If you are in an accident, you may be unable to file a personal injury claim immediately. However, the South Carolina statute of limitations for personal injury cases provides a strict deadline for filing your claim. This rule has many exceptions, but the Mt. Pleasant personal injury attorneys at Rikard & Protopapas can tell you the deadline that applies to your case.
What Is the South Carolina Statute of Limitations for Personal Injury Claims?
The statute of limitations for filing many personal injury lawsuits in South Carolina is three years. This deadline applies to bringing legal action against the party or parties who caused your injury and is separate from deadlines for filing insurance claims.
To be eligible to file a personal injury claim, someone else’s negligence must have caused your injury. Car or truck accidents, slip-and-fall accidents, medical malpractice and dangerous products are common causes of eligible injuries. Rikard & Protopapas has extensive experience handling these and other personal injury claims.
There are, however, some exceptions to the three-year limit.
Claims against the federal or state government
You can file a claim against various government agencies if they contribute to causing an injury under the South Carolina Tort Claims Act. Examples of potential liability include:
- Car accidents caused by potholes, malfunctioning traffic signals or poor road design
- Government vehicles that cause accidents, including public transportation
- Government employees who injure you
- County hospital medical malpractice
- Poorly maintained public places
You need to file these claims within two years rather than three, unlike with the South Carolina statute of limitations for personal injury claims. This type of claim has stricter protocols and procedures than you’ll find in other personal injury cases.
Injured minors
If the person injured is a minor, the SC statute of limitations for personal injury claims doesn’t begin until age 18.
Individuals have one year after their 18th birthday to file a claim. However, a parent or legal guardian may file a claim on their behalf before that time.
Physical or mental disability
Certain medical or mental conditions may prevent an injured person from filing a claim within the specified deadline. In these cases, courts may grant an extension to the standard time frame. Cases involving medical malpractice may not qualify for this extension.
When Does the Clock Start?
For most injuries, the clock for claims starts its countdown on the date of your accident. However, specific circumstances may adjust the start time of the South Carolina statute of limitations for personal injury claims. Ask your legal team when your countdown begins to be sure you don’t miss your filing deadline.
The discovery rule
The South Carolina personal injury statute of limitations provides for instances when a person isn’t immediately aware of their injuries through the discovery rule. This rule gives you six years to file a claim, although it has exceptions. If the discovery rule applies to you, the statute of limitations doesn’t begin until either you discover the injury or when you should have discovered it.
Some injuries develop over time and aren’t apparent during an initial medical evaluation after an accident. For instance, adrenaline may mask the symptoms of whiplash, but it gradually worsens.
In other cases, your injury may not come from a specific accident. You may develop lung issues slowly due to exposure to toxic substances, for example.
Some exceptions to the discovery rule center around surgical instruments that a physician leaves inside a patient’s body during a procedure. Your Columbia personal injury lawyer can tell you when your deadline is.
What Happens If You Don’t File on Time?
If you don’t file a lawsuit before the South Carolina statute of limitations for personal injury claims that apply to you, you likely forfeit your right to seek compensation from the at-fault party. Courts probably won’t accept your claim; if they do, the defense will likely ask the court to dismiss your case.
The various exceptions and extensions can make determining how long you have to file a personal injury claim confusing. To be sure you don’t miss your deadline, reach out to our team at Rikard & Protopapas as soon as possible after your injury.
Why Do You Need To Talk to a Lawyer as Soon as Possible?
There are several good reasons to contact us shortly after your injury, all related to obtaining a favorable outcome for your claims, including ensuring that you know the South Carolina statute of limitations for personal injury claims.
- It takes time to investigate your accident thoroughly. We need time to follow all leads and gather strong evidence to support your claim.
- Eyewitness memories fade over time. You may lose video surveillance footage that captured your accident. Someone will clean up accident scenes.
- Insurance companies are not your friends and may try various tactics to undermine your claim. We can handle all communications with these companies, so they don’t have the opportunity to take advantage of you.
- After building a strong case, we will negotiate with insurance companies to reach a favorable settlement offer. This process adds time to your claim, but it’s usually better to settle than go to court. If we don’t begin negotiations until just before the South Carolina statute of limitations for personal injury claims expires, we may have limited options in pursuing your claim.
- Involving us early in the claims process allows us to handle the tedious, although necessary, tasks so you can focus on recovering from your injury.
We can complete and submit case-related paperwork, advise you, and explain your legal options.
At Rikard & Protopapas, we understand that your injury likely caused a financial strain. That’s why we handle many cases on a contingency fee basis. That means you don’t pay us any fees until we win your case. We also offer other fee structures.
Which South Carolina Statute of Limitations for Personal Injury Claims Applies to Your Case?
Contact us at Rikard & Protopapas 24/7 to request your free consultation so we can tell you what the South Carolina statute of limitations for personal injury is using case-specific information. The 10 attorneys at our firm have 119 years of combined experience and have a 97% success rate winning cases. Our recent verdicts and settlements total $100 million. Let us add you to our list of satisfied clients. Call us today!