First Steps After a Construction Injury in North Charleston
Treatment comes first. A coworker or relative can start the rest.
- Call 911. Tell every doctor it happened on a job.
- Report it to your foreman now. Follow up by text.
- Photograph the scaffold, ladder, trench or machine, only if safe and allowed.
- List your crew, other trades and the superintendent.
- Keep your boots, harness and hard hat.
- Ask the contractor, in writing, to hold the equipment and logs.
- Save every stub.
- Read before signing anything.
Job Sites Around North Charleston
North Charleston keeps building. Warehouses rise along Palmetto Commerce Parkway, apartments go up near Rivers Avenue and Northwoods, older houses around Park Circle get gutted and rebuilt, and overnight crews work the I-26 and I-526 shoulders. One North Charleston site might have a general contractor, five subs, a crane rental outfit and a dozen delivery drivers.
South Carolina Law on Construction Injuries
Workers' Comp Time Limits
Most injuries that happen on the job in South Carolina go through the workers' compensation system, which has its own rules.1 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.3 A workers' compensation claim generally must be filed with the Workers' Compensation Commission within two years after the accident.4 Different workers' compensation timing rules may apply to repetitive trauma injuries and occupational diseases that develop over time.5
Who Else Might Be Responsible
Workers' compensation is generally the exclusive remedy against a covered South Carolina employer for a qualifying workplace injury, although limited exceptions exist. 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.2 South Carolina's statutory-employer doctrine can extend that immunity to some contractors or other businesses, so they are not automatically third parties simply because they are not the worker's direct employer.67
Time Limits for an Injury Claim
Special rules and deadlines apply when pursuing both claims.2 Most personal injury claims in South Carolina must be filed within three years, while a comp claim generally must be filed within two years after the accident.84 Simply opening a claim with an insurance company does not stop the statute of limitations from running.9 Lawsuits under the South Carolina Tort Claims Act generally must be filed within two years, or three if a qualifying verified claim was first filed.10 Claims against a South Carolina state or local government agency could face caps on damages, depending on the facts of the case.11
More on construction accident claims in South Carolina and workers' comp in North Charleston.
Want someone to look at your situation?
Talk with our team about what happened and ask the questions on your mind.
Talk With Us
Tradespeople build careers on their hands, backs and knees. Tell us what you were doing when it happened. If you hire us, the insurers can usually deal with us.
We take cases across South Carolina, including North Charleston. Our office is on King Street in downtown Charleston.
South Carolina Law on This
- 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.1
- 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.2
- 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.3
- 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.4
- Different workers' compensation timing rules may apply to repetitive trauma injuries and occupational diseases that develop over time in South Carolina. The date a worker first experienced symptoms is not necessarily the date the filing deadline began.5
- Workers' compensation is generally the exclusive remedy against a covered South Carolina employer for a qualifying workplace injury, although limited exceptions exist. South Carolina's statutory-employer doctrine can extend that immunity to some contractors or other businesses, so they are not automatically third parties simply because they are not the worker's direct employer.6
- Under South Carolina workers' compensation law, a business that hires a subcontractor to perform work that is part of the business's own trade or operations may be considered a statutory employer. When this rule applies, the business can be responsible for workers' compensation benefits for the subcontractor's employees, even though it did not hire them directly.7
- Most personal injury claims in South Carolina must be filed within three years.8
- 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.9
- 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.10
- 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.11
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it three years for a job site injury?
Not for comp. 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.3 A South Carolina workers' compensation claim generally must be filed with the Workers' Compensation Commission within two years after the accident.4 Most personal injury claims in South Carolina must be filed within three years.8
I was driving past a site on Rivers Avenue, not working there. Then what?
Comp is for people hurt on the job.1 Most personal injury claims in South Carolina must be filed within three years.8 Lawsuits under the South Carolina Tort Claims Act generally must be filed within two years, and a three-year deadline may apply if a qualifying verified claim was first filed under the Act.10
My foreman said don't file. Now what?
Do I have to come downtown to talk?
The first conversation can happen by phone. Our office is on King Street in downtown Charleston, south of North Charleston by way of I-26 or Rivers Avenue. Getting downtown isn't always easy, so we can also meet at the hospital, your home or another spot that suits you.
Sources
- 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
- S.C. Code § 42-15-40
- S.C. Code §§ 42-1-400, 42-1-540; Keene v. CNA Holdings, LLC, 436 S.C. 1, 870 S.E.2d 156 (2021)
- S.C. Code §§ 42-1-400 through 42-1-420; Keene v. CNA Holdings, LLC (S.C. 2021)
- 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
This page is general information about South Carolina law, not legal advice for your situation. Every case depends on its own facts.
