What to Do After a Spinal Cord Injury in Greenville
For a while, the person who was hurt will be focused on surgery, the ICU and learning new routines in rehab. A husband, mother or best friend usually ends up doing what follows.
- Stay with the plan. Surgery follow-ups, therapy and rehab, whether at Prisma Health Greenville Memorial, another hospital or a therapy clinic closer to home.
- Find the report. The Highway Patrol, a deputy, a town officer or a job site manager may have written one; get the number and a copy.
- Photograph the hazard. A broken deck railing, a missing guardrail on a work platform or a dark stairwell may get fixed fast.
- The people who were there. Who saw the fall or crash, who called 911, and which supervisor or homeowner was in charge.
- Track the money. Gas to therapy, hospital parking decks, a shower chair, a ramp, paid caregivers and each bill that arrives.
How These Injuries Happen in the Upstate
Spinal cord injuries around Greenville can follow high-speed wrecks on I-85 and I-385, motorcycle crashes on mountain roads, falls from scaffolding or roofs on new construction, and dives into shallow water at Lake Hartwell, Lake Keowee or a backyard pool.
Your Time to File
Most personal injury claims in South Carolina must be filed within three years.1 Correspondence with a claims adjuster won't buy extra time.2 Lawsuits under the Tort Claims Act generally must be filed within two years, or three years after a qualifying verified claim.3 Damage caps and other special rules may also apply.4
Want someone to look at your situation?
Talk with our team about what happened and ask the questions on your mind.
Compensation That May Be Available
Depending on the circumstances, a claim for a serious injury may include past and future medical treatment, rehabilitation, assistive devices, ongoing personal care, home modifications, lost income, reduced earning capacity, pain and suffering, and other losses. The amount and types available depend on the evidence and the law.5
Long-term care needs are often a big part of these claims, which is why the cost log matters: ramps, a wheelchair van, home aides and lost hours at work for family members.
See our statewide spinal cord injury page, or catastrophic injuries in Greenville.
Talk With Us
We want to know how you lived before the injury: your work, your home, your family and what you did on weekends.
When relatives help, the injured person's wishes stay at the center. Being a spouse, parent or adult child does not automatically give someone authority to settle a claim; that may come from a power of attorney, a conservator or another legal arrangement.6
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 describe the day it happened and an ordinary day now.
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 at the rehab unit can't say yet if I'll walk again. Should I wait to call?
That uncertainty is normal early on, but the clock runs while you wait, and talking with an insurer does not stop the statute of limitations from running.2
My son was hurt diving off a dock on Lake Keowee. Is the owner responsible?
Not automatically. Liability can depend on the visitor's status, the property's condition, what the owner knew, warnings and the injured person's own conduct. South Carolina also has recreational-use laws that may limit an owner's liability in some situations, though not every private dock qualifies.7
The driver who hit me barely had any insurance. 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 Policies generally must include uninsured motorist coverage, and insurers must offer underinsured motorist coverage.10
I was hurt at work. What then?
Most job injuries go through workers' compensation, which usually limits suing your own employer.11 You may also have a personal injury claim against a responsible third party, such as another driver.12 Workers generally must tell the employer no later than 90 days after the accident, and the claim generally must be filed within two years.1314
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.
