If You Think Your Care Went Wrong
Your health comes first. A family member can request records and keep notes while you recover.
- Keep getting care. You can get a second opinion or switch providers if you've lost trust.
- Request records from every provider. Ask each hospital, clinic and office for the complete chart: test results, imaging, nursing notes and bills.
- Write a timeline. Every visit, procedure, prescription and conversation, with dates and who said what.
- Save the small things. Discharge papers, pill bottles, appointment cards, portal messages and insurance statements.
- Don't post about it. Save the details for your care team and a lawyer.
- Call a lawyer sooner rather than later.
If a provider apologized or explained what went wrong, write down the words, who said them and when. Save any letter mentioning an "unexpected outcome" or a bill that was written off.
Care for Island Patients
Johns Island patients often see a primary care office close to home and then cross the Stono to West Ashley or downtown for scans, surgery and other doctors. Each place keeps its own chart, so write the list of places now, while you remember it. If you are looking after a parent or spouse, keep the timeline for them.
Steps Required Before a Lawsuit
South Carolina generally requires a special pre-suit process before a malpractice lawsuit can be filed. It includes serving a Notice of Intent to File Suit and filing an expert affidavit naming at least one alleged negligent act or omission, unless an exception applies. The process also includes mediation and its own filing deadlines.3 These steps take time, so reach out early.
Want someone to look at your situation?
Talk with our team about what happened and ask the questions on your mind.
Time Limits
A malpractice claim generally must be filed within three years of the care or of when the injury was or reasonably should have been discovered. Many claims also face a six-year outer limit, with exceptions for things like certain foreign-object cases and claims for children. The type of provider, private, state, local or federal, can change the deadline.1
The limit is for a court filing, and an insurance claim does not pause it.4
When a state or local government runs the hospital or clinic, the Tort Claims Act may control. The usual window there is two years, or three if the statutory claim procedure is followed.5 Special requirements and damage caps may also apply.2
If treatment happened at the VA or another federal facility, the Federal Tort Claims Act may govern, and it generally calls for a written claim to the agency within two years, before suit. Not every claim over care at a military clinic runs through that Act.6 Service members on active duty generally have a separate route.7
Assume the clock may already be running. A lawyer can explain how these rules apply to you. The statewide page covers medical malpractice claims in South Carolina.
Talk With Us About What Happened
When care goes wrong, it's hard to know whom to trust next. We listen to the whole story. Sometimes a bad result comes from risks no one could have avoided. Either way, we will be straight with you.
Our office is on King Street in downtown Charleston. We take cases across South Carolina, including Johns Island. The first conversation can happen by phone, and family members who were at the bedside are welcome on the call.
If the harm happened in a long-term care setting, see Johns Island nursing home neglect. If a medical error led to a death, see Johns Island wrongful death claims.
South Carolina Law on This
- South Carolina generally requires medical malpractice claims to be filed within three years of the alleged malpractice or when the injury was discovered or reasonably should have been discovered. Many claims are also subject to a six-year outer limit, but special rules and exceptions apply, including certain foreign-object cases and claims involving children. The applicable deadline can also depend on whether the provider is a private, state, local, or federal healthcare entity.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
- Before filing a medical malpractice lawsuit in South Carolina, a patient generally must serve a Notice of Intent to File Suit and file an expert affidavit identifying at least one alleged negligent act or omission, unless a statutory exception applies. The process also includes pre-suit mediation and special rules that affect filing deadlines.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
- 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.5
- Injury claims against the federal government, such as care at a VA hospital, military clinic or some federally funded health centers, or a crash with an on-duty federal employee, generally must first be filed in writing with the agency within two years, before any lawsuit. If the agency denies the claim, a lawsuit generally must be filed within six months after the agency mails its written denial.6
- Active-duty service members generally cannot sue the federal government for medical malpractice involving care received incident to military service. However, they may be eligible to seek compensation through an administrative claim with the Department of Defense for malpractice by a DoD health care provider at a covered military medical facility.7
- A medical malpractice claim generally requires proof of an applicable professional standard of care, a breach of that standard, causation, and compensable injury. A poor medical outcome does not by itself mean malpractice occurred.8
- In South Carolina, a wrongful death lawsuit is brought by the personal representative of the deceased person's estate on behalf of family members designated by law. The beneficiaries are the surviving spouse and children, or, if there are none, the deceased person's parents. If none of those relatives survive, other legal heirs may benefit from the claim.9
- Under South Carolina law, wrongful death lawsuits generally must be filed within three years of the person's death. However, different rules may apply when a death involves medical malpractice, a government agency, or other circumstances governed by special laws. A related survival claim may also have a different filing deadline.10
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I tell malpractice from a bad outcome?
A bad result alone does not prove malpractice. Generally there has to be proof that the care fell short of the accepted standard and that the shortfall caused harm.8 Other doctors' opinions usually help sort that out. A lawyer can review the records and whether a closer look makes sense.
Do I need my records before I call?
No. Ask for them if you can, but you can call before they arrive. Write down each provider and facility, the dates you were seen and what you remember.
My mother died after treatment. Can our family bring a claim?
Part of my care came from the VA. Does that matter?
It can. A claim over VA care may fall under the Federal Tort Claims Act, which generally requires a written claim to the federal agency within two years, before any lawsuit.6 If some care was private and some federal, mention both when you call.
Sources
- S.C. Code § 15-3-545
- S.C. Code §§ 15-78-110 and 15-78-120
- S.C. Code §§ 15-79-125 and 15-36-100
- S.C. Code §§ 15-3-20 and 15-3-530
- S.C. Code §§ 15-78-80 and 15-78-110
- 28 U.S.C. §§ 2401(b) and 2675(a); 42 U.S.C. § 233(g)
- Feres v. United States, 340 U.S. 135 (1950); 10 U.S.C. § 2733a
- S.C. Code § 15-79-110(6); David v. McLeod Regional Medical Center, 367 S.C. 242 (2006)
- S.C. Code §§ 15-51-10 and 15-51-20
- S.C. Code §§ 15-3-530(6) and 15-3-545
This page is general information about South Carolina law, not legal advice for your situation. Every case depends on its own facts.
