After an Attack at a Columbia-Area Business or Apartment
Care comes first. A relative or friend can handle most of the requests below.
- Get to the ER. Call 911 or have someone drive you. Keep each follow-up, surgery and counseling visit.
- Make a police report. Note which agency took it, whether Columbia Police, a sheriff's department or USC police, and the report number.
- Ask in writing that records be kept. Security video, incident reports, guard logs, maintenance records and messages about the attack. Footage can be overwritten fast, and a written request alone may not stop that, so getting legal help early can matter.
- Write down the conditions. Burned-out lights, a gate propped open, a broken lock, no staff around, cameras or the lack of them.
- Find the people who were there. The bartender, the night clerk, the guard and the stranger who called 911.
- Don't sign a statement for the property's insurer yet. Get your questions answered first.
If you can't sleep or dread walking to your car after dark, that's part of the injury, and your doctor should hear about it.
Where These Cases Arise Around the Midlands
Attacks can happen at bars and clubs in Five Points and the Vista, at hotels near the convention center and off the interstates, in shopping center parking lots along Harbison Boulevard and Two Notch Road, at gas stations, and at apartment complexes across Richland and Lexington counties.
When a Property Owner May Be Responsible
Businesses aren't automatically on the hook for a stranger's crime. Courts balance how foreseeable the danger was against the burden of protective measures.14
Previous similar crimes are an important factor, but a business may still have a duty without them if other circumstances indicate a heightened risk.4 Lighting, locks, gates, cameras, staffing and how the attack unfolded are all part of the picture.
Want someone to look at your situation?
Talk with our team about what happened and ask the questions on your mind.
Time Limits
Most personal injury claims in South Carolina must be filed within three years.2 That means filing in court, and an insurance claim won't pause it.3 If the property belongs to a state or local government, a claim generally must be filed within two years, or three years with a qualifying verified claim.5 Those claims may be capped at $300,000 per person and $600,000 per occurrence.67 See negligent security claims in South Carolina for more.
Talk With Us
It's natural to second-guess where you parked or when you left. We don't start there. Tell us what happened at your own pace. 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 Midlands. The first conversation can happen by phone. For a slip, trip or other dangerous condition, our page on Columbia premises liability claims fits better.
South Carolina Law on This
- South Carolina does not make businesses and property owners automatically responsible for every crime someone else commits on their property. They may be liable when an attack was sufficiently foreseeable and reasonable security measures could have prevented the injury; courts balance how foreseeable the danger was against the burden of protective measures.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
- In South Carolina, a business's duty to protect customers from criminal acts by others depends on how foreseeable the danger was and the burden of taking reasonable security precautions. Previous similar crimes are an important factor, but a business may still have a duty to provide reasonable security without them if other circumstances indicate a heightened risk.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
- 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 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
- A criminal case against an attacker and a civil negligence claim against a property owner are separate. An arrest or conviction does not automatically make the business responsible, and a civil claim may be possible even if the attacker is never identified or convicted. The civil questions include whether the business owed a duty to provide reasonable security, whether it breached that duty and whether the failure contributed to the injury.8
- South Carolina does not impose an automatic duty on landlords to protect tenants from criminal acts by others just because of the landlord-tenant relationship. Depending on the particular circumstances, a landlord or property management company may have a duty to take reasonable measures to address foreseeable criminal dangers in areas under its control, such as parking lots, hallways, entrances and common areas. Whether it may be liable depends on the facts, including its knowledge of risks, its control over the property and the security measures involved.9
Frequently Asked Questions
Does there have to have been an earlier crime at the same place?
Not always. Earlier similar crimes are an important factor, but a business may still have a duty to provide reasonable security without them if other circumstances indicate a heightened risk.4 The kind of business and the precautions available can matter too.
Police arrested the man who attacked me. Does that help my claim against the property?
They're separate. An arrest or conviction does not automatically make the business responsible, and a civil claim may be possible even if the attacker is never identified or convicted. The civil questions are whether the business owed a duty to provide reasonable security, whether it breached that duty and whether the failure contributed to the injury.8
I was attacked in the parking lot of my apartment complex. Is the landlord responsible?
Maybe. Depending on the circumstances, a landlord or property management company may have a duty to take reasonable measures to address foreseeable criminal dangers in areas under its control, such as parking lots, hallways, entrances and common areas. It turns on what the landlord knew, what it controlled and the security involved.9
Should I wait for the criminal trial to finish first?
That can be risky. Opening a claim with an insurance company does not stop the statute of limitations from running, and a criminal case may not pause it either.3 Meanwhile, a hotel's or complex's video system may record over that night.
Sources
- Bass v. Gopal, Inc., 395 S.C. 129, 716 S.E.2d 910 (2011)
- S.C. Code § 15-3-530
- S.C. Code §§ 15-3-20 and 15-3-530
- Bass v. Gopal, Inc., 395 S.C. 129, 716 S.E.2d 910 (2011); Lord v. D & J Enterprises, Inc., 407 S.C. 544, 757 S.E.2d 695 (2014)
- S.C. Code §§ 15-78-80 and 15-78-110
- S.C. Code § 15-78-120
- S.C. Code §§ 15-78-110 and 15-78-120
- Sean Hall, Nov 5, 2026 page review; see Bass v. Gopal, Inc., 395 S.C. 129, 716 S.E.2d 910 (2011)
- Cramer v. Balcor Property Management, Inc., 312 S.C. 440, 441 S.E.2d 317 (1994); compare Bass v. Gopal, Inc., 395 S.C. 129, 716 S.E.2d 910 (2011) (businesses and invitees)
This page is general information about South Carolina law, not legal advice for your situation. Every case depends on its own facts.
