The Product Comes First, After Your Health
Someone has to look after the evidence while you're in the hospital. Pick one person, a spouse, a sibling or a friend, and hand them this list.
- Treatment. 911 and the ER. Describe to the doctors what the product did, in detail. Go to every follow-up, surgery and therapy session.
- The item itself. Leave it unrepaired, uncleaned and unreturned until a lawyer weighs in. A swollen battery or a leaking container is a job for the fire department, not a garage shelf.
- Pictures. All sides of the product, the spot where it gave out, and your injuries every few days.
- Paperwork. The box, the manual, warning stickers, the receipt or online order, plus the model and serial numbers.
- Reports. A Spartanburg fire crew, a deputy or a store manager may have written something down. Ask for it.
- Your own notes. How you were using it, how old it was, any odd noise or smell beforehand.
- Signatures and shipping. Neither, yet. Talking with a lawyer first is common.
A recall letter that shows up later belongs in the file too, along with its postmark.
What Makes a Product Defective
South Carolina product liability claims commonly involve manufacturing defects, design defects, or inadequate warnings or instructions.2
- Made wrong. This particular unit didn't match the others.
- Designed wrong. Every unit carries the same danger.
- Warned wrong. Labels or instructions left out what users needed to stay safe.
Depending on the facts, claims may proceed under strict liability, negligence or warranty theories.2 In South Carolina, a business that regularly sells a product can be responsible when one it sold in a defective, unreasonably dangerous condition reaches a user or consumer without substantial change and injures them.1 To prove a product's design was defective, the injured person generally must show a feasible alternative design that would have made it safer.4
Time Limits
Most South Carolina personal injury lawsuits involving defective products must be filed within three years.3 Certain warranty claims and claims governed by other laws may have different deadlines. Opening an insurance claim, contacting the manufacturer or waiting for a recall generally does not stop the clock.56 Claims against a South Carolina state or local government agency have their own filing deadline, which can be shorter.7
Which of those applies to you is worth asking a lawyer early.
Want someone to look at your situation?
Talk with our team about what happened and ask the questions on your mind.
Talk With Us
It's natural to second-guess yourself after a tool or appliance hurts you. We'd rather hear about the product, the day it failed and how you're doing.
We take cases across South Carolina, including Spartanburg County. Fires and explosions are covered under burn injuries in Spartanburg. A machine that failed on the job may also involve workers' comp in Spartanburg. The statewide page on defective product claims has more.
Call, and have the product, or photos of it, in front of you.
South Carolina Law on This
- In South Carolina, a business that regularly sells a product can be responsible when one it sold in a defective, unreasonably dangerous condition reaches a user or consumer without substantial change and injures them, even if it used all possible care and the user did not buy from it.1
- South Carolina product liability claims commonly involve manufacturing defects, design defects, or inadequate warnings or instructions. Depending on the facts, claims may proceed under strict liability, negligence or warranty theories, and manufacturers and other businesses in the product's distribution chain may be responsible.2
- Most personal injury claims in South Carolina must be filed within three years.3
- To prove a product's design was defective in South Carolina, the injured person generally must show a feasible alternative design that would have made it safer, considering cost, safety and how well it works.4
- Most South Carolina personal injury lawsuits involving defective products must be filed within three years. Certain warranty claims and claims governed by other laws may have different deadlines. Opening an insurance claim, contacting the manufacturer or waiting for a recall generally does not stop the filing deadline.5
- 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.6
- 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.7
Frequently Asked Questions
It hurt me, so isn't it automatically defective?
No. Getting hurt by something isn't the same as proving the law treats it as defective. The proof has to show a flaw, that the flaw made it unreasonably dangerous and that it caused your injury.1 To prove a product's design was defective in South Carolina, the injured person generally must show a feasible alternative design.4
The ladder was my neighbor's. Can I still bring a claim?
Possibly. A business that regularly sells a product can be responsible even if the user did not buy from it.1 So the neighbor's ladder, or a drill your brother-in-law gave you, may still support a claim, depending on what went wrong.
The manufacturer wants to collect the product. Should I hand it over?
Slow down. Once a company courier drives off with it, you may never inspect it again, and it's usually the key piece of proof. Get their request in writing, photograph everything and speak with a lawyer before releasing it.
The company says it's looking into it. Can I give them time?
Conversations are fine. Opening an insurance claim or negotiating with the company's adjuster does not stop the statute of limitations from running.6 Any release they send deserves a careful read.
Can I start by phone from Spartanburg?
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.
