Charleston Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer

South Carolina Law on This

• In South Carolina, complaints about licensed nursing facilities can be made to the South Carolina Department of Public Health (1-800-922-6735), and concerns about residents' rights, care and treatment can be taken to the Long Term Care Ombudsman Program (1-800-868-9095). Suspected abuse in long-term care facilities can also be reported to SLED's Vulnerable Adults Investigations Unit (1-866-200-6066). Abuse of adults living in the community generally goes to Adult Protective Services at the Department of Social Services (1-888-227-3487). Suspected crimes can be reported to law enforcement. Families do not have to rely only on a facility's internal complaint process.¹
• Most personal injury claims in South Carolina must be filed within three years.²
• 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.³
• Medical malpractice claims in South Carolina generally must be filed within three years of the treatment, or of when the injury was or should have been discovered, but no later than six years after the treatment, with limited exceptions.⁴
• Under South Carolina's Omnibus Adult Protection Act, nursing home staff, health care workers, caregivers, including family members who provide care, and others must report suspected abuse, neglect or exploitation of a vulnerable adult. Anyone else may report it. Facility residents count as vulnerable adults.⁵
• Nursing home cases may involve ordinary negligence, medical malpractice, or both. Claims involving professional medical care may require special pre-suit procedures, including a Notice of Intent to File Suit, an expert affidavit, and mediation. Which rules apply depends on the conduct alleged, not simply on the fact that the injury occurred in a nursing home.⁶
• South Carolina's medical malpractice statutes list nursing homes among the health care institutions they cover, so some nursing home negligence claims may need to follow the pre-suit notice and expert affidavit steps.⁷
• Before filing a medical malpractice lawsuit in South Carolina, the injured person generally must file a notice of intent to sue along with an expert's affidavit, and the parties must then try mediation.⁸
• 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.⁹
• 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.¹⁰
• Reporting abuse to regulators does not itself file a civil lawsuit or automatically extend the time to sue.¹¹
• A nursing home resident who retains decision-making capacity generally has the right to participate in decisions about their own care and living arrangements. A family member does not automatically have legal authority to move the resident; someone with legal decision-making authority may need to coordinate a transfer.¹²
• 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.¹³
• 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.¹⁴