What to Do After a Product Injury in Charleston
It could be an e-bike battery that caught fire in a peninsula apartment, a ladder that buckled on a Daniel Island porch or a boat part that failed in the harbor. Get treated first, and tell the ER doctor exactly what the product did.
While you're recovering, a relative can make sure the product stays put. Don't fix it, clean it, toss it or send it back without legal advice, as long as keeping it is safe. A burned battery or leaking chemical may need professionals to handle it. Photograph it and keep every piece.
The cardboard box, the instruction booklet, the warning stickers and the online order or store receipt are all worth keeping, along with a photo of the model and serial plate. Photograph your injuries as they heal, along with where the product failed. If the fire department, police or a store responded, ask how to get their report.
Jot down how you were using it, how long you'd owned it and anything odd beforehand. If a recall notice shows up, keep it with the date it arrived. Talk with a lawyer before you sign anything or ship the product anywhere.
How Defect Claims Work
Defect claims in South Carolina commonly involve manufacturing defects, design defects, or inadequate warnings or instructions.2 A manufacturing defect means something went wrong in making that one item. A design defect means the design itself made it unreasonably dangerous. A warnings defect means it lacked the directions or warnings needed to use it safely.
Claims may proceed under strict liability, negligence or warranty theories, depending on the facts.2 A business that regularly sells a product can be responsible when one it sold in a defective, unreasonably dangerous condition reaches the user without substantial change and injures them.1 Design claims generally require a feasible alternative design.4
The Time to File
Most South Carolina personal injury lawsuits involving defective products must be filed within three years.3 Some warranty claims and claims under other laws can have different deadlines. Waiting on a recall or an insurer generally doesn't stop the clock.56 Claims involving a government agency may have a shorter deadline.7
Our defective product page for South Carolina has 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
A lot of people blame themselves after a tool or gadget hurts them. Tell us what it was, how you used it and what happened. Our office is on King Street in downtown Charleston, and a first call by phone is fine.
If the product started a fire, see burn injuries in Charleston. If it failed on the water, see boat accidents in Charleston.
Call and tell us what you still have of the product.
South Carolina Law on This
- In South Carolina, a business that regularly sells a product can be responsible when one it sold in a defective, unreasonably dangerous condition reaches a user or consumer without substantial change and injures them, even if it used all possible care and the user did not buy from it.1
- South Carolina product liability claims commonly involve manufacturing defects, design defects, or inadequate warnings or instructions. Depending on the facts, claims may proceed under strict liability, negligence or warranty theories, and manufacturers and other businesses in the product's distribution chain may be responsible.2
- Most personal injury claims in South Carolina must be filed within three years.3
- To prove a product's design was defective in South Carolina, the injured person generally must show a feasible alternative design that would have made it safer, considering cost, safety and how well it works.4
- Most South Carolina personal injury lawsuits involving defective products must be filed within three years. Certain warranty claims and claims governed by other laws may have different deadlines. Opening an insurance claim, contacting the manufacturer or waiting for a recall generally does not stop the filing deadline.5
- 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.6
- 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.7
Frequently Asked Questions
If a product hurt me, does that mean it was defective?
Not by itself. A business that sells a product can be responsible when it was sold in a defective, unreasonably dangerous condition and injured the user.1 Getting hurt alone doesn't prove that. For a design defect, South Carolina generally requires a feasible alternative design that would have made it safer.4
It was a borrowed product. Can I still have a claim?
Potentially. A seller can be responsible even if the user did not buy from it.1 Someone hurt using a borrowed, gifted or rented item may have a claim, depending on the facts.
The manufacturer wants to collect the product. Should I hand it over?
Slow down. The product is usually your most important evidence, and once it's gone you may never see it again. Ask for the request in writing, take photos, and talk with a lawyer before giving it up.
Sources
This page is general information about South Carolina law, not legal advice for your situation. Every case depends on its own facts.
