What to Do After a Product Injury in Mount Pleasant
Medical care comes first. A relative can lock the product away in a garage and handle the rest while you heal.
- See a doctor. Dial 911 if needed, and describe to the ER team exactly how the thing failed. Afterward, stick with surgery, follow-ups and therapy, and keep the paperwork.
- Hold on to it. As long as it's safe, leave it unrepaired, uncleaned and out of the trash, and get advice before it goes back to anyone. Swollen lithium batteries and leaking containers are hazards, so ask the fire department first. Photograph it and keep its parts, packaging and labels.
- Save the box and paperwork. Manual, labels, warnings, the receipt or order email, and the model and serial numbers.
- Photograph it. Your injuries as they heal, plus the product and where it failed.
- Request any report. Firefighters, officers or a store manager may have written something up.
- Make notes. What you were doing with it, when you bought it, and any rattles, smells or warning signs beforehand.
- Don't mail it off. Return labels and release forms can wait until you've had advice.
Recall letters and emails are worth saving, with the date you got them.
Products That Fail Around Mount Pleasant
Around Mount Pleasant and the islands, injuries can come from golf carts and e-bikes, boat parts and lifts, paddleboards and kayaks, power tools on a job site, and batteries or appliances at home. What matters is the product and how it failed.
What Makes a Product Defective
South Carolina product claims usually involve one of three kinds of defect.2
- Manufacturing: something went wrong in making that particular item.
- Design: the design itself made it unreasonably dangerous.
- Warnings or instructions: it lacked what was needed to use it safely.
Claims may rest on 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 causes injury.1 Design claims generally require a feasible, safer alternative design.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 suits over defective products must be filed within three years.3 Some warranty claims and claims under other laws may have different deadlines. Opening an insurance claim, calling the maker or waiting on a recall generally doesn't stop the clock.56 Claims involving government bodies may have shorter deadlines.7
The statewide page covers defective product claims. If the product caught fire, see Mount Pleasant burn injury claims.
Talk With Us
When a product fails, people often wonder if they did something wrong. We start by hearing the whole story: what it was, how you used it and what happened.
We take cases across South Carolina, including Mount Pleasant and the islands. Our office is on King Street in downtown Charleston.
Describe what broke or caught fire and where it is now.
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 mean it was defective?
The e-bike was borrowed from a neighbor. Can I still have a claim?
Potentially. You don't have to be the buyer to bring a qualifying strict product liability claim in South Carolina.1 A gift, a loaner or a rental can still support a claim, depending on the defect.
The company wants to pick up the product or swap it for a new one. Should I agree?
Be careful. The product is often your most important evidence, and once it's gone you may not be able to examine it again. Ask for the request in writing, take photos, and consider talking with a lawyer before handing anything over.
Can I wait to see if the company makes it right?
You can talk with them, but the clock keeps running. Talks with the maker's insurer don't pause the time to sue.6 Read anything closely before signing.
Do I need to bring the product to your office?
No. Keep it somewhere safe. The first conversation can happen by phone, and our office is on King Street in Charleston if you want to meet later.
Sources
This page is general information about South Carolina law, not legal advice for your situation. Every case depends on its own facts.
