What to Do After a Burn Injury in Spartanburg
Treatment comes first. A relative or friend can begin saving evidence while you're in the hospital.
- Emergency treatment first. A deep or wide burn calls for 911. Whether you're treated at Spartanburg Medical Center or somewhere farther away, keep every surgery, dressing change and therapy appointment, and save the paperwork.
- Request the report. The local fire department, the police or the business involved may have a report or case number.
- Leave hazardous items to the professionals. Damaged batteries, wiring, gas appliances and similar items shouldn't be touched until a safety professional gives the go-ahead. If it's safe, keep the item, its packaging and the receipt, and ask a lawyer before returning or throwing out anything important.
- Photograph before anyone cleans up. A trusted person can document outlets, appliances, scorch marks, smoke damage and any warning labels.
- Photograph the burns over time. Dated pictures show the injury, the care and the scarring that follows.
- Keep receipts, manuals and boxes. They can help identify who made and sold a product.
Firefighters are the right people to ask about a swollen e-bike battery, a gas leak or melted wiring. A damaged battery can reignite.
How Long You Have to File
South Carolina sets a three-year limit for most personal injury suits.1 The limit applies to filing in court, and opening an insurance claim doesn't stop it.2 Claims against a state or local government entity generally have two years, and a qualifying verified claim may extend that to three years.4 Those claims can also carry limits on damages.5
Fires tied to wiring, gas lines or building work can carry tighter timing. Claims against builders, contractors and designers over work on real property can be barred by a fixed outer limit, whenever the defect comes to light.3
A lawyer can explain how those limits fit your fire.
Talk With Us
Skin grafts, pressure garments and months of wound care reshape ordinary days. We begin by hearing how it happened and what recovery looks like for you now. If you hire us, the insurers can usually deal with us.
We take cases across South Carolina, including Spartanburg County. When a product overheated or failed, see defective product claims in Spartanburg. For other life-changing injuries, see catastrophic injuries in Spartanburg or the statewide page on burn injury claims.
Tell us how the fire started and what was saved from the scene.
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
- Claims against builders, contractors and designers over work on real property can be cut off by a fixed outer time limit that applies no matter when the problem is discovered.3
- 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.4
- 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.5
- 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.6
- 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.7
- 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.8
- 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.9
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I hang on to the space heater or phone that caught fire?
If it's safe, yes. Don't pick up or move a damaged battery, electrical item or gas appliance unless the fire department or another safety professional says it's okay, since damaged batteries can flare up again. When it is safe, keep the item with its charger, cord, box or receipt, and ask a lawyer about preserving it before it goes back to the maker, to an insurer or to the curb.
I was burned at work in a warehouse near Wellford. What are my options?
Most job-related burns in South Carolina go through workers' compensation.6 You generally have to tell your employer within 90 days and file a claim within two years, with some exceptions.78 Workers' comp usually limits suing your employer, but a separate injury claim may be possible against an outside party, such as a machine maker or a contractor, who helped cause it.9
The wiring in our house went in long ago. Have we missed our chance?
Possibly, and the facts decide it. Claims against builders, contractors and designers over work on real property can be cut off by a fixed outer time limit regardless of when the defect shows up.3 So waiting on this one is risky; get a lawyer's read early.
Can we start without driving to Charleston?
The first conversation can happen by phone. Our office is on King Street in Charleston.
Sources
This page is general information about South Carolina law, not legal advice for your situation. Every case depends on its own facts.
