The South Carolina personal injury lawyers at Gelb & Gelb, P.C. have been handling personal injury cases for clients since 1954. Since that time, we have successfully resolved over 10,000 personal injury cases. Our strength lies not just in our record, but in our personal attention to clients. At many South Carolina law firms, you are directed through a maze of paralegals before finally speaking with an attorney, if you speak with one at all. This was a concern that became personal for Brian Gelb during his time at the College of Charleston and the Charleston School of Law. When close friends were seriously injured in accidents, they were surprised to learn that their legal questions were being handled entirely by paralegals. While they are certainly adept at handling parts of your case, they lack the formal legal training of law school.
At Gelb & Gelb, P.C., we do things differently. When you hire our firm, you get a lawyer, someone with real legal training and courtroom experience, guiding your case from start to finish. While a receptionist answers our phones, an attorney is the first and only person you discuss your case with. You deserve answers, strategy, and advocacy. There are several types of personal injury cases you may fall victim to. Whether it is the classic car accident case, a life-threatening truck accident, or you are injured crossing the street, we are here to help. In South Carolina, the law supports you in obtaining rightful compensation for your injuries when you can prove the other party acted negligently. Gathering that evidence, building your case, and maximizing your compensation are what we do.
Call our office today for a free case consultation at (202) 331-7227.
Personal injury law in South Carolina is rooted in the common law, which originates in England. Today, personal injury law in South Carolina is designed to protect individuals who are harmed due to the negligent or wrongful conduct of others. It is an imperfect system. In an ideal world, you would be uninjured. However, as that is impossible, the best resolution we have is monetary damages. The money damages you are entitled to are proportional to the injury you suffer. So, you are entitled to more money if your injury is worse or if the defendant shares more responsibility. However, just because you have a rightful claim to more compensation does not necessarily mean that money is available. In the vast majority of personal injury matters, we deal with insurance companies to cover your damages. And some policies are more extensive than others.
Let’s assume that you are injured in Downtown Charleston while walking in a crosswalk. Are you automatically entitled to the insurance policy that runs with that vehicle? The answer is no. As the plaintiff in a personal injury case, you carry the burden of proof. But what must you prove?
There are four elements in any negligence claim. That is not to say that the cause of action in your case will be negligence. However, negligence is the most common basis for the cases we handle. Other options may include civil assault or battery. But in a negligence case, we must prove each of four elements.
Under Section 15-3-530(5), the statute of limitations for most personal injuries in South Carolina is three years. However, there are some exceptions to be aware of. First, we may toll the statute of limitations if the accident occurred while you were a minor, or under the age of 18. However, the tolling may not extend beyond five years, except in cases of infancy or other specified exceptions. This means, in extreme cases, the case can be tolled almost eight years after the date of the accident.
Second, there is the discovery rule. If the injury was not immediately discoverable, the three-year clock starts when the injured party knew or reasonably should have known that they had a cause of action. Interestingly and unusually, if the defendant is out of state at the time the cause of action accrues, the limitation period is paused until they return. However, proving this fact will be difficult and is likely not worthwhile for minor accidents.
Other exceptions to the three-year rule include:
After an injury in South Carolina, you should take several steps to preserve and even maximize the value of your claim. We outline each in detail below.
The most important thing you can do after any type of injury is ensure your own safety. As airlines will tell you in anticipating emergency situations, you should tend to yourself before helping others. This general advice gives the best chance of a positive outcome for everyone. While the following steps are also imperative, your health and safety are paramount. Needless to say, if you do not handle that first, the rest will become moot. Moreover, even if you feel fine at first glance, that could be your adrenaline masking the pain. More times than we can count, we have had clients tell us that they did not immediately feel soreness from an accident, but it set in hours or a day later.
While a medical expert can explain that injury better than we can, we can tell you that seeking medical treatment immediately gives you the best chance of a full recovery. Additionally, if you hesitate to go to the hospital or urgent care, this can signal to a jury or judge that your injury was not as serious as you claim. Consider a really bad accident where you suffer life-threatening injuries. You may be unconscious, paramedics get called, and you are rushed to the hospital. Now contrast that with a minor accident where you wait a week to go to the urgent care because you were not in enough pain to seek medical treatment sooner. That is how the typical jury views inaction.
If you are in a car or truck accident, you should report the accident to the police. They will not always come. But if they do come, they usually write up a police report. This is easy and instinctual for most accident victims. But what if you slip and fall at Walmart? You can call the police, but they are unlikely to come. What you should do is file an incident report with a Walmart manager. Be very careful with how you describe the accident. It is best to err on the side of caution and not tell them exactly how the fall occurred without an attorney present. The aim is to simply tell them that a fall did happen. They will document this in their record. Try to obtain an incident report number if possible.
This same principle applies to other accident cases as well. In the event of a workplace accident, notify your supervisor or the HR department immediately. Try your best to follow the internal procedures, but also proceed with caution in providing a narrative for how the injury occurred. Again, the aim is to create a record that the injury occurred on the date, time, and place that we claim. If you do not speak to anyone, we are relying solely on your testimony to establish that the incident occurred. Moreover, once you contact our office, we will send a preservation of evidence letter to the establishment and explain the consequences of their failure to preserve any relevant evidence.
As the plaintiff, the burden of proof is on you. Regarding the four elements of negligence discussed above, we must prove each one by a preponderance of the evidence at trial. That means we must convince a jury or judge that it is more likely than not that our version of events is true. Even if we do not go to trial, we are negotiating with the insurance company based on how your case would perform if we did go to trial. Thus, the more evidence we have to utilize, the better. Take photos or videos of the location, any hazardous conditions, damage to vehicles or property, and your injuries. Get the names and contact information of witnesses. If applicable, note details such as weather conditions, lighting, time of day, and signage, or the lack thereof.
The more we have to work with in building your case, the better off we will be. Keep in mind, factual evidence is just one piece of the puzzle. In other words, we are not just proving how the accident occurred and that it happened at all. We must also prove your damages. We do this, in no small part, by introducing your medical record into evidence. Thus, everything you tell your doctor is critical as it will probably end up in your medical record, and thus in front of the fact-finder at trial.
Insurance agents are masters at avoiding liability. Their goal is to maximize their own profits. That coincides with paying you as little as possible. So, how do they do this?
As soon as the insurance company learns that you are in an accident, and before they get a letter of representation from us, they will contact you. During that window, they are legally permitted to speak with you. As soon as we send them our letter of representation, they know they can only speak to you about certain things that we give them permission to discuss. During the window between the accident and their receiving our letter, they will try a few things. First, they will try to complete a recorded interview with you. In about half of the cases, you do not have to do a recorded interview at all. Of course, you may not know when it is not required without legal guidance.
Unfortunately, these recorded interviews are often well-executed by the insurers and can undermine your case before an attorney even comes on board. Furthermore, do not accept a settlement offer without legal advice. We highly recommend calling a personal injury firm in South Carolina for a free consultation prior to accepting an offer. Even your own insurer may try to limit your claim. They are not on your side. Let your attorney handle all communication.
When you retain legal counsel after a personal injury in South Carolina, firms like Gelb & Gelb will immediately send a letter of representation to all insurance companies involved. In this letter, we advise that they are not permitted to speak to you about how the injury took place. The only thing they may do is contact you about getting your vehicle repaired if you were in an auto collision. And in that conversation, the scope is limited to coordinating repairs. It does not include liability in any capacity. The earlier you call an attorney, the better the position you will be in. Our firm carefully walks you through each step of your case.
If you suffer an injury in South Carolina due to someone else’s negligence, civil procedure enables you to file a lawsuit against the defendant in South Carolina. This is true even if the defendant resides in another state. This is particularly relevant on I-95, where drivers travel up and down the East Coast, and many of the drivers come from out of state. Thus, South Carolina laws on compensation apply, and the South Carolina State courts are an appropriate forum.
There are at least two claims you can make. We discuss each in turn.
A bodily injury claim is the same as a personal injury claim. Often, we will settle your property damage figure when we settle the bodily injury claim. Your bodily injury claim consists of at least three parts. These include:
Your medical expenses must be causally related to the injury arising out of wrongful conduct by the defendant. If it is related, it can cover emergency room visits, hospital stays, surgeries, physical therapy and rehabilitation, prescription medications, and even future medical care if your injuries require long-term treatment. We work closely with your medical providers to document every aspect of your treatment and calculate future care needs when necessary.
You can make a claim for past lost wages or future lost wages in select instances. First, if your doctor excuses you from work and gives you a disability slip, you should be able to make a lost wage claim as part of your case. But even if your doctor did not excuse you from work, you may still be able to make a claim if your property, such as a motor vehicle, is damaged in the accident and you cannot use it to work. However, you have a duty to mitigate your damages in this instance. Thus, it is best to proceed cautiously and speak with an attorney.
Your pain and suffering damages, also known as your non-economic damages, are the more subjective section of this claim. There is no precise way to measure pain and suffering, unlike a medical bill, which is exact. In South Carolina, some counties are known by plaintiff lawyers as awarding larger verdicts than others. An experienced attorney, like one at Gelb & Gelb, knows which county to file your lawsuit in. For instance, if your injury occurs in one county, but we believe your case may net more compensation in the county where the defendant resides, that is where we will file suit and value your case for settlement when applicable.
Punitive damages are not always available. They may become available if the defendant is grossly negligent or acts intentionally in causing you harm. When this happens, the punitive damage amount is meant to punish the defendant for their behavior that is beyond the typical act of carelessness. An example may be if you are in a car accident with a drunk driver. But even if the drunk driver hits your vehicle and injures you, the amount of punitive damages may still be zero. The range of punitive damages can be from zero to nine times the amount of your compensatory damages.
You can make a property damage claim when your personal property is damaged or destroyed due to the negligent conduct of a third party. A straightforward example is a car accident. However, this could just as easily be your cell phone, clothes, bag, or home. In a car accident, you generally receive compensation for the damage to your vehicle before you do for your personal injuries. You can make a property damage claim for your repair costs if your vehicle is not a total loss. Or, the insurer has a right to declare your vehicle a total loss and compensate you for the market value of the vehicle on the date of the loss. That rule also applies to personal property, including items beyond just vehicles.
Technically, if someone spills a drink on your phone and it is destroyed, these rules also apply. Although, the cost of litigation may exceed the value of your property damage claim. As always, it is best to consult with a personal injury lawyer in South Carolina to discuss your options. At Gelb & Gelb, these consultations are free.
Our firm handles nearly any personal injury matter in South Carolina due to negligence, so long as there is a discoverable source of recovery, such as insurance coverage or assets. At the root of each of these case types is causation. Did the careless party cause your injuries? Can we convince a judge or jury of that, by a preponderance of the evidence? We evaluate each case holistically. For example, one case may have significant damages but no physical evidence to support our claim. We are more likely to litigate that case than a case with strong supporting evidence but no damages. Below, we touch on a few of the most common types of injury cases we handle in South Carolina.
Car accident cases are far and away the most common cases we handle in South Carolina. Sadly, a traffic collision occurs in SC every 3.7 minutes, one injury collision occurs every 15.4 minutes, and about three fatal collisions occur daily. Moreover, there are almost twice as many fatal car accidents in South Carolina as there are truck accident cases. This is true despite the size and weight disparity of an 18-wheeler, and the fact that I-95 and I-26 both cross through our state. Gelb & Gelb handles rear-end collisions, side-impact crashes, multi-vehicle pileups, and more. We have handled over 10,000 car accident cases in our firm’s history. We understand how to prove a case based solely on your word and the property damage to the respective vehicles. If the other driver flees the scene, we have experience getting you compensation.
Our firm will gather police reports, crash data, and witness testimony to establish fault and maximize your compensation. If you are in a car accident in South Carolina, call Gelb & Gelb, P.C., today for a free consultation.
Truck accidents distinguish themselves from car accident cases in at least two critical ways. First, when a truck collides with a couple, sedan, or smaller truck, the size and weight disparity can be enough to take someone’s life. While there are more fatalities from car accident cases, a truck accident is more likely to cause serious injury or death if you are unfortunate enough to be in one. The second factor that distinguishes a truck accident from a car accident is the amount of insurance coverage that may be available. Tragically, when you are in a car accident with serious injuries, there may not be enough insurance coverage to compensate you for your injuries.
The mandatory minimum limits for a car for a South Carolina resident are $25,000 bodily injury per person / $50,000 bodily injury per accident / $25,000 property damage per accident. However, semi-trucks often have larger policies, which can result in a larger source of compensation for your injuries.
Pedestrian accidents can result in the most severe injuries. However, these cases are not as clear-cut as they may seem. For one, there is no corresponding property damage to match up with the damage to the defendant’s vehicle. Thus, we rely more on dash camera footage when available, your testimony, which is inherently biased, and any eyewitness testimony when available. While dash camera footage can be compelling, the rest is not always so convincing.
Moreover, there may be less insurance coverage available despite the more valuable case. In other words, a pedestrian accident case tends to be worth more, yet it is often more difficult to recover what your case is worth. This is because you may quickly max out the defendant’s insurance policy and have no underinsured coverage, as you were not in a vehicle. Although, there may still be steps you can take with an experienced attorney.
Whether you are on King Street in Charleston, in Columbia, Greenville, or any other city in South Carolina, there are plenty of bars and nightclubs where injuries may occur. Where there is alcohol, there is often negligence. But is the bar, nightclub, or restaurant’s carelessness the legal cause of your injuries? We must convince a judge or jury that it is more likely than not the case that the establishment is legally liable. Furthermore, the dram shop rules in South Carolina are evolving, with the South Carolina legislature voting on laws that may change a bar’s responsibility when a person drinks at the bar, then gets into their car and drunkenly causes an accident.
From the plaintiff’s perspective, liability by the bar or restaurant can create an additional source to recover compensation from when your injuries warrant it. We have been very successful in handling various kinds of bar and nightclub injury cases. Call our office today for a free consultation.
The examples we have listed are some of the most common examples of negligence we handle. However, our firm handles an infinite number of cases, including general negligence, so long as it is causally related to your injury. It may be a falling object, poorly maintained property, a workplace hazard, negligent supervision, product-related injuries, or some other dangerous condition. Whatever the case, we are happy to discuss the viability of your potential claim.
A personal injury claim in South Carolina can compensate you so you are not left covering thousands of dollars in bills for an injury that is not your fault. The law protects you in these scenarios, but the insurance companies do not. Our firm has handled over 10,000 cases and has been in business since 1954.
Call our office today for a free case consultation at (202) 331-7227.
Gelb & Gelb, P.C.
N/a
Copyright © 2025 Gelb & Gelb, P.C. All rights reserved.