What Families Can Do First
Medical care is the priority. None of this has to happen in a day, and relatives can carry most of it.
- Keep treatment going. Call 911 in an emergency, then follow the plan at the hospital, rehab or wherever the doctors send you.
- Get the report. Ask the police agency that came for a copy. If it happened at a hotel, condo or other business, ask the manager for their incident report too.
- Photograph it. Capture the injuries over time, plus the scene and the car or hazard. A family member can take these.
- Save papers and gear. Records, bills, discharge papers, pay stubs and insurer letters go in one spot. Keep damaged helmets, clothing or equipment too.
- Start a notebook. A line or two each evening about pain, what you couldn't do and who had to help.
- Read before you sign. Many people talk with a lawyer first.
How These Injuries Happen on the Grand Strand
Serious injuries in Horry County often start with a crash on US-501, SC-22 or the Bypass, a motorcycle wreck during a rally, a fall from a balcony or stairway, or an accident on a construction site in one of the fast-growing neighborhoods. Visitors may go home to another state while treatment continues.
Filing Deadlines
Most South Carolina injury claims must be filed within three years.1 The deadline is for a court filing, so an open insurance claim won't stop it.2 Suits against a state or local government entity generally have two years, which a properly filed verified claim may extend to three.3 The Tort Claims Act may also limit damages and add its own steps.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 Can Include
Depending on the facts, a claim for a serious injury may cover past and future medical care, rehab, assistive devices, ongoing personal care, home changes, lost earnings, reduced earning ability, pain and suffering and other losses. What's available depends on the evidence and the law, and no result can be promised.5
Future needs often matter as much as bills to date, so medical, money and work records count. Our statewide catastrophic injury page has more.
Helping a Loved One Through It
Keep a single notebook for bills, letters and records. Next to each call, put a name and a date, whether it was a surgeon, a case manager or an adjuster. Count what the family gives up as well, from lost paychecks to hours behind the wheel heading to therapy.
Talk With Us
An injury like this reaches the whole family. We want to know about the injury and about the person: work, family and what a day looks like now. If you hire us, the insurers can usually deal with us.
We take cases across South Carolina, including Myrtle Beach and the Grand Strand. Our office is on King Street in Charleston. The first conversation can happen by phone.
For a related page, see spinal cord injuries in Myrtle Beach.
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?
No fixed list exists. People use the word for injuries that change daily life for years or for good, such as brain or spinal cord damage, amputation or deep burns.
My husband can't manage his own claim right now. Can I handle it?
You can gather records, talk with a lawyer and coordinate his care. Being his spouse doesn't automatically let you settle his claim or make binding decisions for him; a power of attorney, a conservatorship or other legal authority may be needed.6 Which papers fit your family is something a lawyer can work out with you.
If I open an insurance claim, is my deadline protected?
No. The deadline is for filing a lawsuit, and an insurance claim does not pause it.2
Should I wait until rehab is over to call?
No need to wait. Plenty of people reach out from a hospital or rehab bed. Keep your attention on getting better and following your care plan.
Doctors found part of my injury months later. Does my time to file start over?
A later diagnosis does not automatically restart it. The period generally starts when you knew, or through reasonable diligence should have known, about a potentially actionable injury, and that date depends on the facts.7 Get legal advice early.
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.
