South Carolina · Updated
Injured in South Carolina: deadlines, rules and lawyers
Most of what to do after an injury is the same everywhere. The deadline to file, and a few other rules, are set by each state. Here are South Carolina’s, each with the law it comes from. This is general information, not advice about your case.
We don’t list firms in South Carolina yet. You can still check how to look up a lawyer’s license.
Know this first
Step 1: Three years to file in court
3 yearsfor most injury lawsuits
In South Carolina, most injury lawsuits must be filed within three years from when you knew, or should have known, that you had a claim1.
When the clock starts, and whether an exception applies, can depend on the facts. A lawyer can tell you your exact date.
In South Carolina, most personal-injury and wrongful-death actions must be brought within three years1. Claims under the South Carolina Tort Claims Act against the State and its political subdivisions have a two-year period, or three years if a verified claim is filed first2.
The law, as written
Personal injury3 years (from discovery)
In South Carolina, an action for “any injury to the person or rights of another, not arising on contract and not enumerated by law” must be brought within three years1, running from when the person “knew or by the exercise of reasonable diligence should have known that he had a cause of action”3.
If a family member died
Step 2: If someone died
A claim for a death can have its own deadline, and it may start on a different day. Here is the rule as the research found it.
The law, as written
Wrongful death3 years from death
In South Carolina, a wrongful-death action under §§ 15-51-10 to 15-51-60 must be brought within three years, “the period to begin to run upon the death of the person on account of whose death the action is brought”1.
More detail
In South Carolina, the action is brought by or in the name of the executor or administrator, for the benefit of the spouse and children, then the parents, then the heirs4.
If a government body was involved
Step 3: Claims against the state or a local government
If a government vehicle, government property or a public employee was part of what happened, a shorter notice or claim step may come first. Ask a lawyer about it early.
The law, as written
Claims against the State and local government (Tort Claims Act)2 years, or 3 after a verified claim
Under the South Carolina Tort Claims Act, an action is “forever barred” unless commenced within two years after the loss was or should have been discovered, or within three years if the claimant first filed a claim under the Act2. The same chapter covers claims against the State and against political subdivisions5.
More detail
In South Carolina, the verified claim is optional (“may be filed”), but if filed it “must be received within one year after the loss was or should have been discovered”5. It is filed with the State Fiscal Accountability Authority or the employing agency for State claims, with the employing political subdivision for local claims, or with the Attorney General when the proper defendant is in doubt5. If the claimant is not notified of action within 180 days of filing, the claim is considered disallowed5.
How fault is counted
Step 4: If you were partly at fault
Barred above 50%
In South Carolina, if you are found more than 50% at fault, you generally can’t recover.
In South Carolina, a negligence plaintiff may recover if his or her negligence “is not greater than that of the defendant,” compared with the combined negligence of all defendants6. Joint and several liability is governed by § 15-38-15, rewritten for claims accruing after January 1, 20267.
The law, as written
Bar to recoveryBarred above 50%
In South Carolina, “a plaintiff in a negligence action may recover damages if his or her negligence is not greater than that of the defendant,” and the recovery is reduced in proportion to the plaintiff's negligence6.
More detail
In South Carolina, the Nelson rule applies to causes of action arising on or after July 1, 19916.
If a doctor, hospital or clinic was involved
Step 5: Medical malpractice has its own limits
Claims against a doctor, hospital or clinic often have their own deadline and extra steps before filing.
The law, as written
Medical malpractice3 years; 6-year repose
In South Carolina, a medical-malpractice action must be commenced within three years from the treatment or from discovery, “not to exceed six years from date of occurrence”8. For minors, the period is not tolled for more than seven years on account of minority, “and in any case more than one year after the disability ceases”8.
More detail
In South Carolina, a foreign-object claim must be commenced within two years from discovery, but not less than three years after placement8.
In South Carolina, a Notice of Intent to File Suit with an expert affidavit must be filed before a malpractice suit, and filing it “tolls all applicable statutes of limitations”9.
If they were a minor
Step 6: If the injured person is a child
The clock can run differently for a child’s claim.
The law, as written
Minors and persons under disabilityTolled; max 1 year after disability ends
In South Carolina, if the claimant is under eighteen or insane when the claim accrues, the disability is not counted, but the period cannot be extended “in any case longer than one year after the disability ceases”, and a disability other than infancy cannot extend it more than five years10. The tolling applies to Tort Claims Act actions too102.
Next
Step 7: What to do with this
- Write down the datesThe day you were hurt, the day treatment ended, and anything a government body or hospital sent you.
- Ask a lawyer about your factsThese rules have exceptions that depend on details. A lawyer licensed in South Carolina can tell you which ones apply.
- Ask each firmWhich deadline applies to me, does a notice need to go out, and by when?
How to check a lawyer’s license in South Carolina
Each state keeps a public list of lawyers. Before you hire anyone, look the lawyer up by name and read what the listing says about their license. If it isn’t clear, call the office that keeps the list.
Case types
Each case type’s page has South Carolina’s deadline and rules for it.
More about deadlines
- What to do after a car accident: learn your deadline
Plain steps after a crash: stay safe, get care, keep a record, talk to insurance companies carefully, and learn your state’s deadline to file.
- After a truck accident: your deadline to file still applies
How a crash with a big commercial truck differs from a car crash: federal safety rules, more than one company involved, larger insurance, and records that are only kept for a while.
- After a motorcycle or bike crash: your deadline to file
What’s different when you were on a motorcycle or a bicycle: keeping your helmet and gear, your rights on the road, helmet rules, fault, road hazards and insurance.
- Hit by a car while walking: your deadline to file
What to do if a car hit you while you were walking: first steps, the evidence that disappears fastest, whose insurance may pay, how fault gets argued, and your deadlines.
- After a slip and fall: your deadline to file
What to do after you fall on someone else’s property: get care, report it, keep a record, and learn the questions that decide a premises case, including falls on public property and at work.
- Wrongful death basics: the deadline often starts at the death
If someone in your family died because of another person’s carelessness: what a wrongful-death claim is, who can bring it, how it differs from a survival claim, getting records, and the deadline.
- Hurt at work: your deadlines
What to do after an injury on the job: get care, tell your employer in writing, and learn how workers’ compensation works and when a separate injury claim against someone else may exist.
- After a dog bite: your deadline to file
What to do after a dog bites you or your child: get care, find out who owns the dog, keep a record, and learn how state rules on dog bites differ.
- After a head or brain injury: deadlines keep running while you recover
What to do after a head injury from a crash, a fall or another accident: get checked, keep a record of how you feel, get help from family, and why legal deadlines keep running while you recover.
- When medical care goes wrong: deadlines are often different, and strict
What to do if you think a doctor, hospital or clinic hurt you: get care, get your records, and learn the extra steps and short deadlines that medical-malpractice claims often have, state by state.
- Deadlines in every state
The usual deadline in all 50 states and DC, side by side. Where we haven’t checked one yet, we say so.
How we list firms
How we list firms
We don’t rank firms. Listing is free and doesn’t depend on buying anything.
Firms are listed for free, in A–Z order. Every fact shows its source and date. We don’t recommend lawyers, and we don’t pass on your details.
Sources
Where the legal facts on this page come from
- S.C. Code Ann. tit. 15, ch. 3 (§§ 15-3-40, 15-3-530, 15-3-535, 15-3-545)Read the source: S.C. Code Ann. tit. 15, ch. 3 (§§ 15-3-40, 15-3-530, 15-3-535, 15-3-545)
- S.C. Code Ann. § 15-78-110 (South Carolina Tort Claims Act)Read the source: S.C. Code Ann. § 15-78-110 (South Carolina Tort Claims Act)
- S.C. Code Ann. § 15-3-535Read the source: S.C. Code Ann. § 15-3-535
- S.C. Code Ann. §§ 15-51-10, 15-51-20Read the source: S.C. Code Ann. §§ 15-51-10, 15-51-20
- S.C. Code Ann. § 15-78-80 (South Carolina Tort Claims Act)Read the source: S.C. Code Ann. § 15-78-80 (South Carolina Tort Claims Act)
- Nelson v. Concrete Supply Co., 303 S.C. 243, 399 S.E.2d 783 (1991)Read the source: Nelson v. Concrete Supply Co., 303 S.C. 243, 399 S.E.2d 783 (1991)
- 2025 S.C. Acts No. 42 (H.3430), §§ 1, 11 (ratified May 8, 2025; approved May 12, 2025)Read the source: 2025 S.C. Acts No. 42 (H.3430), §§ 1, 11 (ratified May 8, 2025; approved May 12, 2025)
- S.C. Code Ann. § 15-3-545Read the source: S.C. Code Ann. § 15-3-545
- S.C. Code Ann. § 15-79-125Read the source: S.C. Code Ann. § 15-79-125
- S.C. Code Ann. § 15-3-40Read the source: S.C. Code Ann. § 15-3-40
This is general information, not legal advice.