What to Do After an Attack at a Greenville Business or Apartment Complex
This page covers people hurt by someone else's violence at a privately run place in Greenville County, such as a hotel, a bar, a store or an apartment complex. Medical care comes first. A relative or friend can make most of the calls below.
- Emergency treatment. Whether the ambulance takes you or a friend drives, get to an ER, and afterward stay with the surgery, follow-up and counseling plan.
- Report it. Inside the city, that's usually the Greenville Police Department. Elsewhere it may be the Sheriff's Office or a town department. Write down the report number.
- A letter asking them to hold the proof. Put it in writing to the hotel, bar or complex manager: keep the video, the guard's log, the incident write-up and repair records for the gate or lights. Footage can be recorded over fast, and a letter alone doesn't make sure anything is kept, so getting legal help early can matter.
- Write down what you noticed. Dark spots, broken locks or gates, no staff around, and where cameras were or weren't.
- Who was around. The bartender or desk clerk on shift, the guard if there was one, and the stranger who called 911.
After an assault, many people can't sleep, avoid going out after dark or relive the moment. Your doctor or a counselor can help with that, so mention it.
Where These Attacks Happen
Busy nightlife downtown, hotels near the interstates and the airport, shopping centers on Haywood Road and Woodruff Road, and large apartment complexes across the county all draw crowds and cars. Dim private lots, open breezeways and gates that never latch are the kinds of details worth noting.
When a Business Can Be Responsible
South Carolina does not make businesses and property owners automatically responsible for every crime someone else commits on their property. Courts balance how foreseeable the danger was against the burden of taking reasonable security precautions.31
Earlier break-ins, robberies or fights at the same complex or shopping center weigh heavily, though a claim may exist without them.3 Lighting, locks, gates, cameras, staffing and what happened during the attack can all come into it.
Want someone to look at your situation?
Talk with our team about what happened and ask the questions on your mind.
How Long You Have to File
Most personal injury claims in South Carolina must be filed within three years.2 That limit is for a lawsuit, and an insurance claim doesn't stop it.4
If a government entity owns or runs the property, Tort Claims Act lawsuits generally must be filed within two years, or three years after a qualifying verified claim.5 Those claims can also face special liability rules and damage caps.67
See our statewide negligent security page. If you were hurt by a hazard rather than a person, see premises injuries in Greenville.
Talk With Us
After an assault in a hotel hallway or a dark lot, it's common to second-guess every choice you made that night. We don't start with blame. We start by listening, at your pace.
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 and tell us what you noticed about the property that night.
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
- 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.3
- 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.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
- 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.6
- 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.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 that hotel or store?
Not necessarily. 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.3
Police arrested the man who attacked me. Does that settle anything with the business?
No. 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.8
I was attacked in the parking lot of my apartment complex. Can the landlord be responsible?
Possibly. 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 depends on what the landlord knew, what it controlled and the security involved.9
Should I wait for the criminal case to finish?
That can be risky. South Carolina's statute of limitations generally sets the deadline for filing a lawsuit in court, and talking with an insurer doesn't stop it.4 Camera footage and business records can also vanish while the criminal case plays out.
Sources
- Bass v. Gopal, Inc., 395 S.C. 129, 716 S.E.2d 910 (2011)
- S.C. Code § 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 §§ 15-3-20 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 § 15-78-120
- 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.
