A broad spectrum of cases, claims, and injuries may fall under the category of personal injury. While these claims are vast, many tend to be governed by the same statute of limitations. This statute imposes a strict time limit on plaintiffs who must file their claims within a specific period. While the limitation period is strict, it is flexible under the right circumstances.
The statute of limitations for personal injury cases in South Carolina comes with a 3-year time limit. This limitation period begins on the day you are injured, and your time might already be slipping away as we speak. Talk to your attorney about your situation, as there might be ways to pause the clock and get additional time. This process is known as tolling and is only available in very specific circumstances. If the statute of limitations for your claims is about to expire or perhaps has already expired, speak to an attorney about your options.
Get in touch with our Greenville, SC personal injury lawyers for a free, confidential case assessment by calling Rice, Murtha & Psoras at (803) 219-4906.
The Statute of Limitations for Personal Injury Cases in South Carolina
In South Carolina, the statute of limitations for personal injury claims can be found under S.C. Code Ann. § 15-3-530(5). The law imposes a very strict time limit of only 3 years. This limitation period starts on the day of your injury, so the clock begins counting down almost immediately. In short, time is of the essence in a personal injury case, and you should get assistance from an attorney as soon as possible.
While everyone has the same amount of time to file a personal injury lawsuit, they might face different challenges. For some, it might be fairly easy to go from the hospital straight to a lawyer’s office and get started on a lawsuit. For others, the path to justice might be longer and filled with more hurdles. Perhaps your injuries are severe, and you cannot leave the hospital for quite some time. You might not be in any shape to even talk to a lawyer for months. As such, your time might be more limited.
If you are having trouble recovering or are still unsure about filing a lawsuit, try having a friend or relative contact our South Carolina personal injury attorneys on your behalf. It might be difficult, but the sooner you can get to work building your case, the more likely you will get the fair compensation you rightly deserve. On top of that, our legal team can do the heavy lifting while you focus on rest and recovery.
Can I Have Time Past the Statute of Limitations to File a South Carolina Personal Injury Case?
The statute may be tolled, and your time limit to file your case pushed back under very specific circumstances. Talk to your attorney about tolling if your limitation period is about to expire. Remember, not knowing about the time limit or miscalculating the limitation period is not a valid reason to have the statute tolled.
Minors and Disabilities
According to S.C. Code Ann. § 15-3-40, plaintiffs may have the statute of limitations tolled if they were minors when the accident occurred or they had a mental condition or disability that prevented them from understanding their rights or injuries. How long the statute may be tolled depends on your unique situation.
If you were a minor when you were injured, the statute of limitations may be tolled until you are 18. Put another way, minor plaintiffs have 3 years from their 18th birthday to file a lawsuit. The younger you are when your injuries occur, the more time you might have due to tolling. If you have a mental condition or disability that prevents you from taking legal action on your own, the statute of limitations may be tolled until the disability is lifted. Exactly how long this is will vary based on your condition.
One important caveat about tolling for disabilities is that the disability must exist when the cause of action accrued, according to § 15-3-50. If your disability arose some time after you were injured, it does not count for tolling and may not be used to extend the limitations period.
In some cases, plaintiffs have more than one disability. For example, they might be minors with a mental condition that prevents them from taking legal action. In such a case, the limitation period would not begin until both disabilities are removed, according to § 15-3-60, as long as they both existed at the time the accident happened.
Defendant is Out of the State
Another possibility is that the defendant in your case is no longer in the State of South Carolina. This can happen for many reasons, but if they do not return to the state, and we cannot serve them notice of your claim via long-arm statutes, we can have the statute of limitations tolled until they return to South Carolina.
According to § 15-3-30, if the defendant is outside the state when your cause of action accrues, the limitation period would not begin until they come within the state’s jurisdiction. Alternatively, if the defendant is present in the state when your cause of action accrues but leaves shortly after, the limitation period is paused until they return.
What to Do if the Statute of Limitations for Your Claim in South Carolina is About to Expire
Many people wait a while before seeking legal advice, and some are unpleasantly surprised to learn that their limitation period is coming to a close. If you are in this situation yourself, you might have a very short time to prepare your case, file it, and serve notice to the defendant. The best thing you can do is speak to an attorney immediately.
Discuss the details of your case with your lawyer. They might identify a way to have the statute of limitations tolled so you have more time to prepare. Another possibility is that you have incorrectly calculated the limitation period. Maybe you got the numbers wrong and have more time than you initially thought.
Contact Our South Carolina Personal Injury Lawyers to Talk About Your Claims
Reach out to our Columbia, SC personal injury lawyers for a free, confidential case assessment by calling Rice, Murtha & Psoras at (803) 219-4906.