Key Highlights:
- A South Carolina medical malpractice lawyer can check your medical history without cost to ensure that yocase is worthy of pursuing legal action, with no payments due until recovery is accomplished.
- It will be necessary to comply with state requirements, which mandate the submission of a Notice of Intent, include written testimony from a licensed medical professional, and require mediation before a claim can be filed.
- Legal action must be taken within three years of the event in question, as current statutes restrict non-economic damages according to yearly inflation figures.
- You must demonstrate the existence of a provider-patient association and establish the breach of the applicable standard of care that caused quantifiable damages.
Many people who contact a medical malpractice attorney have questions about whether or not their case is legitimate. They realize that there is something wrong, but the explanation offered to them does not seem right, and they want someone neutral to look at the evidence.
South Carolina law makes it more difficult to file malpractice claims than regular injury claims. Prior to filing a medical malpractice lawsuit South Carolina, state law requires that a notice be provided, a sworn statement from an expert in the medical field be obtained, and mediation occur. The deadlines are shorter and stricter than the average person realizes, and who a provider works for can affect how the case plays out even before any facts are established.
Shelly Leeke Law Firm helps victims of medical malpractice throughout South Carolina. We will gather all information regarding your case free of charge and let you know if there is a case worth pursuing. If we take your case, you pay no lawyers’ fees unless we get you compensation.
Call us today at (844) 622-5171 or request your free, no-obligation case review online to get clear answers about your rights.
What Is Medical Malpractice Under South Carolina Law?
As per S.C. Code § 15-79-110(6), medical malpractice is defined as “doing that which the reasonably prudent health care provider or health care institution would not do or failing to do that which the reasonably prudent health care provider or health care institution would do under the same or similar circumstances.”
The definition gives us the complete standard of medical negligence in a single statement. Importantly, there are two things in it to be considered.
First, it is an assessment based on what the reasonably prudent provider would have done. This means that it is not determined in relation to an ideal provider or to a different doctor.
Secondly, another point concerns the circumstances that are deemed relevant. For example, an emergency doctor in a hospital during night hours with incomplete information has different relevant circumstances as compared to a doctor who is performing a well-scheduled procedure.
Who Does The South Carolina Medical Malpractice Law Treat as a Health Care Provider
Section 15-79-110 gives a broad definition of the term health care provider. Under this definition, a health care provider may refer to a physician, surgeon, osteopath, nurse, dentist, oral surgeon, pharmacist, chiropractor, or any other entity providing health care services, such as a practice, partnership, association, or other legal entity.
A health care institution can be loosely defined as being an ambulatory surgical facility, hospital, institutional general infirmary, nursing home, or renal dialysis facility.
The scope of health care claims is not only restricted to physicians. One can make a claim against a nurse for failing to report a change in health of a patient, a pharmacist for an error in medication, or against the medical center for inappropriate staffing decisions.
A Bad Outcome Is Not Automatically Malpractice
Medicine always comes with dangers that cannot be eliminated with care. A surgery can be performed perfectly by experienced surgeons but still result in an unsatisfactory outcome; cancer can be so aggressive that even if it is diagnosed early, the outcome will be the same, and the drug can have an unexpected side effect.
These examples do not qualify as malpractice. The issue is not whether someone suffered harm. Rather, it is whether the care was below the standard or norm of care by a competent provider under the circumstances and whether negligence caused the harm.
Three examples that are usually not malpractice claims:
- A recognized complication that was discussed beforehand occurred regardless. Every procedure has potential complications that are known beforehand. Just because the risks materialize does not imply that there was a negligent error.
- A decision that reasonable physicians could disagree on. If multiple accepted approaches exist, selection of one method is not outside the acceptable standard of care South Carolina.
- An unsatisfactory outcome in the course of proper care. A slower-than-expected recovery period, or an unresolved problem, does not immediately translate into malpractice.
The existence of claims usually relates to the fact that there are tangible circumstances, which any competent medical practitioner would treat differently. It could be a failure to act on a positive imaging result, identification of the symptom that should have been subject to additional investigation, giving a medication when an allergy is present in the medical history, and ignoring the dynamics of the patient’s clinical condition.
Common Types of Medical Malpractice Claim South Carolina
The categories listed below outline how these cases typically arise. None of these scenarios automatically constitutes malpractice. Each still depends on proving the standard of care, direct causation, and actual harm.
- Misdiagnosis and delayed diagnosis: Delayed diagnosis of a time-sensitive disease such as cancer, stroke, heart attack, infection, and sepsis worsens the patient’s condition.
- Failure to diagnose: Ignoring or failing to order the relevant tests, laboratory investigations, and imaging to investigate the symptoms and ignoring serious medical conditions.
- Failure to treat: Correctly diagnosing a medical condition but not performing timely and appropriate treatment.
- Surgical errors: Mistakes made during surgery that should not occur. These include operating on the wrong part of the body, leaving surgical equipment in the body, harming other parts of the body, and failure to provide post-surgery care.
- Anesthesia errors: Mistakes relating to dosing, not monitoring a patient, management of airways, and failure to check on existing medical conditions before providing treatment.
- Medication and pharmacy errors: Mistakes where the wrong medication is prescribed or used, misunderstanding harmful drug interactions, and ignoring allergies.
- Birth injuries: Mistakes such as not responding to fetal distress, delaying the birth, causing trauma, or failing to treat complications can be handled by a birth injury lawyer South Carolina.
- Inadequate monitoring — Here, the medical professionals do not observe or react to any changes that happen to the patients during the recovery process.
- Failure to recognize complications: This means that medical practitioners miss important issues that could arise after treatment, such as organ failure and internal bleeding.
- Nursing negligence: This may come into play in case a nurse does not review the condition of the patient correctly, does not document information correctly, follows the prescriptions given by physicians inaccurately, or pays no attention to patients when they are in a critical state.
- Hospital and institutional negligence: This involves shortcomings of hospital administration and facility, such as getting proper number of staff available, not credentialing the staff, and having malfunctioning medical equipment.
What Must Be Proven in a South Carolina Medical Malpractice Claim
There are four requirements to satisfy.
- A professional duty existed: A provider-patient relationship has been established, which gives rise to the duty of providing the necessary standard of care.
- The standard of care was breached: In many cases, there is a need to prove through expert testimony that a provider acted differently than what a doctor of his specialty would have done under the same conditions.
- The breach caused the injury: This means that it is not sufficient to only show that a doctor provided inadequate care; an injury must have resulted from this.
- There are legally recognized damages: In fact, the losses incurred must have consisted of medical bills, lost wages, injury, or death, even if the standard of care had been violated; if no injury has occurred, a claim will fail.
Missing any one of these ends the case, regardless of how strong the others are.
Why Causation Is Usually the Hardest Part
Most medical malpractice claims fail because of causation rather than medical fault. For instance, if a patient diagnosed with chest pains in the ER returns home without proper treatment and suffers from a heart attack two days later, establishing fault may be straightforward, but proving that the negligence actually caused the heart attack or preventable heart damage.
That is precisely why expert medical testimony decides the outcome of malpractice concerns. If a patient was already unwell before the event, the defense will likely argue that the same outcome would have occurred even in the absence of negligent actions. In order to counter this claim, it is imperative to provide conclusive medical evidence, any survival statistics, and a qualified medical expert who can explain how proper care at that time would have produced a completely different outcome.
Building Your Case: Medical Records and Expert Review
A medical malpractice case is based solely on proof. A thorough investigation of a situation necessitates acquiring and evaluating all documents associated with your care, including:
- Clinic and Hospital Records: Nurse documentation, process records, and day-to-day care records.
- Physician Documentation: Orders from doctors, history of visits, and reports from professionals.
- Surgery and Anesthesia Records: Official reports of the surgical process.
- Pharmacy Records: Complete medication administration journals that tell about doses and their times.
- Medical Tests: Lab test records and pathology reports.
- Radiological Film: Original films (X-ray or MRI), not radiologists’ conclusions.
- Emergency Department Records: Triage and evaluation reports.
- Discharge Records: Documents concerning physical therapy and other follow-ups.
- Personal Health Records: Records of earlier medical treatments which help to evaluate in which state the patient was when the mistake happened.
- Billing: Accounts and other records highlighting procedures and tests that were not described in medical records.
- Evidence of Injuries: Bills from health care providers and paychecks received during medical treatment.
These materials are utilized by the South Carolina medical negligence lawyer for building a precise chronology that describes what was known, when it was known, and how the providers responded. Any gaps or discrepancies in the chronology will help to detect the malpractice.
Once gathered, the medical records must be evaluated by a qualified physician. This is not a mere formality; under South Carolina law, the expert evaluation will determine whether a certain claim exists or whether filing a lawsuit is legally allowed.
Who Qualifies as a Medical Expert in South Carolina?
According to the South Carolina Code § 15-36-100(A), it’s not possible to choose any doctor you find to act as an expert witness. There are some requirements that the doctor has to fulfill:
- Active License: The doctor must have a currently valid medical license in the state of practice.
- Relevant Specialty: The doctor should be board-certified in the specialty relevant to the lawsuit, or they should have extensive experience in the field.
- Proven Knowledge: In the case that they lack board certification in that specific field, the legal documents must clarify how their experience qualifies them as capable of assessing the care provided.
Judicial Flexibility: Eades v. Palmetto Cardiovascular
The courts in South Carolina have some flexibility in terms of how expert specialties are matched. For example, the Supreme Court of South Carolina permitted a vascular and critical care surgeon to testify against doctors of emergency medicine and general practice in Eades v. Palmetto Cardiovascular. This court ruling clarified that the expert may not have to practice the relevant specialty in order to render an opinion as long as they possess the required knowledge that allows them to evaluate the care in question.
Legal Rules for Challenging Expert Credentials
Because the opinion of the experts can be crucial for the case being won or lost, defense attorneys usually try to invalidate them. But under the state law (§ 15-36-100(E)), a defendant has to declare an objection to an expert’s competency at the very beginning of the case when submitting the pleadings and cannot wait until a later stage of litigation to raise such objections.
South Carolina’s Pre-Suit Requirements: Notice of Intent and Mediation
This part of the process is the one that surprises people the most but ultimately determines whether the medical malpractice case can successfully be pursued.
Unlike other personal injury lawsuits, you cannot just file your lawsuit right away. The South Carolina Code § 15-79-125(A) expressly states that you have to file a formal Notice of Intent to File Suit South Carolina and get a sworn medical malpractice expert affidavit South Carolina from an appropriately qualified expert.
What has to be included in the Notice of Intent:
- Named Parties: You will need to specify every single provider, medical institution, or other entity that you will hold liable.
- Statement of Facts: The information in your NOI has to present a concise and straightforward summary stating why you are entitled to receive legal relief.
- Signatures & Disclosures: The Notice has to be accompanied by the claimant’s or the attorney’s signature, as well as other necessary requirements of civil discovery.
- Formal Service: The Notice of Intent needs to be served on every defendant, exactly as any standard court summons would.
Before anything can be filed by your medical negligence attorney South Carolina, a competent physician needs to examine your documents and attest to the fact that malpractice occurred. Doing this can take significant time, often measured in months. If you postpone contacting a lawyer until just a few weeks before the deadline, there may not be enough time to complete this review process and you could lose your lawsuit.
Advantages of Filing the Notice of Intent
By filing the NOI, injured parties obtain these two important advantages:
- Time is on your Side: Filing the notice halts the medical malpractice statute of limitations South Carolina, which means you have more time to deal with your pre-suit requirements before your legal deadlines run out.
- Get Early Access to Evidence: Because of the provisions of § 15-79-125(B), parties can have serious pre-suit discovery privileges. Parties can issue subpoenas for medical records and, with court approval, conduct depositions before a formal complaint is ever drafted.
Mandatory Prelitigation Mediation
In accordance with the provisions of § 15-79-125(C), both parties are required to engage in formal mediation within a period of 90 to 120 days after the grant of the Notice of Intent to File Suit (the only exception to that period being a court-approved extension for good cause of 60 days).
If the mediation fails or it results in deadlock, according to § 15-79-125(E), the parties have a period of 60 days from the date the mediator terminates the mediation (or until the regular statute of limitations period expires) to file a summons and a complaint with the court.
Deadlines for a South Carolina Medical Malpractice Claim
In South Carolina, there are strict statutory deadlines for the filing of claims.
- Standard Time Limits (S.C. Code § 15-3-545(A)): A claim must be brought within three years after the negligent act or injury was discovered. However, there is also a six-year “statute of repose” that will prevent any claims from being filed after six years, regardless of when the injury is discovered.
- Foreign Objects (S.C. Code § 15-3-545(B)): If a foreign object (such as a surgical instrument) is left in the body, a claim must be filed within two years of discovery, but no less than three years from the date the object was originally placed.
- Minors (S.C. Code § 15-3-545(D)): Claims for minors are not tolled indefinitely. The filing period cannot be extended for more than seven years on account of minority, nor more than one year after the child reaches age 18.
- Claims against State Agencies: Claims against government hospitals and government employees have far shorter notice and filing requirements under the South Carolina Tort Claims Act.
How Provider Employment Status Impacts Financial Recovery
The potential value of a claim depends heavily on who employs the healthcare provider:
- Government Employees: It is stated in the South Carolina Tort Claims Act (§ 15-78-120) that damages are limited to $1.2 million for medical professionals working for the government. The law states that persons in non-physician fields like nursing or tech may sue for damages not exceeding $300,000 per person and $600,000 per occurrence. There are no adjustments for inflation, punitive measures cannot be invoked, and short time limits apply.
- Nonprofit and Charitable Hospitals (S.C. Code § 33-56-180(A)): Patients who get injuries from hospitals that are tax-exempt according to 501(c)(3) face the same limits on damages as government hospitals. In addition, suing a hospital South Carolina prevents you from receiving any compensation from the employee unless it can be shown that the employee acted very recklessly, willfully, or in some grossly negligent way.
What Compensation May Be Available
In a case where a valid claim is made, South Carolina allows for the compensation of economic and non-economic losses. This compensation depends on the particular circumstances of the case, the evidence at hand, and the identity of the defendant.
Economic Damages
The medical malpractice law in South Carolina does not put a limit on the amount of economic damages which may be claimed. Such damages include:
- All medical expenses incurred in the past, including costs of any corrective measures which have to be taken
- All future medical expenses, therapy, surgery, and medical devices required for the victim
- Long-term or in-home care if necessary
- Missing income while one is undergoing treatment
- Loss of earning capacity in cases when the injury prevents one from working.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages compensate losses for which a person does not receive a bill or invoice. Some examples of non-economic damages include:
- Pain and suffering
- Psychological and emotional trauma
- Loss of pleasure in life
- Cosmetic and permanent disability damages
- Loss of companionship, which is a claim that a spouse is entitled to make separately
According to South Carolina law, non-economic damages are subject to limitations in medical malpractice cases (S.C. Code § 15-32-220). The law sets limits for each healthcare provider as well as the overall limit for all defendants combined. The above-mentioned limits undergo annual adjustments with the inflation rate, and the maximum amount of recoverable medical malpractice damages cap South Carolina in 2026 is $596,001 for each provider and $1,788,002 for all defendants collectively. These restrictions are not applicable if the defendant committed a tort due to gross negligence, malice, or wrongdoing. No attorney can responsibly value a malpractice claim before thoroughly reviewing your medical records and consulting qualified experts.
When Medical Negligence Causes a Death
When a medical mistake leads to death, the nature of the suit changes. According to the Wrongful Death Act of South Carolina, only the estate’s personal representative may file the suit, with the money from the case going to the statutory beneficiaries as stated in the statute. The victim’s conscious suffering prior to death can also be pursued through a separate survival action. Both forms of compensation are governed under South Carolina law. Since both types of claims are subject to approval from a judge, there are certain pre-suit notice, expert affidavit, and mediation requirements applicable in malpractice lawsuits that must be fulfilled before the case can proceed.
If the death of your family member was caused by medical negligence, you can seek guidance from a South Carolina wrongful death attorney specializing in such cases.
How Medical Malpractice Claims Are Resolved
The majority of medical malpractice claims settle without proceeding to trial. The process leading there is more organized than in an ordinary personal injury matter.
- Investigation and review: Medical records are collected, reviewed, and compared, a timeline is organized, and qualified specialists analyze the care given. This stage allows determining the existence of the claim. If a claim does not exist, we say so.
- Pre-suit process: A Notice of Intent is sent, the affidavit is filed, medical records are obtained via subpoena, and mediation is held at the pretrial stage.
- Evaluation: The worth of a claim is determined primarily by the reliability of the opinions on standard of care and causation, the magnitude of the damages proven, and the limits of liability. The evaluation cannot occur responsibly until treatment has progressed sufficiently to permit future care projections.
- Negotiation: Insurance companies defend malpractice cases as a matter of standard procedure. Malpractice insurers do not settle out of sympathy; negotiations require concrete proof of liability and damages. The process of negotiation can only be entered into once there is certainty regarding the outcome.
- Release: Settlements themselves are considered final. The signing of a release extinguishes the claim, including any adverse consequences that may occur afterward. Understanding what is being released and what future treatment will be required is necessary before signing any release.
- Litigation, where the matter cannot be resolved: Some cases must go to trial. This is a decision that the client has to make when there are facts that can support the position.
What Happens If the Case Goes to Trial
Malpractice case litigation is an expert-driven process from start to finish.
- Filing: Following the conclusion of the pre-litigation phase of the case, the summons and complaint are filed, and the litigation follows the regular pathway of civil litigation.
- Discovery: The investigation stage involves written discovery, production of documents, and depositions of the physicians, at-fault parties, and plaintiffs. Malpractice cases require more extensive discovery than most other types of cases because, apart from the facts, the medical issue requires proof as well.
- Expert evidence: Generally, both sides have expert witnesses in malpractice trials, including witnesses on standard of care, causation, and damages. Expert depositions play an important role in malpractice trials. The rules in South Carolina are strict regarding expert testimony: § 15-79-130 makes it compulsory for a judge to report an expert who acted in bad faith or without proper justification.
- Motions: The defendants often ask for summary judgment. Usually, they claim that the plaintiff did not establish causation. In order to overcome this request, it is necessary to have an expert review stating that the breach has caused the result.
- Alternative dispute resolution: The parties have to go through mediation according to § 15-79-120. Mediation must be conducted before a trial, not to be confused with the mediation preceding the lawsuit.
- Trial: The jury will hear the evidence of the standard of care, evidence of causation, and the evidence of damages. Trials about medical malpractice are longer and have more specifics as compared to other civil trials.
How a South Carolina Medical Malpractice Lawyer Can Help
Here is what representation involves in these cases:
- Evaluating the situation and providing you with an honest opinion regarding the facts.
- Obtaining all medical documents, including those not available upon request.
- Rebuilding the timeline of treatment and finding where the provided medical service was divergent from the required one.
- Recognizing all responsible healthcare providers, practices, and institutions and analyzing their standing from a legal standpoint.
- Retaining properly qualified physicians according to South Carolina’s expert statute to assess medical care.
- Assessing causation in an honest manner, keeping in mind the possible arguments from the defense.
- Preparing and sending the Notice of Intent and expert affidavit in time.
- Carrying out the necessary pre-litigation mediation.
- Engaging in negotiations with insurance providers and defense attorneys.
- Handling litigation and dispute resolution if the matter cannot be settled, including the process of discovery, motions, and preparing for trial.
- Pursuing compensation the law makes available.
We cannot guarantee the outcome, the settlement, or the timing of the case, and you should beware of those who do.
Talk to a South Carolina Medical Malpractice Attorney
If you suspect that you or a family member fell victim to medical malpractice, the most effective first step is securing an expert review of the records from an independent reviewer, someone outside of the hospital.
Since it takes time for a medical malpractice review to be completed and South Carolina has strict time frames, it is best to act quickly and contact an experienced South Carolina medical malpractice lawyer.
Call (844) 963-4692 or fill out our contact form for a free consultation. We are available to assist you 24/7.
FAQs: Medical Malpractice Lawyer South Carolina!
How much does a medical malpractice lawyer cost in South Carolina?
Our firm’s payment is based on a contingency fee basis (you will pay only if we win the case). However, the costs of litigation are separate, mainly in cases of medical malpractice because you may need an expert doctor to read the documents, testify, and assess the case. You should inquire about costs beforehand. Make sure to find out whether you incur expenses if you do not win your case and whether the fee covers the costs or the costs are deducted first.
How long does a medical malpractice case take in South Carolina?
Claims involving medical malpractice may take longer than normal injury cases. Record acquisition can take weeks and even months, followed by a thorough analysis of the evidence. After the Notice of Intent is issued, mediation usually takes place in three to four months. If mediation fails, relying on evidence from experts, motions, and trials can lengthen the process significantly. Sometimes, cases may even take years to go to trial, from the time the injury happened till the trial.
Can I still bring a claim if I signed a consent form before the procedure?
Yes, in most cases. The consent form shows that the dangers have been disclosed and that you have decided to proceed, but it does not exclude liability for negligence. A patient may acknowledge a risk of infection but still be able to sue if procedures are performed improperly or complications are not being addressed. Moreover, the consent becomes crucial even in the case of informed-consent lawsuits where risks were hidden in the forms provided before the procedure.
Can I sue the hospital for what an individual doctor did?
At times, it is contingent upon how the doctor is connected to the institution. Hospital negligence South Carolina extends to the activities of its personnel, including doctors. However, many doctors working in hospitals are independent contractors. Hospitals can also be responsible for their own wrongdoings, like having an inadequate number of personnel, improper credentialing, using defective equipment, or having unsafe policies.
What should I do right now if I think a medical error occurred?
Obtain full medical records that include nursing notes, orders, imaging studies, and lab reports from the hospital, not just the discharge summary. Write down a detailed timeline of events while your memory is fresh, including dates, names, statements made, and changes in your symptoms. Keep getting treatment with reputable doctors to ensure your well-being, and keep a log of the injuries you suffer. Avoid confronting hospital staff or posting about your care on social media, as this can complicate your claim. Get your records checked without delay because you have to take action before it is too late.
