What to Do After a Toxic Exposure Around Summerville
Medical care comes first, and someone at home can help keep the records.
- Get away from it. Leave the area, get out of a house where a carbon monoxide alarm is going off, and stop drinking water or using a product you suspect.
- Get medical help. Call 911 for serious symptoms. Headache, dizziness or nausea after a CO alarm means a trip to the ER. For other chemicals, get medical advice quickly and follow poison control or emergency crews. Name the product, the fumes or the water source for every doctor you see.
- Save the Poison Control number. For immediate poison exposure guidance in the United States, call 1-800-222-1222.3
- Ask for any incident report from the fire department, police or another agency that responded to a spill or leak.
- Photograph and take notes from a safe distance: the spill, the product, the water or the appliance, plus dates, smells, symptoms and who you talked to.
- Keep records safely. Packaging, labels, receipts, water bills and notices. Don't handle hazardous material to save it; professional sampling may be needed.
- Wait before signing a release. Many people talk to a lawyer first.
Exposures Around Summerville
Around Summerville, exposures can come from a portable generator run too close to the house during a storm outage, a chemical leak at one of the manufacturing or distribution sites along I-26, a tanker or truck spill on the interstate, pesticides, or a contaminated water supply. Carbon monoxide from a faulty furnace or water heater can sicken a whole household at once.
How Long You Have
Toxic illness can develop or be found long after contact. South Carolina's three-year period for injury claims generally begins when a person knew, or through reasonable diligence should have known, about a potentially actionable injury, and figuring out that date can be complicated.1 The limit is for a lawsuit, and an insurance claim does not stop it.4
You don't necessarily need to know the precise chemical, every party involved or the legal theory before the clock starts.1 Don't assume yours started late.
Most personal injury claims in South Carolina must be filed within three years.5 Some claims follow other laws and deadlines; suits against government entities, for example, generally must be filed within two years, though a qualifying verified claim may extend that to three years.6 Government claims can also carry special liability rules and caps on damages.2
Want someone to look at your situation?
Talk with our team about what happened and ask the questions on your mind.
What Has to Be Shown
A toxic exposure claim generally requires more than showing a substance was present. Depending on the theory, evidence may be needed on how the exposure happened, whether the substance can cause this kind of illness and whether it caused this person's illness. Medical records, environmental testing, work records, product information and qualified medical and scientific opinions may all matter. Exposure alone does not automatically make someone legally responsible for a medical condition.7
For the statewide overview, see South Carolina toxic exposure claims.
Talk With Us
Walk us through the exposure, the first symptoms and every diagnosis since. If you hire us, the insurers can usually deal with us, and we are straight with you about what we see.
Our office is on King Street in downtown Charleston. We take cases across South Carolina, including Summerville. If mold is the problem, see toxic mold around Summerville.
We would like to hear about the smell, the leak or the label.
South Carolina Law on This
- South Carolina's three-year limitations period for personal injury claims generally begins when a person knew or, through reasonable diligence, should have known that they had a potentially actionable injury. A person does not necessarily need to know the precise substance responsible, every defendant or the legal theory before the clock begins running.1
- 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.2
- For immediate poison exposure guidance in the United States, the Poison Control number is 1-800-222-1222.3
- 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.4
- Most personal injury claims in South Carolina must be filed within three years.5
- 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.6
- A toxic exposure or mold claim generally requires more than showing that a substance was present. Depending on the legal theory, evidence may be needed on how exposure occurred, whether the substance can cause the type of injury involved, and whether it caused the particular person's illness. Exposure does not automatically establish that someone is legally responsible for a medical condition.7
- 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.8
- 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.9
- 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.10
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I talk with you by phone?
Yes. The first conversation can happen by phone. Our office is on King Street in downtown Charleston.
I found out about the contamination years later. Is it too late?
There is no safe way to answer that without the dates. The three-year period generally begins when you knew, or through reasonable diligence should have known, that you had a potentially actionable injury. A person does not necessarily need to know the precise substance responsible, every defendant or the legal theory before the clock begins running.1
My doctors are still running tests. Should I wait to call?
No need to wait. Keep your appointments and request copies of your records, and a lawyer can look into the rest meanwhile.
What if a public water system or other agency caused it?
Possibly. Tracing the contamination to its source, and figuring out what part the utility or agency played, comes first. Suits against South Carolina government entities generally must be filed within two years, though a qualifying verified claim may extend that to three years.6 Caps on damages and other special rules can come with those claims.2
I was exposed at work. What then?
Workers' compensation may apply, depending on the facts and the occupational disease rules.89 A separate injury claim may also be possible against an outside party, such as a product maker or contractor. Comp and a lawsuit run on separate tracks with separate timing, so ask about both on your first call.10
Sources
- S.C. Code § 15-3-535
- S.C. Code §§ 15-78-110 and 15-78-120
- America's Poison Centers / Poison Help line
- S.C. Code §§ 15-3-20 and 15-3-530
- S.C. Code § 15-3-530
- S.C. Code §§ 15-78-80 and 15-78-110
- General South Carolina toxic tort causation principles (Sean Hall, Nov 5 review)
- S.C. Code § 42-1-540
- S.C. Code § 42-15-40
- S.C. Code § 42-1-560
This page is general information about South Carolina law, not legal advice for your situation. Every case depends on its own facts.
