South Carolina car accident law: deadlines, fault and insurance

What the cited provisions say

Subject to Section 15-3-40, Section 15-78-110 bars a Chapter 78 action unless commenced within two years after the loss was or should have been discovered, or within three years of that same actual or constructive discovery date if the claimant first filed a claim under the chapter concerning the same occurrence; Section 15-78-80(d) requires receipt of that claim within one year after the loss was or should have been discovered, and Section 15-78-100(a) conditions its three-year alternative on the filed claim being disallowed or rejected. Section 15-78-80(d) requires a filed verified claim to be received within one year after actual or constructive discovery.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Section 38-77-140(B) permits greater liability coverage.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Who and what the provisions cover

Section 38-77-140(A) addresses policies issued or delivered in this State to motor-vehicle owners, or by insurers licensed here for vehicles principally garaged or used here, covering legally imposed liability arising from ownership, maintenance or use within the United States or Canada. Section 38-77-30(7) defines insured to include the named insured; the spouse of any named insured and relatives of either while resident in the same household, whether in a motor vehicle or otherwise; anyone using the covered motor vehicle with the named insured's express or implied consent; a guest in that vehicle; and the personal representative of any of those persons. Section 38-77-30(3) includes resulting death within bodily injury.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Section 15-51-10 permits a wrongful-death action when wrongful conduct causes death and would have entitled the injured person to maintain an action and recover damages had death not occurred; it applies even where the killing constitutes a felony and survives against a deceased wrongdoer's personal representative. Section 15-51-40 permits exemplary damages when the conduct resulted from recklessness, wilfulness or malice, with damages proportioned to the injury resulting from death to the beneficiaries.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Conditions and exceptions

Section 15-3-40 excludes disability time for covered Article 5 or Chapter 78 actions when the person was within the age of eighteen years or insane at accrual, except penalty, forfeiture and specified officer-escape actions; extensions cannot exceed five years except for infancy, or one year after disability ceases.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

For causes of action or claims arising or accruing after January 1, 2026, as specified by 2025 Act No. 42, Section 11, Section 15-38-15(A) limits a defendant determined to bear less than fifty percent of total fault to its adjudicated percentage of indivisible damages proximately caused by multiple tortfeasors, counting defendants, tortfeasors and any plaintiff fault; under Section 15-38-15(F), this limitation does not apply to a defendant whose conduct is determined to be wilful, wanton, reckless or intentional, or to involve illegal or illicit drug use, sale or possession. Section 15-38-15(F) instead imposes joint and several liability for wilful, wanton, reckless or intentional conduct, or conduct involving illegal or illicit drug use, sale or possession.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Section 15-38-15(H) excludes specified nondefendants from verdict forms for immunity or inability to be sued, except qualifying settled or released tortfeasors; specified aggravated conduct; imputed liability; strict-liability or asbestos actions; and actions brought by the listed governmental entities, except claims involving per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. Section 15-38-15(G) separately conditions nondefendant allocation on disclosure, proof and procedural requirements.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Related provisions in the saved sources

Section 15-78-100(a) states the Chapter 78 periods with the Section 15-3-40 exception and conditions its three years alternative on a filed claim being disallowed or rejected. Section 15-78-100(b) places jurisdiction in circuit court and venue in the county of the act or omission. Section 15-78-100(c) requires the trier of fact, in a Chapter 78 action naming an alleged joint tortfeasor as a defendant alongside the governmental entity, to return a special verdict specifying the proportion of monetary liability of each defendant against whom liability is determined.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Section 15-51-40 divides recovery in the shares the beneficiaries would receive if the deceased had died intestate and the recovery were personal estate assets; upon a motion by either parent or another party of potential interest based upon the decedent having died intestate, the probate court may deny or limit either or both parents' shares if a preponderance of the evidence establishes that they failed reasonably to provide support as defined in Section 63-5-20 and did not otherwise provide for the decedent's needs during minority. That referenced definition is not supplied here.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Section 38-77-350(A) requires automobile insurers to use a form approved by the director or designee for all new applicants when offering optional coverages required by law to be offered; Section 38-77-350(E) requires the insurer to add uninsured and underinsured motorist coverages at the insured's liability limits if the insured fails or refuses to return an executed offer form to the insurer within thirty days.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Source date and limits

This statute-only account uses the supplied Legislature texts saved on 2026-11-06, without verification of today's law. Judicial interpretation, policy documents and case-specific conclusions are outside its scope. The Section 38-77-140 history identifies June 14, 2006 as an amendment's effective date, affecting policies issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2007. The saved optional-coverage editorial note is incomplete and supplies no basis for reconstructing its missing language.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

The note accompanying Section 15-38-15 reproduces 2025 Act No. 42, SECTION 11: the act takes effect January 1, 2026, applying only to causes of action or claims arising or accruing after January 1, 2026 and policies issued after that date, except Section 61-4-523 takes effect upon gubernatorial approval. The Section 38-77-30 history dates its UTV amendment to November 18, 2026, later than the saved-source date. Its inclusion therefore does not establish effectiveness on the capture date. This entry provides general statutory reference information, not legal advice about a particular accident.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

See also

• South Carolina car accident statistics (2020-2024)
• Hiring a lawyer and understanding contingency fees

On related publications

• South Carolina truck accident statistics (2020-2024) (truckaccidentlawyers.wiki)