance Add to What the Other Driver's Policy Pays?
It may, depending on what you bought. Check your own policy's declarations page, and ask a lawyer to go over it with you.
You can read more about how coverage for underinsured drivers works.
Illustration only. This is not a real case or a result our firm obtained.
Example: Two drivers, the same offer Two different drivers are each offered $25,000 after separate crashes.
The first driver broke her wrist. It was set in the emergency room, she missed two weeks of work, and she healed in about three months. She is done with treatment.
The second driver broke his leg and needed surgery. His bills are already past $48,000, he has been out of work for four months, and his doctor expects more therapy.
The offer is the same number, but the losses behind each claim are very different. That is why no single amount can be called right for everyone.
How Long Do I Have?
Most personal injury claims in South Carolina must be filed within three years.2 Claims against a state or local government agency have their own deadline, which can be shorter.3 The deadline is to file a lawsuit in court, and opening an insurance claim does not stop it.4
What Records Should I Keep?
Having your records in one place makes any offer easier to weigh. Try to collect:
- All medical bills and records
- Notes from your doctors about future care
- Pay stubs or a letter showing time missed from work
- Repair estimates and photos of the damage
- The police report and any witness information
- Your own insurance policy, including the declarations page
A short daily journal about pain and limits can also help show how the injury affects you.
When Is It Worth Talking to a Lawyer?
It may help to talk with a lawyer if any of these sound familiar:
- You are still in treatment or may need more care
- Your bills are close to or above the offer
- The other driver may have a low policy limit
- The insurer says you were partly at fault
- You are being asked to sign a release
A lawyer can look at the facts of your situation and explain your options.
South Carolina Law on This
- South Carolina requires drivers to carry at least $25,000 in liability coverage per person, $50,000 per crash, and $25,000 for property damage.1
- Most personal injury claims in South Carolina must be filed within three years.2
- Claims against a South Carolina state or local government agency have their own filing deadline, which can be shorter, and there could be caps on damages under the South Carolina Tort Claims Act, depending on the facts of the case.3
- South Carolina's statute of limitations generally sets the deadline for filing a lawsuit in court. Simply opening a claim with an insurance company or negotiating with an insurance adjuster does not stop the statute of limitations from running.4
Frequently Asked Questions
What is my claim worth?
Honestly, no one can say without knowing your injuries, your costs and how the crash happened. Only by talking through your case with a lawyer will you get a real sense of it.
Is my claim capped at the other driver's policy limit?
Not necessarily. Other sources may exist, depending on the crash and the policies involved. A lawyer can tell you what may apply after looking at the details.
Does being partly at fault change the amount?
It can matter. How much depends on the facts of your crash, and going over them with a lawyer is the way to find out.
Sources
This page is general information about South Carolina law, not legal advice for your situation. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change, and every case depends on its own facts.
Attorney responsible for this page: Sean Hall, Sean Hall Law Firm, LLC. Office: 677 King Street, 3rd Floor, Charleston, SC 29403.
