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South Carolina
Personal
Injury Law
The following summary of South Carolina personal injury laws
and theories of liability will help you understand important aspects of
injury claims in this state.
South Carolina Statute of Limitations:
Personal
Injury: For personal injury, the statute of limitations is
3 years for negligent
conduct and 2 years for injuries resulting from intentional torts.
Medical
Malpractice: 3 years for all general medical malpractice
claims, 3 years for claims due to a foreign object, and 2 years from
discovery.
Product
Liability: 3 years.
Caps on Personal Injury Awards in South Carolina:
There are no award caps in the state of South Carolina.
South Carolina Serious Injury Threshold:
There is no serious injury threshold in the state of South Carolina.
South
Carolina is a Fault state and follows the modified
comparative fault – 51% system. Therefore, a plaintiff can recover
damages provided that they are no more than 50% at fault. Depending on
the degree of fault up to 50%, the damages will be reduced by that
percentage.
Personal Injuries & Theories of Liability
in South Carolina:
Auto
Accident Claims: If a driver operates their vehicle in a
negligent fashion and in so doing injures a passenger,
pedestrian or another driver, the negligent driver will be liable for
the personal or property damage of the other party.
Product
Liability Lawsuits: Before a product is placed on the shelf
for consumption and use, it has gone through a series of tests and
inspections that may have taken years to accomplish. For this reason,
it is assumed that these products are free of defects or flaws that
might injure the public. Therefore, when injury occurs, those in the
chain of production may be held strictly liable.
Workers'
Compensation Laws: South Carolina is a compulsory workers
compensation state, therefore all employers who hire employees are
required to carry workers compensation insurance from which
compensation would come in the event of on-the-job injury.
Medical Malpractice:
This occurs when a health care provider fails to follow the expected
standard of care when providing treatment which then results in injury
to the patient. This also falls under the category of "medical
negligence."
Wrongful
Death Cases: When the negligence of one results in the death
of another, the negligent party will be liable to the estate of the
decedent as a result of their death. Factors that will be considered
are such things as earning capacity, age of the victim and inflation.
Slip
and Fall Accidents: When you own property, you are required
to keep
your property in a condition free of known dangers or those that would
be discovered by reasonable inspection. If a party is injured due to
one of those conditions, you as the property owner will be liable under
the theory of premises liability.
For More
Information Check out these sites:
Official
South Carolina State Government Website
South
Carolina Insurance Department
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