The steps below are practical information, not legal or medical advice. Your situation may require different steps. If you have a medical emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department.
A general checklist
- Get medical care. Tell the provider how the injury happened, and follow up if symptoms change. Keep copies of discharge papers and bills when you can.
- Document what you safely can. Photographs of the scene, the names of witnesses, and a simple written timeline can be useful later. Do not put yourself at further risk to collect information.
- Report the incident to the appropriate place when that applies: law enforcement, an employer, a property manager, or animal control. Official contacts are collected on the resources page. This website does not take those reports.
- Keep records of work and expenses related to the injury, such as missed shifts or out-of-pocket costs.
- Be cautious about recorded statements and broad medical authorizations until a licensed attorney has explained what they can mean. This site cannot tell you what to sign.
- Calendar legal deadlines. Some periods are shorter than people expect, especially in workers’ compensation.
Civil time limits (general)
Under S.C. Code Ann. § 15-3-530(5), many actions for injury to the person must be commenced within three years. S.C. Code Ann. § 15-3-535 provides that, except for actions under § 15-3-545, those actions must be commenced within three years after the person knew, or by the exercise of reasonable diligence should have known, that they had a cause of action. Other rules can apply, including different periods for medical malpractice, wrongful death, and workers’ compensation. Only a licensed attorney who reviews your facts can assess a deadline that applies to you. Sending a form on this website does not extend or satisfy a filing deadline.
Wrongful death actions under §§ 15-51-10 to 15-51-60 generally must be commenced within three years, beginning on the date of death, under S.C. Code Ann. § 15-3-530(6).
Medical malpractice has a separate schedule and a general six-year outer limit in S.C. Code Ann. § 15-3-545.
Workers’ compensation periods
If the injury is work-related, S.C. Code Ann. § 42-15-20 generally requires notice to the employer within ninety days (with stated exceptions, including a discovery-based rule for repetitive trauma). S.C. Code Ann. § 42-15-40 generally requires a claim to be filed with the Commission within two years, with different rules for occupational disease, certain National Guard claims, and repetitive trauma. See the workplace injury page.
If more than one person may share fault
South Carolina uses modified comparative negligence. In Nelson v. Concrete Supply Co., 303 S.C. 243, 399 S.E.2d 783 (1991), the South Carolina Supreme Court held that a plaintiff may recover if the plaintiff’s negligence is not greater than that of the defendant, with damages reduced by the plaintiff’s percentage of fault. Apportionment among defendants and other tortfeasors is addressed in S.C. Code Ann. § 15-38-15, as amended effective January 1, 2026, for claims arising or accruing after that date. Nothing here predicts how those rules would apply to a particular incident.
Request a consultation
You may describe what happened, in short form, on the consultation request form. Submitting the form does not hire a lawyer, does not create an attorney-client relationship, and does not extend a deadline.