What to Do After a Motorcycle Crash in Mount Pleasant
Your treatment comes first. Someone close to you can take on the report, the photos and the calls.
- Go with the ambulance. If the medics want you at the ER, go, even if the adrenaline says otherwise. Some injuries don't show right away. Road rash, fractures and head injuries often need weeks of care, so save every record.
- Find the report. Someone at home can call the Highway Patrol, Mount Pleasant Police or whoever came, and ask for the number.
- Photograph everything. Your injuries as they heal, plus the vehicles, the road surface, skid marks, signals and your helmet, jacket, gloves and boots.
- Don't fix or toss anything. The scuffed helmet and shredded jacket belong in a closet, not the trash. Wait on the body shop, and don't let a salvage yard part it out.
- Look for video. Ask riding partners about helmet or dash cameras, and note shops or gas stations along the road with cameras.
- Hold the pen. Releases and recorded statements can wait until you've had advice.
Where Riders Get Hurt Around Mount Pleasant
Riders cross the Ravenel Bridge onto Coleman Boulevard, head out the Isle of Palms Connector or Ben Sawyer Boulevard to the beaches, and ride US-17 north of town toward Awendaw, where traffic moves fast. In town, cars turning across lanes on Johnnie Dodds, Long Point Road and Rifle Range Road can be a problem for riders.
How Long You Have to File
Most injury claims in South Carolina must be filed within three years.1 The deadline is for a lawsuit, and an open insurance claim doesn't stop it.2
A Tort Claims Act suit against a state or local government body generally must be filed within two years, and a properly filed verified claim may extend that to three years.4 Caps and extra steps can apply to those claims.3
The statewide page covers motorcycle accident claims.
Want someone to look at your situation?
Talk with our team about what happened and ask the questions on your mind.
Keeping Track of Your Recovery
- One place for every bill, receipt and appointment card
- A few lines each Sunday about pain, sleep and the chores you couldn't handle
- Paychecks that came up short and work you had to pass on
- The beach rides and weekend runs you missed
For brain or spine injuries, see Mount Pleasant catastrophic injury claims.
Talk With Us
We don't start from the idea that the rider was at fault. We start by hearing about the ride, the crash and your injuries. If you hire us, the insurers can usually deal with us.
We take cases across South Carolina, including Mount Pleasant and the islands. Our office is on King Street in downtown Charleston, and the first conversation can happen by phone.
We'd like to hear how the crash went down.
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
- 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.3
- 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.4
- South Carolina requires motorcycle riders and passengers under 21 to wear an approved helmet. Riders 21 and older are not required to wear one.5
- Not wearing a helmet does not automatically prevent an injured motorcyclist or bicyclist from bringing a claim in South Carolina. Whether helmet use affects a particular case depends on the circumstances, including the crash and the injuries involved.6
- 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.7
- South Carolina auto liability policies generally must include uninsured motorist coverage, and insurers must offer underinsured motorist coverage.8
Frequently Asked Questions
I wasn't wearing a helmet. Can I still make a claim?
The insurer says I was partly to blame. Can I still recover?
Possibly. Under South Carolina's modified comparative negligence rule, a rider facing one defendant can generally recover if the rider's share of fault is 50% or less, with the recovery reduced by that share. More than 50% generally bars recovery.7 Things can look different when several parties are involved.
Should I let the shop fix my bike right away?
It helps to wait until the damage is photographed, since scrapes, dents and broken parts can show the angle and force of the hit. Let the insurer know before parts are thrown out, and if the bike is at a tow yard, ask how long they'll hold it.
The driver who hit me on the Connector had little or no insurance. What then?
Your own policy may help. South Carolina auto policies generally must include uninsured motorist coverage, and insurers must offer underinsured coverage.8 Whether it applies depends on the policies and the facts, so keep copies of your bike and car policies.
Sources
This page is general information about South Carolina law, not legal advice for your situation. Every case depends on its own facts.
