After Losing Someone in the Midlands
There's no right order for any of this. Let others help with paperwork.
- Take care of your family first. Services, family and rest come before any claim.
- Ask for the reports. Columbia Police, a sheriff's department, the Highway Patrol or another agency may have one. Ask how to get copies.
- Get extra certified death certificates. You'll be surprised how many offices ask for an original.
- Keep belongings as they are. A vehicle, a product, a helmet or clothing involved. Don't repair, sell or throw it away, and don't reset your loved one's phone.
- Write down what you know. Dates, witnesses, and what doctors, officers or employers said.
- Make one stack. Hospital bills, the funeral home invoice, recent paychecks and adjuster letters.
- Take your time before signing.
The Filing Deadline
South Carolina wrongful death lawsuits generally must be filed within three years after the death, but different rules may apply when a death involves medical malpractice, a government agency or other special laws.3 A related survival claim may have a different deadline.1 An insurance claim, settlement talks or probate generally won't stop the clock.24
Who Benefits
The beneficiaries are set by law: the surviving spouse and children, or, if there are none, the parents, and if none of those survive, other heirs.5 The personal representative brings the case, but the recovery goes to the beneficiaries the statute names, not simply as a will directs.6
Want someone to look at your situation?
Talk with our team about what happened and ask the questions on your mind.
What May Be Recovered
A jury may award damages for the family's losses, including lost support and the family's grief, sorrow, mental shock and loss of companionship.7 Funeral expenses and certain other financial losses may also be recoverable, and punitive damages may be available in qualifying cases of serious misconduct.8 Each family's situation is different. See wrongful death claims in South Carolina for more.
Talk With Us
Your family didn't choose this. Tell us about the person: the job, the family, the Saturday routines. 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. If a loved one died after medical care, see Columbia medical malpractice claims.
South Carolina Law on This
- Under South Carolina law, wrongful death lawsuits generally must be filed within three years of the person's death. However, different rules may apply when a death involves medical malpractice, a government agency, or other circumstances governed by special laws. A related survival claim may also have a different filing deadline.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
- 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.3
- Handling probate matters generally does not stop the filing deadline for a South Carolina wrongful death lawsuit.4
- In South Carolina, a wrongful death lawsuit is brought by the personal representative of the deceased person's estate on behalf of family members designated by law. The beneficiaries are the surviving spouse and children, or, if there are none, the deceased person's parents. If none of those relatives survive, other legal heirs may benefit from the claim.5
- A South Carolina wrongful death lawsuit must be brought by or in the name of the deceased person's personal representative, generally the executor or administrator of the estate, for the benefit of eligible surviving family members. Those beneficiaries do not ordinarily file individual wrongful death lawsuits in their own names, and if no personal representative has been appointed, that may be one of the first steps. The recovery is intended for the beneficiaries set by statute, not simply as the deceased person's will directs.6
- In a South Carolina wrongful death claim, a jury may award damages for the family's losses, which can include financial losses such as lost support, and the family's grief, sorrow, mental shock and loss of companionship.7
- Depending on the circumstances, funeral expenses and certain other financial losses may also be recoverable in a South Carolina wrongful death case. Punitive damages may be available in qualifying cases involving sufficiently serious misconduct.8
- Depending on the circumstances, a separate survival claim may be available for losses the deceased person experienced before death, including certain medical expenses and conscious pain and suffering. A wrongful death claim addresses losses suffered by eligible surviving family members. The two claims are legally distinct and may be pursued together when appropriate.9
- When an injured person dies, the injury claim they had does not end. Their estate's personal representative can pursue it as a survival claim, separate from a wrongful death claim.10
Frequently Asked Questions
Which family member files the case?
A South Carolina wrongful death lawsuit must be brought by or in the name of the deceased person's personal representative, generally the executor or administrator of the estate, for the benefit of eligible family members.6 If no one has been appointed yet, that may be an early step. Relatives can still gather records and talk with a lawyer in the meantime.
How do we know if we have a case?
The cause of death, the reports and the medical records drive that answer. Going over the facts with a lawyer is how you find out.
Should we finish probate first?
What about the hospital bills and suffering before our loved one died?
Sources
- S.C. Code §§ 15-3-530(6) and 15-3-545
- S.C. Code §§ 15-3-20 and 15-3-530
- S.C. Code §§ 15-78-110 and 15-78-120
- S.C. Code § 15-3-530(6)
- S.C. Code §§ 15-51-10 and 15-51-20
- S.C. Code § 15-51-20
- S.C. Code § 15-51-40; S.C. Requests to Charge - Civil § 35-6 (wrongful death damages); Smith v. Wells, 258 S.C. 316, 188 S.E.2d 470 (1972)
- S.C. Code § 15-51-40
- S.C. Code § 15-5-90; S.C. Code § 15-51-10 et seq.
- S.C. Code § 15-5-90
This page is general information about South Carolina law, not legal advice for your situation. Every case depends on its own facts.
