What to Do After a Boat Accident Near Summerville
Your recovery is the priority. A spouse, a grown child or a fishing partner can take on the list below while you heal.
- Call 911 or radio for help. Let EMS choose the hospital, then stay with every surgery, therapy and follow-up visit on your schedule.
- Get the other operator's details. A phone photo of the registration numbers on the bow works well.
- Make sure a report is made. South Carolina requires some boating accidents, including those with serious injuries, to be reported to the Department of Natural Resources. Making that report is generally the operator's job.5 The statute allows 48 hours for some reports and calls for immediate notice in the most serious cases.4 Whichever officers came out can explain how to get a copy of their report.
- Mark where it happened. A map pin, or the name of the closest landing or bridge.
- Take pictures. Start with your injuries, then the hulls, props and conditions that day.
- Get witness names.
- Save torn life jackets, tubes and ropes.
- Hold off on signing. If a rental company, an owner or an adjuster wants a signature or a recorded statement, it can wait until your questions are answered.
On the Water Around Summerville
People from Summerville paddle and fish the narrow, dark stretches of the Ashley River near town, and many trailer boats north toward Lake Moultrie and Lake Marion for the day. Tubing, jet skis and fishing trips all mix on busy weekends. Where the accident happened can matter a great deal for the legal questions.
Which Law and Which Deadline
When a claim falls under federal maritime law, the general limit for filing suit is three years.1 Not every boating accident does. Some, especially on certain inland lakes and waterways, are governed by South Carolina law, and which law applies turns on where and how the accident happened.2
If South Carolina law governs, most injury claims must be filed within three years.6 That limit is for a lawsuit, so an insurance claim does not pause it.7 If a state or local agency is responsible for an operator involved, its own deadline applies and can be shorter.8
Want someone to look at your situation?
Talk with our team about what happened and ask the questions on your mind.
If the Owner Files in Federal Court
A boat's owner can ask a federal court to limit what the owner owes for an accident.9 The court may then set its own filing deadline for injured people, which can be much shorter. Any letter or court paper mentioning a limitation proceeding deserves a call to a lawyer that same week, since a missed date there can jeopardize your recovery.3
Charters, Rentals and Tickets
Charter agreements and passenger tickets sometimes include notice rules or shorter filing periods. For some covered passenger vessels, federal law sets minimum periods that a ticket cannot cut short.10 Not every pontoon rental or fishing charter is covered by those minimums. Keep the paperwork from the outfitter and show it to a lawyer early.
For the full statewide overview, read about South Carolina boating injury claims.
Talk With Us
When the people on the boat were friends or relatives, thinking about a claim can feel uncomfortable. We start by listening to what happened that day. If you hire us, the insurers can usually deal with us, and we are honest about every option, including the hard ones.
Our office is on King Street in downtown Charleston. We take cases across South Carolina, including Summerville. If the boat or a part failed, see product injury claims around Summerville.
We would like to hear what happened, along with anything the owner, an insurer or a court has mailed you.
South Carolina Law on This
- Injury and death claims arising from a maritime accident generally must be filed within three years under federal law.1
- Not every boating accident falls under federal maritime law. Federal admiralty jurisdiction generally requires both a qualifying location on navigable waters and a sufficient connection to traditional maritime activity, and navigability is a legal determination, not simply whether the water can carry boats. Some accidents, particularly on certain inland lakes or waterways, may be governed by South Carolina law instead.2
- A boat owner may file a federal court proceeding under the Limitation of Liability Act seeking to limit liability for an accident. If that happens, the court may set a separate deadline for injured people to file their claims, which can be much shorter than the ordinary three-year maritime deadline, and other litigation may be restricted. Missing the court's deadline can jeopardize recovery.3
- South Carolina law requires certain boating accidents to be reported to the Department of Natural Resources. The statute provides for a report within 48 hours, and immediate notification for accidents involving death, loss of consciousness or serious bodily injury.4
- After a boating accident in South Carolina, an operator generally must help anyone injured if it can be done safely, give their name, address and boat identification in writing, and report certain accidents to the Department of Natural Resources.5
- Most personal injury claims in South Carolina must be filed within three years.6
- 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.7
- 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.8
- A boat's owner can ask a federal court to limit liability to the value of the boat after the accident. Once that case is filed, other lawsuits are generally stopped, and claims must be filed in the federal case by a court-set deadline.9
- Tickets for some passenger and charter boats may shorten the time to give notice of an injury claim or to file suit. For covered vessels, federal law sets minimum periods that a ticket cannot shorten.10
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to drive into Charleston to talk with you?
No. The first conversation can happen by phone. Our office is on King Street in downtown Charleston.
A friend was running the boat. Can I still bring a claim?
You might. A relaxed Saturday on Lake Moultrie with a buddy at the wheel can still lead to a claim if his carelessness hurt you. Coverage turns on whose boat it was and what policies are on it. Talking it over with a lawyer first can help before you say anything to his insurer.
The other boat took off. What now?
Tell the officer what stuck with you about that boat, even small things like a stripe, a cooler or the outboard brand. Ask fishermen at the landing and folks on nearby docks whether they noticed it.
The other operator was arrested for BUI. Does that decide my claim?
No. An arrest moves through criminal court on its own track, apart from any claim for your injuries. Dealing with an insurer does not stop a South Carolina filing deadline.7
Sources
- 46 U.S.C. § 30106
- 28 U.S.C. § 1333; Foremost Ins. Co. v. Richardson, 457 U.S. 668 (1982); Sisson v. Ruby, 497 U.S. 358 (1990)
- 46 U.S.C. §§ 30501 et seq.; Supplemental Admiralty Rule F
- S.C. Code § 50-21-130
- S.C. Code § 50-21-130 (as amended by 2008 Act No. 321)
- S.C. Code § 15-3-530
- S.C. Code §§ 15-3-20 and 15-3-530
- S.C. Code §§ 15-78-110 and 15-78-120
- 46 U.S.C. §§ 30523 and 30529 (formerly §§ 30505 and 30511; renumbered by Pub. L. 117-263 in 2022); Supplemental Admiralty Rule F
- 46 U.S.C. § 30526
This page is general information about South Carolina law, not legal advice for your situation. Every case depends on its own facts.
