First Steps for the Family
Someone with a new spinal cord injury may spend weeks between the ICU and a rehab hospital, so the legwork usually lands on whoever is closest.
- Stay with the treatment plan. Surgery follow-ups, therapy and rehab, wherever the doctors send you.
- Get the report. From the agency or business that responded, with any case number.
- Photograph the hazard. A broken railing, a missing guardrail on a platform, the dock and the water depth markers, if any.
- Track down the people who saw it. Crewmates, a foreman, other boaters, the neighbor who called 911.
- Open a spending notebook. Gas money for rehab trips, hospital parking garages, a shower chair, an aide's hours.
- Get advice before signing. Many families do.
Care in the Midlands
Spinal cord injuries in the Columbia area are often treated first at Prisma Health Richland, Prisma Health Baptist, MUSC Health Columbia Medical Center or Lexington Medical Center, and veterans may receive care at the Dorn VA. In the Midlands, these injuries can come from interstate wrecks on I-26, I-20 and I-77, falls on construction sites, and shallow-water dives at Lake Murray and the rivers.
Time to File
Most personal injury claims in South Carolina must be filed within three years.1 The limit applies to filing a lawsuit, and letters and calls with an insurer don't stop it.2 A county truck or a state agency's negligence changes the clock: generally two years, or three years if a qualifying verified claim was filed first.3 Caps and special rules may apply.4
Want someone to look at your situation?
Talk with our team about what happened and ask the questions on your mind.
What a Claim May Include
Depending on the facts, a spinal cord injury claim may include past and future medical care, rehab, assistive devices, ongoing personal care, home modifications, lost income, reduced earning capacity, and pain and suffering. The amount and types of compensation available depend on the evidence and applicable law.5
Keep that spending notebook current. Ramps, a wheelchair van, home aides and lost work can all be part of the picture. See spinal cord injury claims in South Carolina for more.
Talk With Us
Tell us what a good Saturday looked like before this, and what it looks like now.
When family members help, the injured person's wishes stay at the center. A spouse, parent or adult child does not automatically have legal authority to settle a claim for an injured adult, and a power of attorney or conservator may be needed.6
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. See also Columbia catastrophic injury claims.
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
- A South Carolina property owner is not automatically responsible for a diving or other recreational injury. Liability can depend on the visitor's status, the condition of the property, what the owner knew, warnings, and the injured person's own conduct. South Carolina also has recreational-use laws that may limit property-owner liability in qualifying circumstances, though they do not automatically apply to every private dock or recreational property.7
- Underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage is optional coverage on your own auto policy that can pay when the at-fault driver's liability limits are too low to cover your losses.8
- Uninsured motorist (UM) coverage on your own auto policy can pay when the at-fault driver has no liability insurance, and in some hit-and-run crashes.9
- South Carolina auto liability policies generally must include uninsured motorist coverage, and insurers must offer underinsured motorist coverage.10
- Most injuries that happen on the job in South Carolina go through the workers' compensation system, which has its own rules, and usually limits suing your own employer.11
- In South Carolina, an employee injured at work may be able to receive workers' compensation benefits and also pursue a personal injury claim against a responsible third party, such as another driver. The workers' compensation insurer may have a right to reimbursement from any settlement or judgment. Special rules and deadlines apply when pursuing both claims.12
- An injured worker in South Carolina generally must tell the employer about a work accident right away, and no later than 90 days after it, to receive workers' compensation, unless an exception applies.13
- A South Carolina workers' compensation claim generally must be filed with the Workers' Compensation Commission within two years after the accident, or after a death it caused. Telling the employer does not count as filing. Occupational diseases and repetitive trauma follow different rules.14
Frequently Asked Questions
The doctors don't know yet whether I'll walk again. Should we wait?
That uncertainty is normal early on, but the time to file keeps running, and an open insurance claim doesn't pause it.2 Talking with a lawyer before the long-term picture is clear can help.
My son was hurt diving off a friend's dock on Lake Murray. Is the owner responsible?
A South Carolina property owner is not automatically responsible for a diving or other recreational injury. Liability can depend on the visitor's status, the condition of the property, what the owner knew, warnings, and the injured person's own conduct. Recreational-use laws may limit liability in some situations, though they don't automatically apply to every private dock.7
The driver who hit us has a small policy. What else is there?
Underinsured motorist coverage on your own policy can pay when the at-fault driver's limits are too low.8 Uninsured motorist coverage can pay when the driver has no liability insurance.9 South Carolina policies generally must include UM, and insurers must offer UIM.10 Bring the declarations pages for every car in the household.
The injury happened at work. What are my options?
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 § 27-3-10 et seq.
- S.C. Code § 38-77-160
- S.C. Code §§ 38-77-150 and 38-77-170
- S.C. Code §§ 38-77-150 and 38-77-160
- S.C. Code § 42-1-540
- S.C. Code § 42-1-560
- S.C. Code § 42-15-20
- S.C. Code §§ 42-15-20 and 42-15-40
This page is general information about South Carolina law, not legal advice for your situation. Every case depends on its own facts.
