After a Product Injury on Johns Island
Treatment comes first. A relative or friend can make sure the product is kept and handle most of the rest.
- Get to the ER. Call 911 and describe exactly how the mower, saw or device hurt you. Keep every follow-up, surgery and therapy visit.
- Keep the product, safely. Don't throw it out, fix it, clean it or send it back before getting legal advice. A swollen battery or leaking fuel tank may need a professional to handle it first.
- Keep the pieces and paperwork. Bag broken parts, batteries and chargers. Save the box, manual, labels, warnings and receipt, and write down model and serial numbers.
- Take pictures. Your injuries over time, the item from every side, and the shed, dock or room where it failed.
- Get any report. If fire crews, police or a store manager responded, ask how to get their report.
- Write down what happened. How you were using it, how long you'd owned it and anything odd beforehand.
- Don't mail it back or sign a release yet. Ask a lawyer first.
If a recall letter shows up, keep it and write the date on the envelope.
Products in Island Life
On Johns Island, product injuries can involve riding mowers and chainsaws used on big yards, boat parts and trailers, golf carts and e-bikes, space heaters and chargers, and tools on a job site. If something failed on a boat, note where the boat was, keep the part and save the service records.
What Makes a Product Defective
Product claims in South Carolina generally fall into three defect types.2
- Bad unit: this one item came off the line flawed.
- Bad design: every unit is built the same way, and that design is unreasonably dangerous.
- Warning defect: the product lacked the warnings or instructions needed to use it safely.
Claims may be brought under strict liability, negligence or warranty, depending on the facts.2 A business that regularly sells a product can be responsible when one it sold in a defective, unreasonably dangerous condition reaches the user without substantial change and injures them.1 Design defect claims generally require proof of a feasible alternative design that would have been safer.4
Want someone to look at your situation?
Talk with our team about what happened and ask the questions on your mind.
Time Limits
Most South Carolina injury lawsuits over defective products must be filed within three years.3 Some warranty claims and claims under other laws can have different deadlines. Opening an insurance claim, contacting the maker or waiting for a recall generally does not stop the clock.56 If a government body is involved, the deadline may be shorter.7 A lawyer can explain how these apply to you, and the statewide page covers product liability claims in South Carolina.
Talk With Us About What Happened
Plenty of people blame themselves when a tool or machine fails. Walk us through it: what the item was, how you were using it and the moment it failed.
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; keep the product where it is and have photos of it handy.
If a product caused a fire, see Johns Island burn injury claims. If a boat part failed, see Johns Island boating injuries.
South Carolina Law on This
- In South Carolina, a business that regularly sells a product can be responsible when one it sold in a defective, unreasonably dangerous condition reaches a user or consumer without substantial change and injures them, even if it used all possible care and the user did not buy from it.1
- South Carolina product liability claims commonly involve manufacturing defects, design defects, or inadequate warnings or instructions. Depending on the facts, claims may proceed under strict liability, negligence or warranty theories, and manufacturers and other businesses in the product's distribution chain may be responsible.2
- Most personal injury claims in South Carolina must be filed within three years.3
- To prove a product's design was defective in South Carolina, the injured person generally must show a feasible alternative design that would have made it safer, considering cost, safety and how well it works.4
- Most South Carolina personal injury lawsuits involving defective products must be filed within three years. Certain warranty claims and claims governed by other laws may have different deadlines. Opening an insurance claim, contacting the manufacturer or waiting for a recall generally does not stop the filing deadline.5
- 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.6
- 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.7
Frequently Asked Questions
If a product hurt me, does that make it defective?
No. Getting hurt by something isn't proof it was defective. There generally must be proof of a defect, proof that it made the item unreasonably dangerous under the legal test, and proof that it caused the harm.1 For a design claim, South Carolina generally expects proof that a feasible safer design existed.4
I borrowed the tool that hurt me. Can I still have a claim?
You may. South Carolina does not require that you bought the product yourself to bring a qualifying strict liability claim.1 A neighbor's borrowed chainsaw or a gifted e-bike can still lead to a claim, depending on the defect and facts.
The company sent a prepaid box so I can return the product. Should I send it?
Be careful. The product is often your most important evidence, and once it leaves your hands you may never see it again. Get the pickup request in writing, photograph the item, and talk to a lawyer before anyone takes it.
Can I wait to see if the company makes it right?
You can talk with the company, but time keeps running. The limit is for filing a lawsuit, and a claim with the company's insurer does not pause it.6 Don't sign a refund or release form without reading every line.
Sources
This page is general information about South Carolina law, not legal advice for your situation. Every case depends on its own facts.
