What to Do After a Burn Injury on Hilton Head
Get treated first. A family member or friend can start keeping track of evidence while you are in the hospital.
- Call 911 for a serious burn. Go to every surgery, wound care visit and therapy session, and keep the paperwork.
- Ask for the report. The fire department, the Sheriff's Office or the business where it happened may have a report or case number.
- Be careful with what burned. Don't pick up a damaged battery, gas appliance or electrical item without guidance from safety professionals. If it is safe, keep it, its packaging and the receipt, and ask a lawyer before throwing anything away.
- Pictures before the cleaning crew arrives. Rental turnovers move fast, so ask someone to shoot the outlets, the grill, the scorched deck boards and any warning stickers first.
- Pictures of the burns, week by week. Grafts, dressings and scars all belong in the record.
- Manuals, boxes and receipts. These show who built and who sold the product.
How Burns Happen Around Hilton Head
On the island and in Bluffton, serious burns can come from a fire in a rental house or villa, a grill on a crowded deck, a fuel fire at a dock or on a boat, a charging e-bike or scooter battery, or hot oil in a busy resort kitchen. Visitors in an unfamiliar rental may not know where the shutoffs or exits are, which can make a bad night worse.
Time Limits for Burn Claims
Most South Carolina injury claims must be filed within three years.1 The limit is for a lawsuit, so an insurance claim does not pause it.2 Against a state or local government entity, suit generally must be filed within two years, or three years if a qualifying verified claim was filed first.4 There could be caps on damages under the South Carolina Tort Claims Act, depending on the facts.3
When a villa fire starts in the walls, the gas line or a contractor's work, the calendar can be tighter. Claims against builders, contractors and designers over work on real property can be cut off by a fixed outer limit, whenever the problem is discovered.5 South Carolina generally sets that outer deadline at eight years from substantial completion of the improvement, with possible exceptions.6 Which limit controls is a question for a lawyer.
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Talk with our team about what happened and ask the questions on your mind.
Talk With Us
A serious burn changes daily life for a long time. We start by hearing how the fire happened and what your days look like now. 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. Read more about South Carolina burn injury claims, defective products near Hilton Head and life-changing injuries on the island.
Call us and tell us what you still have from the scene.
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
- 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.4
- Claims against builders, contractors and designers over work on real property can be cut off by a fixed outer time limit that applies no matter when the problem is discovered.5
- South Carolina generally imposes an eight-year outer deadline on lawsuits arising from defective or unsafe improvements to real property, measured from substantial completion of the improvement. Exceptions may apply. This deadline is separate from the ordinary statute of limitations and may prevent some claims even when the problem was discovered later.6
- 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.7
- 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.8
- 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.9
- 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.10
Frequently Asked Questions
An e-bike battery caught fire in our rental. Should we keep it?
Only once the fire crew says it's safe. Burned lithium cells can reignite hours later. If you are cleared to keep it, bag it up with the charger, the cord, the box and the rental paperwork, and talk to a lawyer before it goes back to the shop, the maker, an insurer or the curb.
I was burned in a restaurant kitchen on the island where I work. What are my options?
Most work burns in South Carolina go through workers' compensation, which usually limits suing your own employer.7 Tell your manager right away and no later than 90 days after the burn, and file with the Workers' Compensation Commission within two years, unless an exception applies.89 A fryer maker or a repair company outside your employer could open the door to a separate injury claim.10
The wiring in the villa is decades old. Is it too late to bring a claim?
Old wiring can raise a timing problem. Claims against builders, contractors and designers over work on real property can be cut off by a fixed outer time limit that applies no matter when the problem is discovered.5 So the age of the villa is worth raising in your first call.
Sources
This page is general information about South Carolina law, not legal advice for your situation. Every case depends on its own facts.
