Someone has to pay when you get into a car accident in South Carolina. The law says whoever is at fault for the accident pays. The at-fault party pays for everything from repairs, wrecked cars, and doctor visits.
Here’s how South Carolina handles blame: They use what fancy legal types call “modified comparative negligence.” In plain English, this means:
Say you’re driving down I-26 and get into a wreck. If the court decides you’re mostly innocent (50% responsible or less), you can still earn money – but there’s a catch. They’ll dock your payment based on how much it was your fault. If you were 30% to blame, they’d cut 30% off what you get. That makes sense.
But watch out – the second you cross that 51% blame threshold, you’re out of luck. You can’t collect a dime from the other driver, even if they played a part in what happened.
Determining who screwed up and by how much becomes super important. Don’t be surprised when insurance companies dig around like detectives after an accident. They’ve got money on the line, so they’ll make sure they know exactly what went down before they start writing checks.
