Car wrecks in Greenville, SC

What causes Greenville car wrecks

Officers can list up to five contributing factors on each crash report. In Greenville County in 2024, the factors listed most often were (SCDPS 2024 Fact Book, Greenville County summary):

These factors line up with the crash types found on Greenville's busiest commercial roads. A state-data road safety study of Woodruff Road found rear-end crashes were 56% of all crashes in the studied section (GPATS SC 146 assessment). More local data is in Greenville crash data and corridors.

Who pays in an at-fault state

South Carolina uses a tort system rather than no-fault (S.C. Department of Insurance). In practice that means:

• The at-fault driver's bodily injury liability coverage pays injury claims of people they hurt. The legal minimum is $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident (S.C. Code § 38-77-140).
• Their property damage liability pays for your vehicle and other property, with a $25,000 minimum (same section). The Department of Insurance notes it covers damage to things like buildings, walls and fences as well as vehicles (SCDOI).
• If the at-fault driver has no insurance, your own mandatory uninsured motorist coverage may step in. If their limits are too low, your optional underinsured motorist coverage may help (UM and UIM explained).
• Your own collision coverage, if you bought it, can repair your car regardless of fault. That is a contract matter between you and your insurer.

Minimum limits are low compared with the cost of serious injuries. Finding every policy that might apply, including the other driver's, your own, a household member's, or an employer's if the driver was working, is often the most important early task.

The claims you may have

• Injury claim: medical bills, lost income, and the other harms caused by injuries. The general deadline to sue is three years (§ 15-3-530(5)), measured from when you knew or should have known you had a claim (§ 15-3-535).
• Property damage claim: repair or the value of your car and belongings. This also generally has a three-year period (§ 15-3-530(4)).
• Wrongful death and survival claims: if someone died, South Carolina allows an action brought by the executor or administrator for the spouse, children, or other statutory beneficiaries (§§ 15-51-10, -20). Separately, the injured person's own claims survive their death (§ 15-5-90).

Evidence that matters in car wrecks

In two-car crashes, fault often comes down to who had the right of way, how fast each car was moving, and where each car was in its lane. These items tend to matter most:

• Photos before the cars move: final resting positions, damage points, debris fields, skid marks, traffic signals and signs, and the view each driver had.
• The crash report: it records the officer's contributing factors and any citations. Get it from the right agency (report guide).
• Video: dash cams, doorbell cameras and business cameras often overwrite footage on a short loop. Ask quickly and in writing.
• Witnesses: names and phone numbers. An independent witness can be critical when drivers disagree.
• Your vehicle: don't let it be salvaged before it has been photographed thoroughly. Keep repair estimates and the total-loss valuation.
• Phone records: if you think the other driver was on their phone, tell your lawyer early. See the hands-free rule below.

Phone, seatbelt and child-seat rules

Hands-free law. While driving on a public highway in South Carolina, a driver may not hold or support a phone or similar device with any part of the body; read, compose or send texts, email or app content; or watch video. Exceptions include being lawfully parked or stopped, and reporting an accident or emergency (S.C. Code § 56-5-3890). A violation by the other driver can be important evidence of carelessness.

Seatbelts. Every driver and occupant must wear a seatbelt (§ 56-5-6520). Under the same article, a seatbelt violation "is not negligence per se or contributory negligence, and is not admissible as evidence in a civil action" (§ 56-5-6540(C)). So the other side can't use your not wearing a belt as evidence in your injury lawsuit.

Children. Children under eight must be secured in a rear-facing seat, forward-facing harness seat, or belt-positioning booster depending on age and size, until they can properly fit an adult belt (§ 56-5-6410). After a crash, ask your insurer about replacing a child seat that was in the car.

When a drunk or reckless driver is involved

Impaired driving is a major factor in serious Greenville crashes. NHTSA estimates reproduced in the state fact book show 40 Greenville County fatalities involving a driver with a BAC of .08 or higher in 2024 (preliminary), and 531 non-fatal DUI collisions in the county that year (SCDPS 2024 Fact Book, Part IV).

In wrongful death cases, South Carolina allows exemplary (punitive) damages when the wrongful act resulted from "recklessness, wilfulness, or malice" (§ 15-51-40). Punitive damages generally are capped at the greater of three times compensatory damages or $500,000, with higher limits and exceptions in specific circumstances (§ 15-32-530). Whether punitive damages are available in your case is a question for a lawyer.

Your deadline

Three years is the general rule for car wreck injury claims, but a crash involving a government vehicle has a two-year rule (§ 15-78-110), and minors have special tolling rules. The full table is in deadlines and Greenville courts.

Questions to ask a lawyer about a car wreck

1. Based on the crash report's contributing factors, what do you expect the other insurer to argue about fault?
2. Which policies could apply here: the other driver's liability, my UM/UIM, any household policy?
3. How will my vehicle damage and rental or loss-of-use claim be handled alongside the injury claim?
4. What medical documentation will you need from me, and when?
5. What deadline do you calculate for my claim, and is any government entity involved?
6. How is your fee calculated, and how are case expenses handled? Will that be in a written agreement?

South Carolina requires contingent-fee agreements to be in writing and signed by the client (Rule 1.5(c)).