What to Do After a Construction Injury in Greenville
Get treated first. A coworker or family member can begin on the rest while you are in the hospital.
- Emergency care. Have someone dial 911. At the hospital, describe the fall, the collapse or the machine to each doctor, and then stick with the follow-up plan.
- Report it to your employer. Tell your foreman or superintendent quickly, or have a relative do it, and follow up with a text or email so there's a dated record.
- Get photos if it's safe and allowed. A coworker can capture the scaffold, ladder, trench, guardrail or machine. Nobody should go into a restricted area or move equipment to get a picture.
- Names on the site. Jot down who was on your crew that day, which framers, roofers or electricians were nearby, who ran the lift or excavator, and the GC's superintendent.
- Keep the gear. Boots, harness, hard hat and tools that failed should be kept. Ask that equipment and records be preserved rather than repaired or tossed.
- Save your paperwork. Pay stubs, time sheets and any forms from the insurance carrier.
- Recorded statements and releases can wait. Plenty of workers get legal advice first.
Building Sites Around Greenville
Greenville County keeps growing, from the Golden Strip and Five Forks to Greer and Travelers Rest. That means new subdivisions, apartment buildings, road widening and turn lanes, with crews working close to traffic and heavy equipment moving all day.
Workers' Comp Deadlines
Most injuries that happen on the job in South Carolina go through the workers' compensation system, which has its own rules.1 A worker generally must tell the employer right away, and no later than 90 days after the accident.3 The claim generally must be filed with the Commission within two years after the accident.4 Different timing rules may apply to repetitive trauma injuries and occupational diseases that develop over time.5
See workers' comp in Greenville for more.
Want someone to look at your situation?
Talk with our team about what happened and ask the questions on your mind.
Suing Someone Other Than Your Employer
Workers' compensation is generally the exclusive remedy against a covered employer, with limited exceptions.6 An injured worker may still be able to pursue a personal injury claim against a responsible third party.2
Not every company on the site counts as a third party. A business that hires a subcontractor to do part of its own trade may be considered a statutory employer.7 That doctrine can extend the employer's protection from lawsuits to some contractors higher up the chain.6 So the contracts between the companies on that subdivision or road job, and the work each one did, shape who can be sued.
Timing for a Third-Party Claim
Most personal injury claims in South Carolina must be filed within three years, while the workers' comp claim generally has two.84 Negotiating with an insurance adjuster does not stop the statute of limitations from running.9 Lawsuits under the Tort Claims Act generally must be filed within two years, or three years after a qualifying verified claim.10 Government claims can also carry damage caps, depending on the facts.11
Our statewide construction accident page has more.
Talk With Us
People in the trades often spend years building skills that depend on their bodies. We start by asking what you were doing when you got hurt and what work looked like before.
Our office is on King Street in downtown Charleston. The first conversation can happen by phone. We take cases across South Carolina, including Greenville and the Upstate. If you hire us, the insurers can usually deal with us.
Call us and describe the job site, the companies working it and the moment things went wrong.
South Carolina Law on This
- 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.1
- 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.2
- 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.3
- 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.4
- Different workers' compensation timing rules may apply to repetitive trauma injuries and occupational diseases that develop over time in South Carolina. The date a worker first experienced symptoms is not necessarily the date the filing deadline began.5
- Workers' compensation is generally the exclusive remedy against a covered South Carolina employer for a qualifying workplace injury, although limited exceptions exist. South Carolina's statutory-employer doctrine can extend that immunity to some contractors or other businesses, so they are not automatically third parties simply because they are not the worker's direct employer.6
- Under South Carolina workers' compensation law, a business that hires a subcontractor to perform work that is part of the business's own trade or operations may be considered a statutory employer. When this rule applies, the business can be responsible for workers' compensation benefits for the subcontractor's employees, even though it did not hire them directly.7
- Most personal injury claims in South Carolina must be filed within three years.8
- 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.9
- 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.10
- 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.11
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have three years to file?
Not for workers' comp. An injured worker generally must tell the employer no later than 90 days after the accident, and the claim generally must be filed with the Workers' Compensation Commission within two years after it.34 Most personal injury claims in South Carolina must be filed within three years, and that covers a suit against an outside company.8
I wasn't on the crew. I was driving past a work zone on Woodruff Road when I got hurt. What then?
Workers' comp covers injuries on the job, so it generally isn't your route.1 Most personal injury claims in South Carolina must be filed within three years.8 If a government entity is involved, a Tort Claims Act lawsuit generally must be filed within two years, or three years after a qualifying verified claim.10
Sources
- 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
- S.C. Code § 42-15-40
- S.C. Code §§ 42-1-400, 42-1-540; Keene v. CNA Holdings, LLC, 436 S.C. 1, 870 S.E.2d 156 (2021)
- S.C. Code §§ 42-1-400 through 42-1-420; Keene v. CNA Holdings, LLC (S.C. 2021)
- 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
This page is general information about South Carolina law, not legal advice for your situation. Every case depends on its own facts.
