If You Suspect a Medical Error
Your health is the priority. A relative can request records and keep the timeline while you keep getting care.
- Keep getting treatment. A second opinion or a new provider is always an option if you've lost trust.
- Ask for complete records. Each hospital, ER, clinic and office: test results, imaging, nursing notes and bills.
- Put it in order. On one page, list each appointment, procedure and new medicine by date, and what each provider told you.
- Hold on to the leftovers. That means after-visit summaries, empty prescription bottles, reminder cards, patient-portal messages and explanation-of-benefits forms.
- Skip the Facebook post. The details belong with your doctors and a lawyer, not online.
Did a nurse or doctor say sorry, or explain what happened? Note who, when and what they said. A letter mentioning an "unexpected outcome," or a bill that suddenly got reduced, is worth keeping.
Care on the Grand Strand
People on the Strand get care at hospitals and freestanding ERs across Horry and Georgetown counties, and visitors are often treated during a trip, then go home to finish recovering. That can leave records spread across several states.
Steps Before a Lawsuit
South Carolina generally requires a patient to serve a Notice of Intent to File Suit and file an expert affidavit naming at least one negligent act or omission before suing, unless an exception applies. Pre-suit mediation is part of the process.3 Because these steps affect timing, it pays to talk with a lawyer long before time runs out.
Want someone to look at your situation?
Talk with our team about what happened and ask the questions on your mind.
Time Limits
A malpractice claim generally must be filed within three years of the treatment, or of when the injury was or reasonably should have been discovered. Many claims also hit a six-year outer limit, though special rules cover some foreign-object cases and claims by children. The deadline can also depend on whether the provider is a private, state, local or federal entity.1
The limit is for a lawsuit, and an insurance claim won't stop it.4
If the hospital or clinic is part of South Carolina state or local government, the Tort Claims Act may control.2 Those generally carry a two-year deadline, or three if the statutory claim procedure is followed.5
For treatment by a federal provider, such as a VA clinic, the Federal Tort Claims Act generally calls for a written claim to the agency inside two years, and only then a lawsuit.6 Active-duty service members generally go through a different process.7
Our statewide medical malpractice page has more.
Talk With Us
A medical mistake can shake your faith in the people you trusted most. Medicine carries real risk, and sometimes a hard outcome couldn't have been prevented. Either way, we'll listen to the whole story and be straight about what we see.
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.
If the harm happened in long-term care, see nursing home neglect in Myrtle Beach. Tell us about the treatment and what changed.
South Carolina Law on This
- South Carolina generally requires medical malpractice claims to be filed within three years of the alleged malpractice or when the injury was discovered or reasonably should have been discovered. Many claims are also subject to a six-year outer limit, but special rules and exceptions apply, including certain foreign-object cases and claims involving children. The applicable deadline can also depend on whether the provider is a private, state, local, or federal healthcare entity.1
- 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.2
- Before filing a medical malpractice lawsuit in South Carolina, a patient generally must serve a Notice of Intent to File Suit and file an expert affidavit identifying at least one alleged negligent act or omission, unless a statutory exception applies. The process also includes pre-suit mediation and special rules that affect filing deadlines.3
- 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.4
- 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.5
- Injury claims against the federal government, such as care at a VA hospital, military clinic or some federally funded health centers, or a crash with an on-duty federal employee, generally must first be filed in writing with the agency within two years, before any lawsuit. If the agency denies the claim, a lawsuit generally must be filed within six months after the agency mails its written denial.6
- Active-duty service members generally cannot sue the federal government for medical malpractice involving care received incident to military service. However, they may be eligible to seek compensation through an administrative claim with the Department of Defense for malpractice by a DoD health care provider at a covered military medical facility.7
- A medical malpractice claim generally requires proof of an applicable professional standard of care, a breach of that standard, causation, and compensable injury. A poor medical outcome does not by itself mean malpractice occurred.8
- In South Carolina, a wrongful death lawsuit is brought by the personal representative of the deceased person's estate on behalf of family members designated by law. The beneficiaries are the surviving spouse and children, or, if there are none, the deceased person's parents. If none of those relatives survive, other legal heirs may benefit from the claim.9
- Under South Carolina law, wrongful death lawsuits generally must be filed within three years of the person's death. However, different rules may apply when a death involves medical malpractice, a government agency, or other circumstances governed by special laws. A related survival claim may also have a different filing deadline.10
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I tell malpractice from a bad result?
A bad result alone doesn't prove malpractice. A claim generally needs proof that a provider fell below the professional standard of care and that the lapse caused harm.8 A lawyer can go over the records and say whether a closer look makes sense.
Do I need my records in hand before calling?
No. Request them if you can, but you don't need them to start. Jot down the providers, the places, the dates you were seen and what you remember.
Mom died after a hospital stay. Can our family bring a claim?
I was treated while on vacation and live in another state now. Can we still talk?
Yes. You don't have to be in South Carolina for us to talk. Make a list of where you were seen and when, and ask each place for your records.
Sources
- S.C. Code § 15-3-545
- S.C. Code §§ 15-78-110 and 15-78-120
- S.C. Code §§ 15-79-125 and 15-36-100
- S.C. Code §§ 15-3-20 and 15-3-530
- S.C. Code §§ 15-78-80 and 15-78-110
- 28 U.S.C. §§ 2401(b) and 2675(a); 42 U.S.C. § 233(g)
- Feres v. United States, 340 U.S. 135 (1950); 10 U.S.C. § 2733a
- S.C. Code § 15-79-110(6); David v. McLeod Regional Medical Center, 367 S.C. 242 (2006)
- S.C. Code §§ 15-51-10 and 15-51-20
- S.C. Code §§ 15-3-530(6) and 15-3-545
This page is general information about South Carolina law, not legal advice for your situation. Every case depends on its own facts.
