What to Do If You Think Your Care Went Wrong in Charleston
Charleston is a medical town, with hospitals, surgery centers and clinics from the peninsula to Summerville. When care goes wrong here, your health still comes first. You can ask for a second opinion or move to a new doctor if trust is gone.
A family member can request the full chart from each place you were seen: test results, imaging, nursing notes and billing. They can also start a dated timeline of every visit, procedure, prescription and conversation, with who said what. Pill bottles, after-visit summaries, printed portal messages and insurance explanations of benefits all go in the same box.
If someone apologized or explained what went wrong, write down their words, their name and the date. Hold on to any letter about an "unexpected outcome" or a billing adjustment. Posting about it online tends to cause problems later.
Steps Required Before a Lawsuit
South Carolina generally requires a special pre-suit process before a malpractice lawsuit can be filed. A patient generally must serve a Notice of Intent to File Suit and file an expert affidavit identifying at least one alleged negligent act or omission, unless a statutory exception applies. The process also includes pre-suit mediation and special rules that affect filing deadlines.3 These steps take time, so reach out to a lawyer early.
Time Limits
South Carolina generally requires malpractice claims to be filed within three years of the alleged malpractice or when the injury was or reasonably should have been discovered. Many claims are also subject to a six-year outer limit, with special rules for certain foreign-object cases and claims involving children. The deadline can also depend on whether the provider is a private, state, local or federal healthcare entity.1 An insurance claim does not stop the clock for filing suit.4
Claims against a South Carolina government healthcare provider may fall under the Tort Claims Act. Those generally have a two-year deadline, though a qualifying verified claim may allow three years.5 Other requirements and limits on damages may apply.2
Injury claims against the federal government, such as care at a VA hospital, generally must first be filed in writing with the agency within two years, before any lawsuit. That applies to Federal Tort Claims Act claims, not necessarily every claim from a military facility.6 Active-duty service members, including those stationed at Joint Base Charleston, generally follow a different process.7
Guessing at the start date is risky in either direction, so get a lawyer to look at the calendar with you. Our South Carolina malpractice page goes into more.
Want someone to look at your situation?
Talk with our team about what happened and ask the questions on your mind.
Talk With Us About What Happened
You went in trusting a doctor, a nurse or a hospital, and something went badly. Some bad results come from honest risk that no one could have avoided, and some don't. Start at the first appointment and walk us through it, and we'll tell you plainly which way it looks to us.
Our office is on King Street in downtown Charleston. If the harm happened in long-term care, see nursing home abuse in Charleston. If you lost someone, see wrongful death claims in Charleston.
Call and tell us about the treatment and what changed afterward.
South Carolina Law on This
- South Carolina generally requires medical malpractice claims to be filed within three years of the alleged malpractice or when the injury was discovered or reasonably should have been discovered. Many claims are also subject to a six-year outer limit, but special rules and exceptions apply, including certain foreign-object cases and claims involving children. The applicable deadline can also depend on whether the provider is a private, state, local, or federal healthcare entity.1
- 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.2
- Before filing a medical malpractice lawsuit in South Carolina, a patient generally must serve a Notice of Intent to File Suit and file an expert affidavit identifying at least one alleged negligent act or omission, unless a statutory exception applies. The process also includes pre-suit mediation and special rules that affect filing deadlines.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
- Lawsuits under the South Carolina Tort Claims Act generally must be filed within two years after the loss was or should have been discovered. A three-year deadline may apply if a qualifying verified claim was first filed under the Act.5
- Injury claims against the federal government, such as care at a VA hospital, military clinic or some federally funded health centers, or a crash with an on-duty federal employee, generally must first be filed in writing with the agency within two years, before any lawsuit. If the agency denies the claim, a lawsuit generally must be filed within six months after the agency mails its written denial.6
- Active-duty service members generally cannot sue the federal government for medical malpractice involving care received incident to military service. However, they may be eligible to seek compensation through an administrative claim with the Department of Defense for malpractice by a DoD health care provider at a covered military medical facility.7
- A medical malpractice claim generally requires proof of an applicable professional standard of care, a breach of that standard, causation, and compensable injury. A poor medical outcome does not by itself mean malpractice occurred.8
- In South Carolina, a wrongful death lawsuit is brought by the personal representative of the deceased person's estate on behalf of family members designated by law. The beneficiaries are the surviving spouse and children, or, if there are none, the deceased person's parents. If none of those relatives survive, other legal heirs may benefit from the claim.9
- Under South Carolina law, wrongful death lawsuits generally must be filed within three years of the person's death. However, different rules may apply when a death involves medical malpractice, a government agency, or other circumstances governed by special laws. A related survival claim may also have a different filing deadline.10
Frequently Asked Questions
Was it malpractice, or just a bad result?
A poor medical outcome does not by itself mean malpractice occurred. A claim generally requires proof of the professional standard of care, a breach of it, causation and a compensable injury.8 Other medical providers' opinions often help answer that, and a lawyer can review the records to see whether a closer look makes sense.
Do I need my records before I call?
No. Asking for them is a good idea, but you can call first. A notebook page listing each doctor, each building and each date gets us started.
My mother died after a procedure. Can our family bring a claim?
I'm sorry for your loss. When negligent care leads to a death, the family may have a wrongful death claim. In South Carolina, it is brought by the personal representative of the estate on behalf of family members designated by law.9 The malpractice pre-suit rules and their own deadlines can come into play as well.310
Can I meet with you in person?
Yes. Our office is on King Street downtown, and a family member is welcome to come along. A first conversation by phone works too. Can't make the trip? We can meet you at the hospital, at your home or another place that works.
Sources
- S.C. Code § 15-3-545
- S.C. Code §§ 15-78-110 and 15-78-120
- S.C. Code §§ 15-79-125 and 15-36-100
- S.C. Code §§ 15-3-20 and 15-3-530
- S.C. Code §§ 15-78-80 and 15-78-110
- 28 U.S.C. §§ 2401(b) and 2675(a); 42 U.S.C. § 233(g)
- Feres v. United States, 340 U.S. 135 (1950); 10 U.S.C. § 2733a
- S.C. Code § 15-79-110(6); David v. McLeod Regional Medical Center, 367 S.C. 242 (2006)
- S.C. Code §§ 15-51-10 and 15-51-20
- S.C. Code §§ 15-3-530(6) and 15-3-545
This page is general information about South Carolina law, not legal advice for your situation. Every case depends on its own facts.
