What to Do After a Life-Changing Injury in Mount Pleasant
When someone is in surgery or intensive care, a claim is the last thing on anyone's mind. You don't have to do this all at once, and relatives or friends can take on most of it.
- Stay with the medical plan. In an emergency, dial 911 first. From there, the ICU, rehab or outpatient therapy schedule is what matters most.
- Get the report. Ask the police agency that responded for the crash or incident report. If it happened at a store or a rental house, ask the manager for an incident report too.
- Get photos while you can. The car, the stairway or the job site may change, so capture it along with the injuries as they heal.
- Save everything. Medical records, bills, discharge papers, pay stubs and insurance letters go in one place. Bag up any torn clothes or broken helmet and put them in a closet.
- Jot down each day. A line or two on pain, what was hard and who had to help is enough. A family member can keep it.
- Hold off on signing. Many people talk with a lawyer before signing releases or broad record forms.
How Long You Have to File
Most injury claims in South Carolina must be filed within three years.1 That clock is for a lawsuit, and an insurance claim won't stop it.2
A Tort Claims Act suit against a state or local government body generally has a two-year deadline, and a properly filed verified claim may extend it to three years.3 Caps on damages and other special steps can come into play too.4 The statewide page on catastrophic injury claims has more.
What Losses a Claim Can Include
Depending on the facts, a serious injury claim may include past and future medical care, rehab, assistive devices, ongoing personal care, changes to the home, lost income, reduced earning capacity, pain and suffering and other losses the injury caused. What's available depends on the evidence and the law, and no result can be promised.5
Because so much of the loss lies in the future, medical, money and work records matter.
Want someone to look at your situation?
Talk with our team about what happened and ask the questions on your mind.
Helping a Family Member Through It
Families carry a lot after a serious injury. A single binder for bills, letters and records saves a lot of hunting later. Write down the names of doctors, nurses and adjusters you talk to, with the date and what was said. Track the family's own costs too: missed work, drives to appointments and help at home.
For head and spine injuries in particular, see Mount Pleasant brain injury claims and Mount Pleasant spinal cord injuries.
Talk With Us
An injury like this affects the whole family, often for years. We'd like to know the person behind the injury: the job, the family, the weekends on the water or the ballfield, and what changed. If you hire us, the insurers can usually deal with us.
Our office is on King Street in downtown Charleston, across the Cooper River from Mount Pleasant.
South Carolina Law on This
- Most personal injury claims in South Carolina must be filed within three years.1
- 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.2
- 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.3
- 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.4
- Depending on the circumstances, a South Carolina personal injury claim for a serious injury may include compensation for past and future medical treatment, rehabilitation, assistive devices, ongoing personal care, home modifications, lost income, reduced earning capacity, pain and suffering, and other losses caused by the injury. The amount and types of compensation available depend on the evidence and applicable law.5
- In South Carolina, being an injured adult's spouse, parent or adult child does not automatically give someone legal authority to settle a personal injury claim or make binding legal decisions for that person. Depending on the circumstances, authority may come from a valid power of attorney, a court-appointed conservator or another legally recognized arrangement, and a guardian ad litem may be required in certain litigation involving an incapacitated person.6
- Under South Carolina's discovery rule, the three-year period for most personal injury lawsuits generally begins when a person knew, or through reasonable diligence should have known, that they had a potentially actionable injury. A formal diagnosis is not necessarily required to start the period, and a later diagnosis does not automatically restart the deadline, but when the injury reasonably could have been discovered depends on the circumstances.7
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes an injury catastrophic?
There isn't one official list. People use the word for injuries that change how someone lives for a long time or for good, such as brain and spinal cord injuries, amputations and severe burns.
My husband can't manage his own affairs right now. Can I handle his claim?
You can help a great deal with records, calls and care. Being a spouse, parent or adult child doesn't by itself give you legal authority to settle a claim or make binding decisions for an injured adult, and a power of attorney, a conservator or another arrangement may be needed.6 A lawyer can help sort out what's required.
We opened a claim with the insurer. Does that buy us more time?
No. The deadline is for filing a lawsuit in court, and an insurance claim does not stop it.2
Should we wait until rehab is over before calling a lawyer?
No need to wait. A call from the hospital hallway or the rehab lobby is fine. Keep the focus on health and the treatment plan.
Doctors found more damage weeks after the crash. Does that give us more time?
A later diagnosis doesn't automatically restart the deadline. The period generally starts when a person knew, or with reasonable diligence should have known, of a potentially actionable injury, and that depends on the facts.7
Do you take cases from Mount Pleasant and the islands?
Yes. We take cases across South Carolina, including Mount Pleasant, Sullivan's Island, Isle of Palms and Awendaw. The first conversation can happen by phone, which helps when a family is spending its days at a bedside.
Sources
- S.C. Code § 15-3-530
- S.C. Code §§ 15-3-20 and 15-3-530
- S.C. Code §§ 15-78-80 and 15-78-110
- S.C. Code §§ 15-78-110 and 15-78-120
- S.C. Code §§ 15-32-210 et seq. (punitive damages); South Carolina tort decisions on compensatory damages
- S.C. Code Title 62, Article 5 (guardianship and conservatorship) and §§ 62-8-101 et seq.; South Carolina powers of attorney law
- S.C. Code § 15-3-535
This page is general information about South Carolina law, not legal advice for your situation. Every case depends on its own facts.
