First Steps After a Serious Injury in Columbia
Care comes first. Take these a little at a time, and hand off whatever you can to relatives.
- Keep the treatment going. In an emergency, call 911. After that, follow the plan from the hospital, the rehab unit or the home health team.
- Get the report. Ask the agency that responded, whether Columbia Police, a sheriff's department or the Highway Patrol, how to get it. If the injury happened at a store or apartment complex, ask the manager for an incident report.
- Photograph things. Injuries as they heal, the scene, the vehicle or the hazard, ideally taken by a relative with a phone.
- Hold on to paper and gear. Records, bills, discharge papers, pay stubs and insurer letters. Damaged helmets, clothes or equipment too.
- Start a notebook by the bed. Jot down pain levels, what can't be done anymore and who had to step in.
- Get answers before signing. Many families talk to a lawyer first.
Care in the Midlands
Serious injuries in the area are often treated at Prisma Health Richland, Prisma Health Baptist, MUSC Health Columbia Medical Center Downtown or Lexington Medical Center. Veterans may be treated at the Dorn VA. Each hospital, rehab center and therapist keeps separate records and bills, so a list of every provider and date saves time later.
Filing Deadlines
Most South Carolina injury claims must be filed within three years.1 That time is for filing a lawsuit, and an open insurance claim won't stop it.2
Claims against state or local government entities generally must be filed within two years, though a properly filed verified claim may extend that to three years.3 A claim against a public body may face caps on recovery as well.4 The statewide catastrophic injury page has more.
Want someone to look at your situation?
Talk with our team about what happened and ask the questions on your mind.
Losses a Claim May Include
Depending on the facts, a claim for a serious injury may include past and future medical care, rehab, assistive devices, ongoing personal care, home changes, lost income, lost earning ability, and pain and suffering. What is available depends on the evidence and the law, and no recovery can be promised.5
Future needs matter as much as the bills so far. Work, medical and money records help show them.
When You're the One Holding It Together
A spouse or adult child often ends up running the household and the paperwork. Use one binder for every bill and letter. A running call log, with names, dates and a line about each conversation, keeps track of who promised what. Track time off work, miles driven to appointments and help hired at home.
Talk With Us
Tell us who you were before this happened, and what mornings look like in your house today. If you hire us, the insurers can usually deal with us.
Our office is on King Street in Charleston. We take cases across South Carolina, including Columbia and the surrounding counties. The first conversation can happen by phone. See also brain injury claims in Columbia and spinal cord injury claims in Columbia.
South Carolina Law on This
- Most personal injury claims in South Carolina must be filed within three years.1
- 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.2
- 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.3
- 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.4
- Depending on the circumstances, a South Carolina personal injury claim for a serious injury may include compensation for past and future medical treatment, rehabilitation, assistive devices, ongoing personal care, home modifications, lost income, reduced earning capacity, pain and suffering, and other losses caused by the injury. The amount and types of compensation available depend on the evidence and applicable law.5
- In South Carolina, being an injured adult's spouse, parent or adult child does not automatically give someone legal authority to settle a personal injury claim or make binding legal decisions for that person. Depending on the circumstances, authority may come from a valid power of attorney, a court-appointed conservator or another legally recognized arrangement, and a guardian ad litem may be required in certain litigation involving an incapacitated person.6
- Under South Carolina's discovery rule, the three-year period for most personal injury lawsuits generally begins when a person knew, or through reasonable diligence should have known, that they had a potentially actionable injury. A formal diagnosis is not necessarily required to start the period, and a later diagnosis does not automatically restart the deadline, but when the injury reasonably could have been discovered depends on the circumstances.7
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes an injury catastrophic?
No official list exists. It's shorthand for harm that rewrites how someone lives, often for good: paralysis, a severe TBI, losing a limb, or burns that need grafts.
My husband can't manage his own affairs right now. Can I handle his claim?
You can gather records, keep notes and talk with a lawyer. But being an injured adult's spouse, parent or adult child does not automatically give someone legal authority to settle a claim for that person.6 A power of attorney, a court-appointed conservator or another arrangement may be needed, and a lawyer can tell you which.
We opened a claim with the insurer. Are we covered on timing?
No. Opening a claim with an insurance company does not stop the statute of limitations from running.2
Should we wait until rehab is over to call?
No need. Calling from a hospital room or rehab center while treatment is still going is fine. Keep the focus on recovery.
The full injury wasn't diagnosed at first. Does the clock start later?
A later diagnosis does not automatically restart the filing deadline. The period generally begins when a person knew, or with reasonable diligence should have known, about a potentially actionable injury, which depends on the facts.7
Sources
- S.C. Code § 15-3-530
- S.C. Code §§ 15-3-20 and 15-3-530
- S.C. Code §§ 15-78-80 and 15-78-110
- S.C. Code §§ 15-78-110 and 15-78-120
- S.C. Code §§ 15-32-210 et seq. (punitive damages); South Carolina tort decisions on compensatory damages
- S.C. Code Title 62, Article 5 (guardianship and conservatorship) and §§ 62-8-101 et seq.; South Carolina powers of attorney law
- S.C. Code § 15-3-535
This page is general information about South Carolina law, not legal advice for your situation. Every case depends on its own facts.
