If a drunk driver crashes into your vehicle in South Carolina, your immediate financial recovery depends on quick legal action. South Carolina law provides clear options to recover money for your medical bills, lost wages, and pain, but securing a full settlement requires gathering physical evidence and filing your claims under strict state deadlines.
Hunter | Everage represents crash victims across South Carolina, fighting to secure full accountability after preventable collisions. Our experienced York drunk driving accident lawyers act quickly to preserve critical evidence, gather police reports, and hold all responsible parties accountable.
What to Do at the Scene When a Drunk Driver Hits You in South Carolina
The actions you take in the minutes following a crash establish the foundation for your civil insurance claim.
- Call 911 Immediately:Inform the dispatcher that you suspect the other driver is impaired. Request law enforcement and emergency medical services to the scene.
- Request a Law Enforcement Investigation: Ask responding officers to conduct field sobriety tests and draft an official South Carolina Traffic Collision Report.
- Document Visible Evidence: Use your phone to photograph vehicle positioning, skid marks, road conditions, and visible signs of intoxication, such as open containers or beer cans on the ground.
- Gather Witness Details: Collect names, phone numbers, and statements from bystanders before they leave the area.
- Seek Immediate Medical Evaluation: Go to an emergency room or urgent care center right away. Internal injuries and soft-tissue trauma often present delayed symptoms.
- Contact a South Carolina Personal Injury Lawyer: Our car accident lawyers can immediately step in to secure electronic bar receipts, preserve surveillance video, handle communications with insurance adjusters, and prevent the destruction of time-sensitive evidence.
Criminal DUI Case vs. Your Civil Lawsuit
A criminal DUI charge handled by an attorney is completely separate from your civil personal injury lawsuit.
Criminal Cases Focus on Punishment
The state prosecutes the impaired driver under S.C. Code § 56-5-2930 to issue penalties such as fines, license suspensions, or jail time. The state must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Civil Lawsuits Focus on Financial Compensation
Your personal injury lawsuit seeks monetary damages for your injuries and losses. The burden of proof in a civil suit is a preponderance of the evidence, meaning you must show it is more likely than not that the driver’s impairment caused your injuries.
When asking can you sue a drunk driver, the answer is yes, regardless of how their criminal case turns out. A criminal conviction can serve as clear evidence of negligence in your civil claim, but you do not have to wait for the criminal trial to end before filing your civil lawsuit.
Punitive Damages in South Carolina Drunk Driving Cases
Crash victims can seek punitive damages in addition to standard compensatory damages. While economic and non-economic damages cover your direct losses, punitive damages aim to punish wanton, willful, or reckless behavior and deter similar conduct in the future.
Driving under the influence meets the legal definition of reckless disregard for safety in South Carolina courts. While statutory caps on punitive damages apply in standard injury cases, the law explicitly removes these caps when the defendant acted under the influence of alcohol or drugs. This means victims of drunk drivers can pursue full punitive recovery without standard cap limitations.
South Carolina’s Dram Shop Law: Can You Sue the Bar That Served the Driver?
South Carolina does not have a single codified statute labeled as a dram shop act, but civil courts enforce liability through criminal alcohol sales laws. Under S.C. Code § 61-4-580, it is illegal for an establishment to serve beer, wine, or liquor to any visibly intoxicated person or any minor under age 21.
Dram shop laws in South Carolina allow injured victims to hold bars, restaurants, and taverns liable if they overserved the driver who hit you. South Carolina requires businesses licensed for on-premises alcohol consumption after 5:00 PM to maintain at least $1 million in liquor liability insurance. This insurance coverage provides a critical source of recovery when an at-fault driver’s personal auto policy fails to cover the full extent of your catastrophic medical bills.
How Comparative Fault Works When a Drunk Driver Is Involved
South Carolina follows a modified comparative negligence rule. You can recover compensation as long as your percentage of fault is 50% or less. If you share partial fault for the accident, your total financial award decreases by your percentage of responsibility.
When an impaired driver is involved, insurance adjusters may still attempt to shift partial blame onto you for speeding, lane positioning, or failing to avoid the crash. Establishing clear liability through police reports, crash reconstruction, and toxicology reports prevents insurance carriers from reducing your final payout.
What Compensation Can You Recover After a Drunk Driving Accident in SC?
When an impaired driver hits you in South Carolina, state law allows you to recover money for your financial, physical, and emotional losses. You can seek compensation for:
- Emergency Medical Expenses: You can recover money for your immediate care. This covers ambulance rides, emergency room visits, hospital stays, and diagnostic tests like X-rays or MRIs. You can also claim money for long-term recovery needs. This includes physical therapy, follow-up surgeries, prescription medications, and specialist visits.
- Lost Wages: You can get paid for the income you missed while taking time off work to recover from your crash injuries.
- Property Damage: You can receive money to repair your damaged vehicle or replace it if it is declared a total loss.
- Pain and Suffering: You can recover payment for physical discomfort, daily pain, and bodily suffering caused by your injuries. You can get compensation for mental trauma, anxiety, shock, and post-traumatic stress triggered by the collision.
How Long Do You Have to File a Claim After a Drunk Driving Accident in SC?
The statute of limitations for personal injury claims in South Carolina is three years from the date of the collision. Missing this deadline permanently bars your right to recover money in court.
If your claim involves a government vehicle, a public employee, or a municipality, the South Carolina Tort Claims Act shortens this filing window to two years. Contacting an attorney immediately allows your legal team to subpoena commercial bar receipts, preserve traffic camera footage, and lock in witness testimony before evidence is deleted or destroyed.
Contact Our Car Accident Lawyers Today
If you or a loved one suffered injuries in a crash caused by an impaired driver, Hunter | Everage handles these complex legal details, gathers evidence, and pursues every available source of recovery. Contact our car accident lawyers at 704-377-9157 to request a free case consultation.
