The information below is not a substitute for consultation with a wrongful death attorney, but it can help answer some of the questions that people often have about Charleston wrongful death cases.
WHAT IS A WRONGFUL DEATH CLAIM?
According to the law in South Carolina, wrongful death means when someone dies because of someone else’s wrongdoing, carelessness, or failure to do what they should have done. The law says that if a person’s death is wrongful, the responsible party is responsible for paying the same compensation that the deceased person could have received if they had survived and filed a personal injury lawsuit. A wrongful death claim is a type of lawsuit that is brought to court by a representative of the deceased person’s estate.
WHO CAN FILE A WRONGFUL DEATH CLAIM?
In South Carolina, the person who is in charge of handling the affairs of someone who has passed away, called the executor or administrator, can file a wrongful death claim on behalf of the deceased person’s family members. This person is usually named in the deceased person’s estate plan. If there is no estate plan in place, then the court can choose someone to be the administrator.
The laws in South Carolina that deal with wrongful death claims can be found in Title 15, Chapter 51 of the South Carolina Code. In Section 15-51-20 of the code, it is explained that specific family members have the right to seek compensation. These family members may be able to receive compensation by filing a wrongful death lawsuit.
The law states:
- If the person who passed away was married, their spouse can file a wrongful death lawsuit.
- The deceased person’s children can also file a claim.
- If the person who died was not married and did not have children, their parents can seek compensation through a wrongful death claim.
- If there are no living spouses, children, or parents, a lawsuit can be filed on behalf of the deceased person’s heirs.
IS A SURVIVAL ACTION THE SAME THING AS A WRONGFUL DEATH LAWSUIT?
A survival action is a distinct legal claim separate from a wrongful death lawsuit.
In South Carolina, a survival action enables the estate of the deceased to seek compensation for the following:
- Any medical expenses related to the injuries that caused the person’s death.
- The pain and suffering that the person went through before they passed away.
- These are damages that the person could have claimed if they had survived and filed a personal injury lawsuit.
- Wrongful death lawsuits in South Carolina are meant to compensate surviving family members for the damages they suffer after losing their loved one.
Compensation may be possible for:
- Medical costs: Expenses
- Funeral expenses: Burial costs
- Lost wages and benefits: Economic loss
- Guidance, care, and protection: Support
- Loss of companionship: Emotional loss
- Mental anguish: Psychological pain
WHAT IS CONSIDERED A WRONGFUL DEATH?
According to Section 15-51-10, wrongful death is when someone dies because of the “wrongful act, neglect, or mistake of someone else.” The word “someone else” can mean not just a person, but also a business or another group.
In Charleston, some of the most common types of wrongful deaths are caused by things like car accidents, work accidents, mistakes made by doctors, and when people in nursing homes don’t take care of the residents properly.
In Charleston, there are some big roads where accidents happen and people die. These roads include I-26, I-526, and U.S. Highway 52. If someone dies in a car accident on one of these roads, their family can make a wrongful death claim.
The person who was driving can be considered responsible for someone’s death if they:
- Drove a car while drunk or on drugs.
- Went faster than the speed limit or too fast for how the road and weather were.
- Used their phone or other electronic devices while driving.
- Didn’t follow the traffic signals and signs.
New numbers from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety tell us that around 1,000 people die in car accidents on South Carolina roads every year. These accidents can involve different kinds of vehicles, like cars, motorcycles, big trucks, people walking, and people riding bicycles.
In Charleston, there are workers for Wrongful Death Lawsuits in compensation cases. Some jobs, like construction or commercial fishing, are naturally more dangerous than others.
However, people can get very sick or hurt badly and die in any kind of job, including:
- Offices
- Retail stores
- Factories
- Schools
- Medical facilities
Some of the biggest employers in the Charleston area are the U.S. Military, the Medical University of South Carolina, The Boeing Company, public school districts, and Roper St. Francis Healthcare.
In Charleston, there are wrongful death cases where someone dies because of mistakes made by doctors or hospitals. It’s sad, but sometimes the healthcare system might try to hide what really happened. A wrongful death attorney who knows about wrongful death cases can help you find out the truth.
You can make a wrongful death claim if your loved one died because of:
- A mistake with medicine, like giving the wrong dose or type of medicine.
- An allergic reaction to a medicine.
- A mistake made during surgery or a test that could have been prevented.
- An emergency room (ER) doctor who didn’t diagnose the problem correctly or didn’t give the right treatment.
There are a few hospitals in the Charleston area. Some of them are MUSC Health-University Medical Center, Roper Hospital, and Bon Secours St. Francis Hospital.
In Charleston, there are wrongful death lawsuits in nursing homes. When older people can’t live safely at home anymore, their families have to trust a nursing home to take care of them all the time. But sometimes, the nursing home doesn’t do what it promised, and the older person isn’t safe from abuse or being neglected.
Sometimes, a nursing home might try to say that an older person’s illness or injury was something that going to happen anyway because they were getting old. But to find out what really happened, it might take a wrongful death law firm that specializes in wrongful death cases.
Families can possible file a wrongful death lawsuit or a survival action if their loved one died because of:
- An infection that could have been prevented, like a very bad bedsore.
- Falling down because there wasn’t enough supervision or staff around.
- Mistakes with medicine, like not giving the right doses or the wrong medicine
In the Charleston area, there are many places where older people can live if they need help. Some of them are Harmony at West Ashley, Riverside Health and Rehab, and Life Care Center of Charleston. These places provide skilled nursing and assistance for older adults.
HOW LONG DO I HAVE TO FILE A WRONGFUL DEATH LAWSUIT IN SOUTH CAROLINA?
In South Carolina, there is a time limit for filing a wrongful death claim. In most cases, it is three years from the date the person died. But if the death happened in a medical facility run by the state or county, then the time limit is two years.
Every state decides on a specific time limit, called a statute of limitations, for filing wrongful death lawsuits. Other states might have different time limits compared to each other.
It’s really important to talk to a wrongful death lawyer as soon as you can. If you wait too long and try to file a lawsuit after the time limit is over, the courts might not accept your claim, and it could be dismissed.
HOW LONG DOES A CHARLESTON WRONGFUL DEATH LAWSUIT TAKE?
A wrongful death lawsuit can take a while to finish, ranging from a few months to a few years before it gets resolved.
The time it takes to settle a wrongful death lawsuit can depend on various factors, such as:
- If there are multiple people or groups responsible for the accident.
- The amount of evidence needed to make a strong case.
- How hard and time-consuming it is to gather evidence.
- If there is an argument about who caused the accident.
- Whether the lawsuit gets resolved outside of court or goes to trial.
The amount the insurance company offers you at first might be much less than what you should get. A wrongful death attorney’s main goal is to fight for the most money you deserve. This process can take some time.
CAN I FILE A CHARLESTON WRONGFUL DEATH LAWSUIT WITHOUT AN ATTORNEY?
Yes, there are many benefits that come with hiring an attorney.
A wrongful death lawyer who specializes in wrongful death cases has access to things that regular people don’t. They can work with experts to recreate how an accident happened. Lawyers can also team up with economic experts to figure out fair amounts of money, like how much income the person would have earned in the future but lost because of the death.
If your case goes to trial, an attorney can speak for you in court. Most wrongful death lawsuits are resolved without going to court. But if you do have to go to court, an attorney can guide you through the process and help you understand what’s happening.
Having a lawyer can make sure that your rights and interests are looked after. When an insurance company tries to quickly settle a wrongful death case, it’s usually because they want to protect their own profits instead of genuinely caring. Lawyers understand this and can help you get the most compensation possible.
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO FILE A CHARLESTON WRONGFUL DEATH CLAIM?
Every law firm decides how much they charge and how they want to be paid. Before you choose a wrongful death attorney in Charleston, it’s important to find out how they charge their fees and when they expect to be paid.
WHAT SHOULD I LOOK FOR IN A CHARLESTON WRONGFUL DEATH LAWYER?
When you meet with a wrongful death attorney in Charleston, it’s a good idea to ask them these questions:
- How many wrongful death lawsuits do you work on every year?
- Can you tell me about some of the outcomes of these cases?
- In your experience, how often do wrongful death lawsuits end up going to trial?
- What are your fees and when do you expect to be paid?
A lot of people wonder how much money they can get from a wrongful death settlement on average. The truth is, it’s not easy to give a simple answer to this question.
WHAT MUST I PROVE TO ENSURE THE SUCCESS OF MY WRONGFUL DEATH CLAIM?
For a wrongful death claim to be successful in South Carolina, it is important for the plaintiff to be able to prove all of the following:
To win a wrongful death claim in South Carolina, you need to show that the person who caused the death had a responsibility to take care of the person who died. This responsibility depends on the specific activity that caused the death. For instance, if a car accident caused the death, the responsible person’s duty of care would include driving safely and following the traffic laws in that area.
The person who caused the accident didn’t fulfill their duty of taking care and did something dangerous or careless instead.
This action led to the death of the person, causing harm and suffering to the family members who are still alive.
WHAT IS THE STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS TO FILE A WRONGFUL DEATH CLAIM?
According to the law in South Carolina, the person in charge of the deceased person’s estate, called the executor or administrator, has to file a wrongful death claim within three years from the date the person died. However, if the death happened at a medical facility run by the state or county, the claim must be filed within two years from the date of death.
SOUTH CAROLINA WRONGFUL DEATH LAW
In South Carolina, the law permits legal action to seek compensation for wrongful death. But only the person in charge of the deceased person’s estate, called the administrator or executor, can file a wrongful death claim on behalf of specific family members. According to the law, the administrator or executor must file the wrongful death claim within three years from the date the person died. The family members who may receive compensation if the wrongful death suit is successful include:
- The husband, wife, or partner who survived the person who died, and their children.
- If the person who died didn’t have a husband, wife, or partner or any children, then their parents can receive compensation. This applies even if the child who died was an adult, as long as the parents never stopped taking care of their legal responsibilities towards the child before the child turned 18.
When there is no surviving husband, wife, children, or parents, the people who can receive compensation are the relatives of the person who died and are recognized as “heirs at law” under South Carolina’s probate law. These heirs at law are blood relatives who have the right to inherit when someone passes away without a will or other estate plans.
In a wrongful death lawsuit, you can ask for compensation for the following things:
- The cost of the funeral and burial.
- Medical bills for the treatment the person received after the accident but before they died.
- The money the person would have earned from their job, including benefits, if they were still alive.
- Any damage to property or other losses that happened because of the death.
- The loss of the person’s knowledge, experience, or ability to make good decisions.
- The loss of the person’s care and companionship.
- The pain, suffering, and emotional distress that the family members have experienced because of the person’s death.
Almost any kind of careless or dangerous action that leads to someone’s death can be the basis for a wrongful death lawsuit. Here are some common examples:
- Auto, truck, or motorcycle accidents;
- Nursing home abuse or neglect;
- Medical malpractice; and
- Defective products.
CHARLESTON WRONGFUL DEATH IN THE NEWS
Here are news stories that highlight two examples of Charleston wrongful death lawsuits:
A news report from Live5 News states that a nursing home in North Charleston is facing a wrongful death lawsuit because some residents and their families have made more than 43 complaints about the facility in the past five years. The lawsuit claims that a woman was admitted to the nursing home in 2015, and about a year later, the staff found her on the floor of her room with a cut on her eyebrow, suggesting that she had fallen. Shortly after, she had to go to the hospital because she was severely malnourished and dehydrated. She passed away a few days later. A nurse from Louisiana will testify that, based on her professional opinion, the records show that the facility did not take proper steps to prevent the woman from falling. According to the report, this nursing home has received more complaints than any other nursing home in Charleston.
According to a report by Live5 News, two companies that specialize in industrial cleaning are being sued for wrongful death lawsuits on behalf of a man who died in 2017. The incident happened at a paper mill where the companies were hired to clean a boiler that had a build-up of a substance called salt cake on its inner tubes and walls. The lawsuit claims that the companies didn’t remove all of the salt and didn’t inform the paper mill about it. Later, the man who passed away and three of his coworkers were working to fix equipment under the boiler when a large amount of salt suddenly fell and buried the man and another person. The other workers were able to rescue one of the buried individuals, but they couldn’t save the man who died due to being buried under the toxic salt. The report also mentioned that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) had inspected the paper mill four times over the past five years and found seven violations. In 2017, one employee died and another was hospitalized due to a similar incident, resulting in a $10,000 fine for the paper mill. In 2016, the mill had five violations and had to pay $28,000 as a penalty.
GET LEGAL HELP FOR A CHARLESTON WRONGFUL DEATH CASE
If you have lost your husband, wife, mom, dad, or child because someone else was careless or did something wrong, you might be able to get compensation through a wrongful death claim. To find out more information, you can get in touch with a Charleston wrongful death attorney who specializes in wrongful death cases. Our Law Firm is one place you can contact for help.