First Steps After Police Misconduct or a Jail Injury in the Midlands
Care comes first. If you are hospitalized or still in custody, a family member can start on the rest.
- See a doctor. That may be the ER at Prisma Health Richland or a written sick-call request from a cell. Keep copies of each request and every record.
- Write down the sequence. Date, time, place, what was said and done, in order. Add names, badge numbers and the agency, whether Columbia Police, the Richland or Lexington County Sheriff's Department, USC police, a town department or the Highway Patrol.
- Find out who runs the jail. In some counties it's a county department and in others the sheriff. That matters for records.
- Move fast on video. Ask witnesses for phone clips, and note nearby cameras in Five Points, the Vista or wherever it happened. Old footage is often recorded over.
- Collect witnesses. A name and phone number now is easier than a search later.
- Photograph injuries. Right away, then as they heal.
- Save the jail paperwork. Citations, the booking printout, your property slip and the release sheet all matter.
- Stay off social media about it. With charges open, your defense lawyer should hear the story before anyone else does.
Time Limits
A Section 1983 lawsuit over events in South Carolina generally has a three-year filing period, borrowed from the state's personal injury deadline.2 Federal law sets when it begins, and claims for excessive force, unlawful detention or prosecution may start on different dates.1 A lawyer can figure out which limit fits.
State-law claims against South Carolina state or local government entities generally must be filed within two years, and a qualifying verified claim may extend that to three years.35 Those claims can be limited to $300,000 per person and $600,000 per occurrence, with no punitive damages.64
If the officer worked for a federal agency, such as at Fort Jackson or a federal building downtown, claims involving federal officers follow different rules than claims against state and local officers. An injury claim against the United States generally must first go in writing to the federal agency within two years.8 Constitutional claims against individual federal officers are separate and available only in limited circumstances.7
If You're Locked Up
Someone in jail or prison generally must use the facility's grievance process, following its rules and deadlines, before filing a federal lawsuit about conditions or treatment.9 Keep copies of each grievance and each answer, and get legal advice early.
Want someone to look at your situation?
Talk with our team about what happened and ask the questions on your mind.
Pending Charges
Charges or a conviction from the same incident can affect a related civil rights claim. Many excessive force claims may proceed independently, but a damages claim generally can't proceed if winning it would imply an outstanding conviction is invalid.10 Your defense lawyer and a civil lawyer should talk before you give statements.
Talk With Us
Policing Columbia and the Midlands is demanding work. When an encounter goes wrong, the person on the receiving end is owed a careful, even-handed review. We start with your account, from the first moment of the encounter.
Our office is on King Street in Charleston. We take cases across South Carolina, including Columbia and Richland and Lexington counties. The first conversation can happen by phone. For more, see civil rights claims in South Carolina and catastrophic injury claims in Columbia.
Call and tell us what records you have.
South Carolina Law on This
- Federal civil rights lawsuits under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 arising in South Carolina generally have a three-year filing period, borrowed from the state's personal injury deadline. Federal law, not South Carolina's discovery rule, determines when that period begins, and claims involving excessive force, unlawful detention or prosecution may have different starting dates.1
- Federal civil rights claims under Section 1983 over events in South Carolina generally borrow the state's three-year personal injury deadline, which can differ from the deadline for state-law claims against a government agency.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
- South Carolina law provides a procedure for submitting a formal, verified claim to the appropriate government agency, generally within one year after the loss was or should have been discovered. This is different from reporting the accident or opening an insurance claim. Filing a verified claim is not always required before a lawsuit, but it can affect the filing deadline.5
- South Carolina generally limits recovery against government entities under the Tort Claims Act to $300,000 per person and $600,000 total for a single occurrence. The Act does not allow punitive damages or prejudgment interest.6
- Claims involving federal officers follow different rules than claims against state and local officers. Constitutional damages claims against individual federal officers are separate from Federal Tort Claims Act claims and are available only in limited circumstances.7
- 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.8
- A person in jail or prison generally must use the facility's grievance process, following its rules and deadlines, before filing a federal lawsuit about conditions or treatment there.9
- Criminal charges or a conviction arising from the same incident can affect a related civil rights claim. A Section 1983 damages claim generally cannot proceed if success would necessarily imply that an outstanding criminal conviction is invalid, unless that conviction has been invalidated. Some claims, such as many excessive force claims, may proceed independently.10
Frequently Asked Questions
Is any use of force by an officer a violation?
Not necessarily. There is no simple test, and the answer depends on the facts, including everything that led up to the encounter. Reviewing the evidence with a lawyer is how you find out whether a claim may exist.
I still have charges pending from the same night. Can I ask about a civil claim?
Yes. The criminal case and any civil claim share the same facts, so your defense lawyer and a civil lawyer should compare notes early. Hold off on Facebook posts or interviews until your defense lawyer weighs in.
How much time do I have?
Sources
- Wallace v. Kato, 549 U.S. 384 (2007); McDonough v. Smith, 588 U.S. 109 (2019)
- Owens v. Okure, 488 U.S. 235 (1989); S.C. Code § 15-3-530(5); Doe-2 v. Sheriff of Richland County, No. 21-1771 (4th Cir. 2023) (unpublished, per review C)
- S.C. Code §§ 15-78-80 and 15-78-110
- S.C. Code §§ 15-78-110 and 15-78-120
- S.C. Code § 15-78-80
- S.C. Code § 15-78-120
- Egbert v. Boule, 596 U.S. 482 (2022); 28 U.S.C. § 2401(b)
- 28 U.S.C. §§ 2401(b) and 2675(a); 42 U.S.C. § 233(g)
- 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(a); Woodford v. Ngo, 548 U.S. 81 (2006); Porter v. Nussle, 534 U.S. 516 (2002)
- Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477 (1994)
This page is general information about South Carolina law, not legal advice for your situation. Every case depends on its own facts.
