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Your Conway Personal Injury Attorney
Recovering from an injury is hard enough without legal confusion on top of it. If someone else’s carelessness hurt you in Conway, you are allowed to take your time understanding your options before you sign or say anything.
Nothing on this page is legal advice, and NeedAnAttorney.net is not a law firm. It is a service that connects injured people with attorneys. The rules described here are quoted or summarized from South Carolina’s own statutes so that you can check them yourself.
Before You Hire: Questions For A Conway Attorney
Whoever you speak to, a few answers tell you a lot:
- Your share of fault. Ask how a finding that you were partly at fault would change the numbers. The jury puts a percentage on your fault, and the statute leaves the effect on your recovery to the applicable rules on comparative negligence (S.C. Code § 15-38-15).
- The date. Ask the attorney to name the exact last day to file in your case. South Carolina’s general limit for an injury to the person is three years (S.C. Code § 15-3-530).
- Claims against the government. Ask whether a public body could be responsible. Claims under the Tort Claims Act have dollar limits and no punitive damages (S.C. Code § 15-78-120).
- The money terms. Ask how fees are calculated and which costs come out of a recovery.
- Who will work on it. Ask who handles your file day to day and how fast messages are answered.
Injury Claims People Ask About
Vehicle crashes
After a crash, see a doctor even if you feel fine, since some injuries show up later. Take photographs of the cars, the road and any injuries, get the other driver’s insurance details, and save every repair estimate.
Pedestrian and bicycle injuries
If a driver hit you while you were on foot or on a bike, note exactly where it happened, what the signals and lighting were like, and who saw it. Ask the people who stopped to leave their names and numbers.
Falls and unsafe property
Falls on someone else’s property usually depend on what the owner knew or should have known about the hazard. Photograph the spot before it changes, report the fall in writing, and keep the shoes you were wearing.
Wrongful death
If someone you love died because another person was careless or at fault, the law treats it separately. South Carolina law lets an action be brought when a death is caused by the wrongful act, neglect or default of another, for the benefit of the spouse and children, or if there are none the parents, or if there are none the heirs (S.C. Code § 15-51-10, S.C. Code § 15-51-20), and the jury may give damages proportioned to the injury resulting from the death (S.C. Code § 15-51-40). This is a hard moment to decide anything, and an attorney can walk you through the steps without hurrying you.
Injured in Conway? Get matched with an attorney now.
How Shared Fault Is Counted
Blame is counted by percentage in South Carolina. The jury, or the court if there is no jury, decides the total damages, the plaintiff’s percentage of fault under the applicable rules on comparative negligence, and, on a defendant’s motion, each defendant’s percentage of the indivisible harm (S.C. Code § 15-38-15).
Those percentages decide who pays what. A defendant under fifty percent of the total fault is liable only for that percentage, unless its conduct was wilful, wanton, reckless or intentional (S.C. Code § 15-38-15). Ask an attorney how the percentages could play out if more than one person was at fault.
Special Rules To Know
Punitive damages are possible in South Carolina only in narrow cases. They may be awarded only if the plaintiff proves by clear and convincing evidence that the harm resulted from the defendant’s wilful, wanton or reckless conduct, and a defendant may ask for a bifurcated trial (S.C. Code § 15-32-520).
An award of punitive damages may not exceed the greater of three times the compensatory damages or $500,000. The limit rises to the greater of four times the compensatory damages or $2 million in two situations the statute describes, and there is no cap when the defendant intended to harm the claimant and did, or has pleaded guilty to or been convicted of a related felony (S.C. Code § 15-32-530).
Time Limits To Know
The standard deadline is three years for an injury to the person (S.C. Code § 15-3-530) and three years from the death for a wrongful death (S.C. Code § 15-3-530). Claims against public bodies run on their own clock under the Tort Claims Act: two years after the loss was or should have been discovered, or three years if the claimant first filed a claim (S.C. Code § 15-78-110).
Because a government claim can have both a filing step and a lawsuit deadline, ask early which rule fits your facts.
Coverage Limits Behind a Crash Claim
The other driver’s policy may be smaller than your bills. Under S.C. Code § 38-77-140, the minimum liability limits are $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for bodily injury, and $25,000 for property damage.
When your losses are larger, look at your own coverage. S.C. Code § 38-77-150 requires an uninsured motorist provision in the policy, with limits no less than the minimums above. Ask your attorney to look at every policy that could apply.
Courts and Hospitals in Conway
Conway Medical Center appears on the South Carolina Department of Public Health list of trauma centers as an Adult Level III trauma center. Look up Horry County in section 14-5-610 of the South Carolina Code and you find it in the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit. The Census Bureau counts Conway in Horry County.
Ask every provider for your full records and an itemized bill, and keep a running list of appointments. A transfer between hospitals leaves two sets of records, so request both.
Making Your First Contact In Conway
Use the form at the top of the page to tell us what happened. NeedAnAttorney.net reviews your details and works to match you with an attorney in our network who may handle cases in South Carolina. There is no charge to submit it, and submitting it does not hire anyone.
Before the first call, collect the basics: the date, the place, names of witnesses, your medical visits and your missed work. A single folder for bills, letters and photographs saves time later.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the South Carolina statute of limitations for an injury claim?
Generally three years (S.C. Code § 15-3-530). For a wrongful death, the three years begin on the date of death (S.C. Code § 15-3-530).
Does South Carolina count my share of the blame?
Yes, the jury assigns a percentage to you and to each defendant (S.C. Code § 15-38-15). The statute leaves the effect on your recovery to the comparative negligence rules, so ask an attorney how they apply to you.
Can I recover punitive damages in an injury case?
Sometimes. You must prove by clear and convincing evidence that your harm resulted from wilful, wanton or reckless conduct (S.C. Code § 15-32-520), and an award may not exceed the greater of three times the compensatory damages or $500,000 in most cases (S.C. Code § 15-32-530).
How much liability coverage must a South Carolina driver carry?
The minimums are $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident and $25,000 for property damage (S.C. Code § 38-77-140).
What documents should I keep after an injury?
Medical records and bills, photographs, the police or incident report number, pay stubs showing missed work, repair estimates and every letter or email from an insurer.
Can I talk to the other side’s insurance company?
You can, but you do not have to give a recorded statement right away. It is fair to say you are getting advice first.
What if a city, county or the State caused my injury?
Yes. Under the Tort Claims Act an action must be commenced within two years after the loss was or should have been discovered (S.C. Code § 15-78-110), recovery is limited to $300,000 per person for a single occurrence and $600,000 in total, and punitive damages are not allowed (S.C. Code § 15-78-120).
What are the first steps after an accident?
See a doctor, report the accident to the right party, take photographs, and write down the details soon after. Then keep every bill and record together.
If You Were Hurt Somewhere Else In South Carolina
If your injury happened outside Conway, one of these pages may fit better.
