What to Do After a Toxic Exposure Near Hilton Head
Get care first. A family member can keep the records.
- Leave. Get out of a villa where the carbon monoxide alarm is going off. Step away from a spill, stop drinking suspect water and stop using the product.
- Medical help. Call 911 for serious symptoms. With carbon monoxide, headaches and nausea in several people at once are a reason to get to the ER fast. For other chemicals, get medical advice quickly and follow poison control's or the paramedics' instructions. Tell your doctors what you think you were exposed to and when.
- Poison Control. For immediate poison exposure guidance in the United States, call 1-800-222-1222.3
- Incident numbers. If the fire department or a deputy came out for a leak or spill, ask how to get the report.
- Notes and photos from a safe distance. The spill, the appliance, the label, the water. Keep a running log of dates, odors, how each person felt and every call.
- Labels, receipts, notices. Keep them. Don't store hazardous material yourself; sampling may need a professional.
- Releases. Many people get legal advice before signing one.
How Exposures Happen Around the Island
Around Hilton Head and Bluffton, exposures can come from a faulty gas appliance or a running car in a rental's garage, chlorine and other pool chemicals at resorts and community pools, fumes from paint, solvents or pesticides on a job site or golf course, fuel at a marina, or a tanker spill on I-95 or US-17 near Hardeeville.
How Long You Have to File
Illnesses from harmful substances can appear or be found long after the contact. South Carolina generally gives three years for injury claims, but when that period starts can be complicated.1 Negotiating with an insurance adjuster does not stop the statute of limitations from running.4
A person does not necessarily need to know the precise substance responsible, every defendant or the legal theory before the clock begins running.1 Assuming a late start is a gamble.
Most personal injury claims in South Carolina must be filed within three years.5 Lawsuits under the South Carolina Tort Claims Act generally must be filed within two years, and a three-year deadline may apply if a qualifying verified claim was first filed under the Act.6 There could also be caps on damages, depending on the facts of the case.2
Want someone to look at your situation?
Talk with our team about what happened and ask the questions on your mind.
What Has to Be Shown
A toxic exposure claim generally requires more than showing that a substance was present. Depending on the legal theory, evidence may be needed on how exposure occurred, whether the substance can cause the type of injury involved, and whether it caused the particular person's illness. Medical records, air or water testing, work records and product information may all come into play. Exposure does not automatically establish that someone is legally responsible for a medical condition.7
Talk With Us
Start with the smell, the alarm or the first headache, and go from there to what the doctors have found. If you hire us, the insurers can usually deal with us, and you'll get an honest read on what we see.
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 toxic exposure claims and, for damp and mold problems, toxic mold near Hilton Head.
Call and tell us what you were exposed to.
South Carolina Law on This
- South Carolina's three-year limitations period for personal injury claims generally begins when a person knew or, through reasonable diligence, should have known that they had a potentially actionable injury. A person does not necessarily need to know the precise substance responsible, every defendant or the legal theory before the clock begins running.1
- 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.2
- For immediate poison exposure guidance in the United States, the Poison Control number is 1-800-222-1222.3
- 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
- Most personal injury claims in South Carolina must be filed within three years.5
- 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.6
- A toxic exposure or mold claim generally requires more than showing that a substance was present. Depending on the legal theory, evidence may be needed on how exposure occurred, whether the substance can cause the type of injury involved, and whether it caused the particular person's illness. Exposure does not automatically establish that someone is legally responsible for a medical condition.7
- 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.8
- Different workers' compensation timing rules may apply to repetitive trauma injuries and occupational diseases that develop over time in South Carolina. The date a worker first experienced symptoms is not necessarily the date the filing deadline began.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
I found out about the contamination years after we moved. Am I too late?
It depends on dates you may not have pinned down yet. The three-year period generally starts when you knew, or reasonably should have known, about a potentially actionable injury. You don't necessarily need to know the precise substance, every defendant or the legal theory before the clock begins running.1
The doctors are still running tests. Should I wait for a diagnosis?
No need. Keep the appointments and request copies of your results. A lawyer can start looking at the exposure itself while the medical picture fills in.
What if a public water system or another agency caused it?
Possibly. Tracing the source, from a main break to a treatment problem, shapes who is involved. 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.6 There could be caps on damages too.2
Sources
- S.C. Code § 15-3-535
- S.C. Code §§ 15-78-110 and 15-78-120
- America's Poison Centers / Poison Help line
- S.C. Code §§ 15-3-20 and 15-3-530
- S.C. Code § 15-3-530
- S.C. Code §§ 15-78-80 and 15-78-110
- General South Carolina toxic tort causation principles (Sean Hall, Nov 5 review)
- S.C. Code § 42-1-540
- S.C. Code § 42-15-40
- S.C. Code § 42-1-560
This page is general information about South Carolina law, not legal advice for your situation. Every case depends on its own facts.
