After a Boating Injury Near Johns Island
Get the injured person out of the water and to care first. A relative or friend can take on the rest while you are being treated.
- Call for help. Dial 911 or radio from the boat, and name the creek or river and the closest landmark. Tell the ER exactly what happened, and keep every follow-up and therapy visit.
- Get the other operator's details. Their name, address and the registration numbers on the hull. A photo of the numbers is easier than writing on a rocking deck.
- Make sure DNR hears about it. State law requires certain boating accidents, including ones with serious injuries, to be reported to the Department of Natural Resources. That duty generally falls on the operator.5 Depending on what happened, the report may be due within 48 hours or may need to be made immediately.4
- Pin the location. Drop a pin if your phone has signal, or note the nearest marker, dock or creek mouth. Out in the marsh, one bend looks a lot like the next.
- Photograph what you can. Injuries first, including cuts from oyster shell, then both boats, the water and the sky. Note whether the tide was rising or falling.
- Find witnesses. People on nearby boats, docks or sandbars may have seen it.
- Bag up broken gear. A torn life jacket, snapped tow line, ripped tube or kill-switch lanyard should come home with you, not go in a dock trash can.
- Hold off on signing. An owner, rental business or insurer may send papers. Many people talk with a lawyer before signing or sending anything back.
Waters Around the Island
The tidal Stono River separates the island from the mainland and forms part of the Intracoastal Waterway. Bohicket Creek, Church Creek and the Kiawah River wind through the marsh to the south and west. Fishing boats, jet skis, kayaks and paddleboards all share these waters, and the tide changes depth and current quickly.
Which Law and Which Time Limit
A claim under federal maritime law generally must be filed within three years.1 Not every boating accident is a maritime case, and some may fall under South Carolina law instead. Which body of law applies turns on where the accident happened and how.2
If South Carolina law governs, most injury lawsuits must be filed within three years.6 The limit is for a court filing, and an insurance claim does not pause it.7 When a state or local agency is responsible for one of the operators, a separate and possibly shorter deadline applies.8 The statewide page covers boat accident claims in South Carolina.
Want someone to look at your situation?
Talk with our team about what happened and ask the questions on your mind.
Court Notices From a Boat Owner
A boat's owner may ask a federal court to limit how much they can be held liable for an accident.9 The court may then set its own, much shorter deadline for injured people to file claims. If notice of a proceeding like this arrives, call a lawyer right away, because missing the court's date can put your recovery at risk.3
Charter Tickets and Rental Papers
Fishing charters and boat rentals operate around the island. Federal law sets minimum notice and filing periods that tickets for certain covered passenger vessels cannot cut short.10 That protection may not reach every charter, rental or recreational boat. Keep your ticket, booking email or rental agreement and have a lawyer look it over soon.
Talk With Us About What Happened
Most boating injuries happen on a day that was meant to be fun, often on a friend's or relative's boat. That can make a claim feel uncomfortable.
We start by hearing how the day went on the water. If you hire us, the insurers can usually deal with us, and we will be honest with you about every option, hard ones included. Bring any court papers or ticket terms to the first conversation.
Our office is on King Street in downtown Charleston. We take cases across South Carolina, including Johns Island, and the first conversation can happen by phone. If a defective boat or part played a role, see defective product claims. For a wreck on the road to the ramp, see Johns Island car wrecks.
South Carolina Law on This
- Injury and death claims arising from a maritime accident generally must be filed within three years under federal law.1
- Not every boating accident falls under federal maritime law. Federal admiralty jurisdiction generally requires both a qualifying location on navigable waters and a sufficient connection to traditional maritime activity, and navigability is a legal determination, not simply whether the water can carry boats. Some accidents, particularly on certain inland lakes or waterways, may be governed by South Carolina law instead.2
- A boat owner may file a federal court proceeding under the Limitation of Liability Act seeking to limit liability for an accident. If that happens, the court may set a separate deadline for injured people to file their claims, which can be much shorter than the ordinary three-year maritime deadline, and other litigation may be restricted. Missing the court's deadline can jeopardize recovery.3
- South Carolina law requires certain boating accidents to be reported to the Department of Natural Resources. The statute provides for a report within 48 hours, and immediate notification for accidents involving death, loss of consciousness or serious bodily injury.4
- After a boating accident in South Carolina, an operator generally must help anyone injured if it can be done safely, give their name, address and boat identification in writing, and report certain accidents to the Department of Natural Resources.5
- Most personal injury claims in South Carolina must be filed within three years.6
- 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.7
- 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.8
- A boat's owner can ask a federal court to limit liability to the value of the boat after the accident. Once that case is filed, other lawsuits are generally stopped, and claims must be filed in the federal case by a court-set deadline.9
- Tickets for some passenger and charter boats may shorten the time to give notice of an injury claim or to file suit. For covered vessels, federal law sets minimum periods that a ticket cannot shorten.10
Frequently Asked Questions
My friend was at the helm when I got hurt. Can I still bring a claim?
You may. A day of fishing or tubing with a friend doesn't rule out a claim if the friend's carelessness caused the wreck. Coverage turns on whose boat it was and what policies sit behind it. Before you decide anything, a lawyer can walk through what a claim would mean for you and your friend.
The other boat took off after the collision. What now?
Give the responding officers everything you remember: the hull color, the size, the motor and any name or numbers you saw. People on other boats or on docks along the creek may have seen it too.
The other operator was charged with BUI. Does that decide my injury claim?
No. A BUI charge runs on its own track, apart from any injury claim, and a lawyer can explain where the two meet. Discussions with an insurer do not stop a South Carolina filing deadline.7
Another boat's wake pushed us onto an oyster rake at low tide. What should I write down?
Note the tide, the creek and the other boat's name or numbers. Get photos of the injuries first, then the damage, and the names of anyone who saw it.
Sources
- 46 U.S.C. § 30106
- 28 U.S.C. § 1333; Foremost Ins. Co. v. Richardson, 457 U.S. 668 (1982); Sisson v. Ruby, 497 U.S. 358 (1990)
- 46 U.S.C. §§ 30501 et seq.; Supplemental Admiralty Rule F
- S.C. Code § 50-21-130
- S.C. Code § 50-21-130 (as amended by 2008 Act No. 321)
- 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
- 46 U.S.C. §§ 30523 and 30529 (formerly §§ 30505 and 30511; renumbered by Pub. L. 117-263 in 2022); Supplemental Admiralty Rule F
- 46 U.S.C. § 30526
This page is general information about South Carolina law, not legal advice for your situation. Every case depends on its own facts.
