What to Do After a Bike Crash on Hilton Head
Get to the hospital first. A spouse, parent or friend can take over the calls and paperwork while you are being treated.
- Call 911. Let the ambulance crew take you in. Keep every follow-up, surgery and therapy visit your doctors set.
- Get a report number. Ask the deputy or trooper who came for a card with the number on it.
- Photograph the driver's details. The license, plate and insurance card are enough. People on the pathway or waiting at the crossing may have seen it, so get their numbers.
- Leave the bike alone. Store it as it is, with the helmet, lights and the clothes you wore. If it was a rental, photograph it from every side before it goes back.
- Export your ride. Save the file from your watch, bike computer or app, along with any camera footage.
- Ask about cameras soon. Villas, homes and shops near the crossing may have video that gets recorded over.
Where Riders Get Hurt Around Hilton Head
The island fills with families on rental bikes, e-bike riders and locals pedaling to work. Trouble tends to come where the pathways cross driveways, shopping-center entrances and side streets, and where a driver turns across the path without looking. Riding after dark on unlit stretches, the summer crowds near Coligny and the busy roads through Bluffton add to the risk.
What South Carolina Law Says About Cyclists and Drivers
A person on a bicycle on a South Carolina road has the same rights as someone driving a car and, with some exceptions, the same duties.4 Drivers have to use due care so they don't hit a bicyclist, and they must keep a safe operating distance from one at all times.6 Whether a given driver failed at that depends on how the crash happened.5
Sharing some of the blame doesn't always end a claim. South Carolina uses a modified comparative negligence rule: any award is generally cut by your percentage of fault, and against one defendant you generally can't recover if you were more than 50% responsible.7
There is no general helmet requirement for bicyclists in South Carolina.8 Riding without one does not automatically keep you from bringing a claim, but the crash and the injuries can still matter.9
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
Most South Carolina injury lawsuits must be filed within three years.1 That limit is for a lawsuit, so trading calls with an adjuster does not stop it.2 When a state or local government body is the one being blamed, suit generally must be filed within two years, or three years if a qualifying verified claim was filed first. Other rules can apply depending on who is involved.3 A lawyer can tell you which deadline fits your crash.10
Talk With Us
Tell us about the ride: where you were headed, where the car came from and how your recovery has gone since. We listen, and we are honest about what we see. If you hire us, the insurers can usually deal with us.
We take cases across South Carolina, including Hilton Head, Bluffton and the rest of southern Beaufort County. Our office is on King Street in Charleston. The first conversation can happen by phone. Our statewide bicycle accident page covers the law in more depth. If you hit your head, read about brain injuries on Hilton Head, and if you were on foot, see pedestrian crashes on the island.
Call us and we can go over what happened.
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
- 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
- A person riding a bicycle on a South Carolina roadway has the rights of a vehicle driver and generally the same duties, with some exceptions.4
- South Carolina drivers must exercise due care to avoid colliding with bicyclists. Whether a driver violated this duty depends on the circumstances of the crash.5
- South Carolina drivers must keep a safe operating distance between their vehicle and a bicycle at all times.6
- Under South Carolina's modified comparative negligence rule, you can generally recover damages if your share of fault is not greater than the fault of the defendant or defendants. In a typical two-driver accident, that means you can recover if you are 50% or less at fault, which is often described as less than 51%. Your damages are generally reduced by your percentage of fault. If your fault is greater, recovery is generally barred under this rule.7
- South Carolina does not generally require bicyclists to wear helmets.8
- Not wearing a helmet does not automatically prevent an injured motorcyclist or bicyclist from bringing a claim in South Carolina. Whether helmet use affects a particular case depends on the circumstances, including the crash and the injuries involved.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
- A potential injury claim generally depends on whether another party was negligent, whether that negligence caused the injuries, and what losses resulted.11
Frequently Asked Questions
Who wrote the report if I was hit at a pathway crossing on the island?
Hilton Head has no town police department, so the report may come from the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office or the Highway Patrol. Crash reports in South Carolina can be requested through the SCDMV no matter which agency responded.
How do I know if the driver was to blame?
The driver says I came off the pathway too fast. Can I still recover?
Possibly. Under South Carolina's modified comparative negligence rule, your recovery is generally reduced by your share of fault, and against a single defendant you generally cannot recover if you were more than 50% at fault.7 Photos, ride data and witness accounts can shift that picture.
How do I know whether I have a claim at all?
It generally depends on whether someone was negligent, whether that caused your injuries and what losses followed.11 A lawyer can go over what you have and what may still be worth looking into.
Sources
- S.C. Code § 15-3-530
- S.C. Code §§ 15-3-20 and 15-3-530
- S.C. Code §§ 15-78-110 and 15-78-120
- S.C. Code § 56-5-3420 (as amended by 2008 Act No. 317)
- S.C. Code §§ 56-5-3230 (due care toward pedestrians and bicyclists), 56-5-3435 (safe operating distance), 56-5-3425 (bicycle lanes)
- S.C. Code § 56-5-3435 (added by 2008 Act No. 317)
- Nelson v. Concrete Supply Co., 303 S.C. 243, 399 S.E.2d 783 (1991); S.C. Code § 15-38-15
- Sean Hall's Nov 5 review notes (no general South Carolina statute requires bicycle helmets)
- Sean Hall's Nov 5 review notes
- S.C. Code §§ 15-78-80 and 15-78-110
- Elements of negligence under South Carolina law, as stated in Sean Hall's Nov 5 review notes
This page is general information about South Carolina law, not legal advice for your situation. Every case depends on its own facts.
