Everything You Need to Know about Slip and Fall Accidents

Have you been involved in a slip and fall accident in South Carolina?  If so, you may have some questions about whether or not you have a claim and if you do, what kind of elements that might entail.  Wondering about slip and fall accidents in South Carolina?  Read on to discover what you’re facing and what you need to do.

What to Do if You Slip and Fall

First, get medical attention, even if you don’t believe you need it.  Some injuries only manifest themselves after a period of time, so you may not even know you are injured until it is too late to document your injuries with medical personnel.  Second, wherever you slip and fall, management likely has a report to make regarding the incident.  Politely insist that they do, and keep a copy.  If there are witnesses, take down their names and contact information.  Take photos of the area where you slipped and fell.  And then get in touch with a slip and fall attorney for next steps.

What You Need to Know about Filing Your Claim

The first thing you need to know is that there is a deadline for filing your claim.  This deadline is called a statute of limitations.  If you don’t file within the deadline period, your claim is dead in the water, so you definitely want to comply with it.  As with the majority of states, the statute of limitations that applies to a slip and fall case in South Carolina is almost always the same one that applies to any variety of personal injury case. Specifically, South Carolina Code section 15-3-530 gives you three years to ask the state courts for a civil remedy for any death, personal injury, or damage to personal property.  The same deadline applies if your slip and fall only resulted in property damage.

South Carolina’s Modified Comparative Negligence Law

Ok, so here is where it gets a little complicated.  You may be wondering, what if the establishment where I slipped and fell accuses me of contributing to the accident or says that it was my fault that I fell?  This is where a legal doctrine called modified comparative negligence kicks in.  If any measure of fault is assigned to you, any court award you receive could be significantly lower than it might have been, or you may end up with no compensation at all from the other side.  Under this rule, the claimant’s own “contributory negligence” (shared fault) will not act as a bar to recovery — the injured person can still get compensation from other at-fault parties, in other words — as long as the claimant’s own negligence is no greater than the combined negligence of the defendant and anyone else who may have caused or contributed to the accident. But the claimant’s compensation (damages) will be reduced in proportion to their share of fault.

You Need a Good Attorney

Many attorneys are available for slip and fall cases.  But you want an attorney with experience at your side.  Reach out to the Columbia slip and fall attorneys at the Stanley Law Group for assistance with your case.

Resource:

scstatehouse.gov/code/t15c003.php

https://www.thestanleylawgroup.com/slip-and-fall-accidents-on-stairs/