What to Do After a Car Accident in Mount Pleasant
After a serious wreck, your treatment comes first. While you're in the hospital, a family member or friend can take care of the report, the photos and the insurance calls.
- Get medical care. Call 911 if anyone is badly hurt. Get evaluated promptly even if your symptoms seem small at first, and follow your doctors' plan.
- Get the report. Find out which agency came, whether Mount Pleasant Police, the Highway Patrol or the Sheriff's Office, and ask how to get a copy.
- Photograph it. Start with your injuries, and keep photographing them as they heal. Someone can also get both cars, the lanes, skid marks and any signal.
- Collect names. Get the other driver's name, insurer and policy number, plus names and numbers for any witnesses.
- Keep one folder. Bills, receipts, pay stubs and insurer letters all go in it.
- Ask your questions before signing anything. Many people talk with a lawyer first.
Where Wrecks Happen Around Mount Pleasant
Johnnie Dodds Boulevard carries US-17 through town, with traffic moving between the main lanes and the frontage roads and turning into lots. Coleman Boulevard, Chuck Dawley Boulevard, Long Point Road, Rifle Range Road and Mathis Ferry Road all carry heavy local traffic. North of town, US-17 runs fast toward Awendaw.
How Long You Have to File
Most injury claims in South Carolina must be filed within three years.1 That is a deadline to file suit, and an insurance claim does not stop it.3
If the at-fault driver was a state or local government employee acting within the job, different rules may apply.4 A Tort Claims Act suit generally must be filed within two years, though a qualifying verified claim may extend that to three years.5 There may be caps on what can be recovered, too.2
See the deadline to file a car accident claim, and for the statewide page, South Carolina car accident claims.
Want someone to look at your situation?
Talk with our team about what happened and ask the questions on your mind.
What Compensation May Be Available
Depending on the facts, a person hurt in a wreck may be able to seek medical expenses, lost pay, reduced earning capacity, pain and suffering and other losses the crash caused. What's available turns on the evidence, the injuries, the insurance involved and South Carolina law.6 No result can be promised.
Talk With Us
We start by listening: what happened, how you're feeling and what worries you most. If you hire us, the insurers can usually deal with us, and we talk through your options.
We take cases across South Carolina, including Mount Pleasant and the islands. Our office is on King Street in downtown Charleston, across the Cooper River on the Ravenel Bridge. If a big rig was involved, see Mount Pleasant truck accidents.
Tell us the road, what the other driver said and what the insurer has told you, and we can go over it together.
South Carolina Law on This
- Most personal injury claims in South Carolina must be filed within three years.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
- 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.3
- Under the South Carolina Tort Claims Act, claims over a government employee's on-the-job conduct generally go against the agency, not the employee, unless the employee acted outside their duties or with actual malice, intent to harm, fraud, or certain crimes.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
- Depending on the circumstances, a person injured in a crash may be able to seek compensation for medical expenses, future treatment, lost income, reduced earning capacity, pain and suffering, and other losses recognized by South Carolina law. The amount and types of compensation available depend on the evidence, the injuries, the available insurance coverage and South Carolina law. No particular recovery can be promised.6
- Under S.C. Code § 38-77-170, an uninsured motorist claim involving an unidentified driver may qualify when there was physical contact, qualifying independent-witness evidence, or a recording showing that the unknown vehicle caused the injury or damage. The accident must also be reported to an appropriate police authority within a reasonable time, and the claimant must not have been negligent in failing to identify the vehicle and driver. The recording alternative was added effective May 20, 2024.7
- Under South Carolina's modified comparative negligence rule, you can generally recover damages if your share of fault is not greater than the fault of the defendant or defendants. In a typical two-driver accident, that means you can recover if you are 50% or less at fault, which is often described as less than 51%. Your damages are generally reduced by your percentage of fault. If your fault is greater, recovery is generally barred under this rule.8
- A potential injury claim generally depends on whether another party was negligent, whether that negligence caused the injuries, and what losses resulted.9
Frequently Asked Questions
The driver who hit me on US-17 took off. What now?
Report it to police as soon as you can, and write down anything you remember about the car and driver. Keep any photos or video. Uninsured motorist coverage may help after a hit-and-run in South Carolina, but claims involving an unknown driver come with special legal requirements.7 A lawyer can go over your policy with you.
I was pulling out of a frontage road onto Johnnie Dodds when I got hit. Can I still recover if I was partly at fault?
Possibly. South Carolina uses a modified comparative negligence rule, so your recovery may be reduced by your share of the fault, and with one defendant you generally can't recover if you were more than 50% at fault.8 How that plays out depends on the evidence.
How do I know if I have a case?
A claim generally depends on whether another party was negligent, whether that caused your injuries and what you lost because of it.9 Bring the report number, your photos, any witness names, your medical paperwork and both drivers' insurance cards when we talk.
Do I have to come downtown to talk about my wreck?
No. The first conversation can happen by phone. If you'd rather sit down in person, our office is on King Street in downtown Charleston. Bring whatever you have, even if it's only a report number and a few photos. If you can't easily get downtown, we're glad to meet you at the hospital, at your house or wherever is convenient.
Sources
- S.C. Code § 15-3-530
- S.C. Code §§ 15-78-110 and 15-78-120
- S.C. Code §§ 15-3-20 and 15-3-530
- S.C. Code §§ 15-78-20(b) and 15-78-70
- S.C. Code §§ 15-78-80 and 15-78-110
- S.C. Code §§ 15-32-210 et seq. (punitive damages); South Carolina tort decisions on compensatory damages
- S.C. Code § 38-77-170, as amended by 2024 Act No. 180 (H.4869), § 7 (effective May 20, 2024)
- Nelson v. Concrete Supply Co., 303 S.C. 243, 399 S.E.2d 783 (1991); S.C. Code § 15-38-15
- Elements of negligence under South Carolina law, as stated in Sean Hall's Nov 5 review notes
This page is general information about South Carolina law, not legal advice for your situation. Every case depends on its own facts.
