Car Accidents in Columbia, SC

From whoever worked the scene, which for city streets is the Columbia Police Department. The Richland County Sheriff's Department covers the unincorporated county, and the South Carolina Highway Patrol generally handles the interstates, so a wreck on I-77 and a wreck on Gervais Street can end up with two different agencies. Get the case number at the scene if you can. It makes every call after that shorter.

Richland County Court of Common Pleas, for a crash inside Richland County. Columbia's city limits reach into Lexington County, though, and West Columbia and Cayce across the river are Lexington County outright, so a wreck on the far side of the Congaree generally files in the Lexington County Court of Common Pleas instead. Where it happened decides it.

Generally no, since a motor vehicle was involved. South Carolina is an at-fault state, so the driver who caused it is the one who pays, though you should expect the fault argument to be about you: where you stepped off, how the light was set, whether you looked. Under the 51% bar, your share reduces what you can recover. Past 50% it ends the claim.

In South Carolina, the deadline is generally 3 years from the date of the accident. 3 years personal injury; wrongful death 3 years. Deadlines are strict — the sooner you act, the more options you have.