What to Do After a Spinal Cord Injury Near Hilton Head
In the first weeks, the injured person may be in surgery, intensive care or a rehab unit far from the island. A spouse, parent or friend will likely carry most of this.
- Follow the whole plan. Surgery follow-ups, inpatient rehab, outpatient therapy, whether that happens in southern Beaufort County, in another city or back home.
- Paperwork from the scene. A deputy's report number, a trooper's card or a job-site incident form.
- The hazard. Photograph the broken rail, the missing guard on a platform, the shallow water by the dock, before anything changes.
- Who saw it. Write down the crew, the foreman, the folks on the dock or the other drivers who stopped.
- A cost log. Mileage, parking, a wheelchair or lift, home help and every bill.
- Releases and forms. Get legal advice before anyone signs for the family.
How These Injuries Happen Around the Island
Spinal injuries in the Hilton Head area can follow a rollover on I-95, a head-on crash on a two-lane road outside Bluffton, a dive into shallow water off a dock or a sandbar, a fall from a roof or scaffold at a new home site, a hard landing in a boat crossing a wake, or a golf cart that flips.
Your Time to File
Most personal injury claims in South Carolina must be filed within three years.1 Simply opening a claim with an insurance company 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, and a three-year deadline may apply if a qualifying verified claim was first filed.3 There could be caps on damages under the Act, depending on the facts of the case.4
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Talk with our team about what happened and ask the questions on your mind.
What a Claim May Include
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 caused by the injury. The amount and types of compensation available depend on the evidence, the injuries and South Carolina law.5 The cost log above helps show the day-to-day expenses: ramps, a widened doorway, a van, help with bathing.
Talk With Us
Paralysis or a crushed vertebra changes everything at once. We want to hear about life before it: the job, the house, the kids, the fishing or golf or whatever filled your weekends. We'll be honest with you about the options.
A relative can field the paperwork, but the choices belong to the injured person whenever they can make them. Being a spouse, parent or adult child doesn't automatically give someone legal authority to settle a claim or make binding decisions for an injured adult; a power of attorney or a court appointment may be needed.6
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. See South Carolina spinal cord injury claims and construction injuries near Hilton Head.
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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 can't say yet if I'll walk again. Should I wait to see?
That uncertainty is normal in the early months, but the filing clock runs anyway, and insurer calls don't pause it.2 It can make sense to talk with a lawyer before the long-term outlook is clear.
My son was hurt diving off a friend's dock into a tidal creek. Is the owner responsible?
Not automatically. A South Carolina property owner is not automatically responsible for a diving or other recreational injury; it can depend on the visitor's status, the property's condition, what the owner knew, warnings and the injured person's own conduct. Recreational-use laws may also limit an owner's liability in some situations.7
The driver who hit me barely had insurance. What else is there?
Underinsured motorist coverage is optional coverage on your own policy that can pay when the at-fault driver's limits are too low.8 Uninsured motorist coverage can pay when the at-fault driver has no liability insurance.9 South Carolina auto policies generally must include UM coverage, and insurers must offer UIM.10 Whether either helps depends on the policies and the facts.
I was hurt on a job site in Bluffton. Is that workers' comp?
Most on-the-job injuries go through workers' compensation, which usually limits suing your employer.11 If a contractor, driver or equipment maker outside your employer was responsible, a separate injury claim may be possible.12 The employer generally needs notice within 90 days, and the Commission generally needs a filed claim within two years, unless an exception applies.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.
