What to Do After a Spinal Cord Injury in Mount Pleasant
In the first weeks, the injured person may be in surgery, intensive care or rehab, so most of this list falls to a spouse, parent or close friend.
- Stick with the treatment plan. Surgery follow-ups, therapy and rehab, at the hospital, a rehab center or a clinic closer to home.
- Find the report. Police, the Highway Patrol or the business manager may have one, along with a case number.
- Photograph the scene. A broken railing, a missing guard on a platform or a dark staircase can be fixed or changed quickly.
- Collect names. Witnesses, coworkers, supervisors and anyone who helped.
- Track expenses. Wheelchair or lift costs, ramps, aides, mileage to rehab and parking add up.
- Hold off on releases. A lawyer can read them first.
How Spinal Injuries Happen Around Mount Pleasant
Spinal injuries can follow a wreck on US-17 or the Isle of Palms Connector, a dive off a dock into shallow water, a fall from a roof or deck on a job site, or a motorcycle crash on the fast stretch of US-17 north of town. The cause shapes which rules apply.
Your Time to File
Most injury claims in South Carolina must be filed within three years.1 The limit is for a lawsuit, and calls or letters with an insurer don't stop it.2 Tort Claims Act suits against a state or local government body generally have two years, which a qualifying verified claim may extend to three years.3 Special rules and damage limits may also apply.4
Want someone to look at your situation?
Talk with our team about what happened and ask the questions on your mind.
What a Claim May Include
Depending on the facts, a spinal cord injury claim may include past and future medical care, rehab, assistive devices, 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.5
That's why the cost log matters. Mileage, equipment, home help and home changes can all be part of it.
When Family Steps In
Family members can do a great deal with records and calls. Being a spouse, parent or adult child doesn't by itself give someone legal authority to settle a claim or make binding decisions for an injured adult; that may take a power of attorney, a conservator or another arrangement.6 An injured adult who can still decide things keeps the final say.
The statewide page covers spinal cord injury claims. For the wider group of life-changing injuries, see Mount Pleasant catastrophic injury claims.
Talk With Us
Paralysis or a partial spinal injury reshapes a job, a house and a family's routine. We start by hearing how you lived before: your work, your home, your family and what you did for fun. We're honest about your options.
We take cases across South Carolina, including Mount Pleasant and the islands. Our office is on King Street in downtown Charleston.
Tell us how it happened and what life looks like now.
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
- A South Carolina property owner is not automatically responsible for a diving or other recreational injury. Liability can depend on the visitor's status, the condition of the property, what the owner knew, warnings, and the injured person's own conduct. South Carolina also has recreational-use laws that may limit property-owner liability in qualifying circumstances, though they do not automatically apply to every private dock or recreational property.7
- Underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage is optional coverage on your own auto policy that can pay when the at-fault driver's liability limits are too low to cover your losses.8
- Uninsured motorist (UM) coverage on your own auto policy can pay when the at-fault driver has no liability insurance, and in some hit-and-run crashes.9
- South Carolina auto liability policies generally must include uninsured motorist coverage, and insurers must offer underinsured motorist coverage.10
- Most injuries that happen on the job in South Carolina go through the workers' compensation system, which has its own rules, and usually limits suing your own employer.11
- In South Carolina, an employee injured at work may be able to receive workers' compensation benefits and also pursue a personal injury claim against a responsible third party, such as another driver. The workers' compensation insurer may have a right to reimbursement from any settlement or judgment. Special rules and deadlines apply when pursuing both claims.12
- An injured worker in South Carolina generally must tell the employer about a work accident right away, and no later than 90 days after it, to receive workers' compensation, unless an exception applies.13
- A South Carolina workers' compensation claim generally must be filed with the Workers' Compensation Commission within two years after the accident, or after a death it caused. Telling the employer does not count as filing. Occupational diseases and repetitive trauma follow different rules.14
Frequently Asked Questions
Doctors can't say yet whether I'll walk again. Should I wait to call?
That uncertainty is common early on, but the time to file keeps running, and talking with an insurer doesn't pause it.2 That's a reason to talk with a lawyer before the long-term picture is clear.
My son dove off a friend's dock and hit bottom. Is the owner responsible?
Not automatically. It can depend on why he was there, the condition of the property, what the owner knew, any warnings and his own conduct. South Carolina also has recreational-use laws that may limit an owner's liability in some situations, though not at every private dock.7
The driver who hit me barely had any insurance. Is there anything else?
Underinsured motorist coverage on your own policy may pay when the other driver's limits are too low.8 Uninsured motorist coverage may apply when the other driver had none.9 South Carolina generally requires UM coverage and requires insurers to offer UIM, which is optional, so it depends on your policies.10
I was hurt on the job. What then?
I can't travel easily right now. Can we still talk?
Yes. The first conversation can happen by phone, and a family member can call for you.
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 § 27-3-10 et seq.
- S.C. Code § 38-77-160
- S.C. Code §§ 38-77-150 and 38-77-170
- S.C. Code §§ 38-77-150 and 38-77-160
- S.C. Code § 42-1-540
- S.C. Code § 42-1-560
- S.C. Code § 42-15-20
- S.C. Code §§ 42-15-20 and 42-15-40
This page is general information about South Carolina law, not legal advice for your situation. Every case depends on its own facts.
