South Carolina Car Accident Lawsuits Generally Have A Three-Year Filing Deadline
If you were hurt in a car accident in South Carolina, you generally have three years to file a lawsuit seeking compensation from the at-fault party. That may sound like plenty of time, but waiting can put a strong case at risk long before the legal deadline arrives.
Video can be overwritten. Vehicles can be repaired or destroyed. Witnesses can become harder to find. Insurance companies can spend months investigating the crash while you're focused on medical treatment and recovery.
At Johnson + Johnson Attorneys at Law, our Lexington car accident lawyers help injured people identify the deadlines that apply, preserve evidence, deal with insurance companies, and take legal action before time runs out.
Most South Carolina Car Accident Lawsuits Have A Three-Year Deadline
Under S.C. Code § 15-3-530(5), actions involving injury to a person or their rights generally must be filed within three years.
For a typical car accident where the crash and injuries are immediately known, that often means the lawsuit deadline falls three years after the collision.
South Carolina also applies a discovery rule under § 15-3-535. The limitations period begins when a person knew, or through reasonable diligence should have known, that they had a cause of action. In an ordinary car crash, the accident itself usually makes the potential claim apparent, so injured people shouldn't assume delayed symptoms automatically give them extra time.
An Insurance Claim And A Lawsuit Aren't The Same Thing
The three-year statute of limitations governs the time available to file most car accident lawsuits. It shouldn't be confused with deadlines for notifying an insurance company or submitting information required under an insurance policy.
Insurance policies may require an accident to be reported promptly, and waiting too long can create additional disputes over coverage or the cause of an injury.
A person can also spend months negotiating an insurance claim without ever filing suit. If negotiations stall, the insurer denies liability, or the filing deadline approaches, filing a South Carolina car accident lawsuit may be necessary to preserve the right to continue pursuing compensation.
Settlement negotiations don't automatically stop the statute of limitations from running.
Government Vehicle Claims Can Follow A Much Shorter Timeline
A crash involving a government vehicle or public employee can fall under the South Carolina Tort Claims Act instead of the ordinary three-year negligence rule.
Under the South Carolina Tort Claims Act, an action against a covered governmental entity generally must be filed within two years after the loss was or should have been discovered.
The law also creates an optional verified-claim procedure. If a proper verified claim is filed within one year and the statutory requirements are satisfied, the period for filing the lawsuit based on that occurrence can extend to three years.
That can matter after crashes involving government-owned vehicles, public buses, municipal vehicles, or public employees acting within the scope of their duties. These cases shouldn't be evaluated using the ordinary three-year rule without first determining whether the Tort Claims Act applies.
Special Tolling Rules Can Apply To Injured Minors
South Carolina law contains special rules for people who were minors when a cause of action accrued.
S.C. Code § 15-3-40 provides tolling protections for certain people under age 18, but the rule is more complicated than simply giving every injured child three new years after turning 18. The statute contains limits governing how long an action may be extended after the disability ends, and different rules can interact with claims against governmental entities.
Parents don't need to wait until a child reaches adulthood to investigate a claim. Preserving evidence early can be especially important when a child has serious injuries requiring years of medical care.
Evidence Can Disappear Years Before The Deadline
A three-year filing period doesn't mean the evidence needed to prove the case will still exist three years later.
- Traffic And Surveillance Video: Businesses, homes, traffic systems, and dashcams may overwrite footage within days or weeks. Obtaining traffic camera or surveillance footage after a South Carolina crash can become much harder once recordings are deleted.
- Vehicle Evidence: Cars may be repaired, sold, salvaged, or destroyed before important damage patterns or electronic data can be examined.
- Witness Testimony: Witnesses may move, change contact information, or forget important details about what they saw.
- Crash Scene Evidence: Skid marks, debris, construction conditions, damaged signs, and other temporary evidence can disappear quickly.
- Medical Documentation: Delays in treatment can create disputes over when an injury began and whether it was caused by the collision.
Your South Carolina car accident report can also contain important early information about the drivers, vehicles, witnesses, road conditions, and law enforcement response.
Delayed Injuries Don't Automatically Reset The Clock
Some crash injuries aren't immediately obvious. Whiplash, concussions, soft tissue injuries, and other conditions may become more noticeable hours or days after the collision.
That doesn't mean every delayed diagnosis creates a new three-year filing period.
South Carolina's discovery rule looks at when a person knew or reasonably should have known they had a cause of action. Because a car crash is usually a known event, relying on delayed symptoms to extend the deadline can be risky.
Seeking appropriate medical attention after symptoms appear can protect your health while also creating documentation connecting the condition to the collision.
Missing The Deadline Can End An Otherwise Valid Case
If the applicable statute of limitations expires before a lawsuit is properly filed, the defendant can raise the deadline as a defense and seek dismissal.
That can eliminate the ability to pursue compensation through the courts for losses such as:
- Medical Expenses: Emergency treatment, hospitalization, surgery, rehabilitation, medication, and future medical care.
- Lost Income: Wages lost while injuries prevent you from working.
- Reduced Earning Capacity: Future financial losses caused by permanent limitations.
- Pain and Suffering: Physical pain and the broader impact serious injuries have on daily life.
- Property Damage: Costs associated with repairing or replacing a damaged vehicle and other property.
The strength of the underlying evidence doesn't erase a missed statute of limitations. A person can have compelling proof that another driver caused the crash and still lose the ability to pursue the case if the filing deadline expires.
Starting Early Gives You More Time To Build The Case
Taking action early doesn't mean a lawsuit needs to be filed immediately.
It means preserving the evidence while it's still available, identifying insurance coverage, documenting injuries, calculating losses, and determining whether a fair settlement can be reached before the deadline creates unnecessary pressure.
Insurance companies begin evaluating liability and damages soon after a crash. Injured people should have the same opportunity to build their side of the case while the evidence is fresh.
Three years can pass quickly when treatment lasts months, negotiations continue, or injuries prevent someone from returning to work. Waiting until the final months can leave less time to investigate disputed facts or properly prepare a lawsuit.
A Lexington Car Accident Lawyer Can Protect Your Filing Deadline
The correct deadline can depend on the type of claim, when the cause of action accrued, whether a government entity was involved, and whether a tolling rule applies. You shouldn't have to sort through those questions while recovering from a serious crash.
At Johnson + Johnson Attorneys at Law, we investigate accidents, preserve evidence, identify applicable deadlines, negotiate with insurance companies, and file lawsuits when necessary to protect our clients' rights. Attorneys Steven W. Johnson and Kevin C. Johnson were born and raised in Lexington, and we help injured people throughout South Carolina pursue the compensation they need to move forward.
If you were hurt in a South Carolina car accident and aren't sure how much time you have left, contact us today for a free case evaluation.
"After two accidents that weren't my fault and getting the runaround from both insurance companies, I decided to have Johnson & Johnson Attorneys at Law take over. They were efficient and worked fast to settle my cases. I would highly recommend you let Steven and Kevin help you in your time of need." - Ronnie F., ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
