First Steps After a Spinal Cord Injury in North Charleston
Early on, the injured person may be in surgery, the ICU or rehab. Family usually takes the lead here.
- Follow every piece of the treatment plan.
- Request the crash or incident report.
- Photograph the railing, ladder or platform involved.
- Collect witness and supervisor names.
- Log mileage, parking, equipment and home help.
- Get advice before signing.
How Spinal Injuries Happen Around North Charleston
Around North Charleston, spinal cord injuries follow rollovers and big-rig crashes on I-26 and I-526, falls from ladders and loading docks in the warehouses off Palmetto Commerce Parkway, motorcycle wrecks on Rivers Avenue, and shallow dives off docks along the Ashley and the Cooper.
South Carolina Law on Spinal Cord Injury Claims
Time to File
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, and calls with an adjuster don't stop it.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.3 Claims against a South Carolina state or local government agency could face caps on damages under the Tort Claims Act, depending on the facts of the case.4
What a Claim May Include
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 Keep that mileage log going.
When Family Steps In
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.6 If the injured person can decide, the decisions stay theirs.
More on spinal cord injury claims in South Carolina.
Want someone to look at your situation?
Talk with our team about what happened and ask the questions on your mind.
Talk With Us
We want to hear about the life before: the job, the house, the weekends. We'll be honest about your options.
We take cases across South Carolina, including North Charleston. Our office is on King Street in downtown Charleston. For other life-changing injuries, see our North Charleston catastrophic injury page.
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 tell yet if I'll walk again. Should I hold off?
That limbo is normal. The clock still runs, and simply opening a claim with an insurance company does not stop the statute of limitations from running.2 Talk to a lawyer before the long-term picture is clear.
I dove off a friend's dock on the Ashley. Is he responsible?
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.7
The driver who hit me barely had insurance. Anything else?
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.9 South Carolina auto liability policies generally must include uninsured motorist coverage, and insurers must offer underinsured motorist coverage.10
It happened at work. What now?
Most injuries that happen on the job in South Carolina go through the workers' compensation system.11 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.12 Report within 90 days and file within two years, subject to exceptions.1314
Do we 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. If the drive is hard right now, we can meet you at the hospital, at home or somewhere else that works 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.
