Personal Injury Cases Frost Law Group Handles in Summerville, South Carolina
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A red-light crash on College Park Road, a fall on a broken apartment stair and a bite from a loose dog are different claims. Each has its own rule for who is responsible and whose insurance pays. Summerville personal injury cases begin with those two questions. The kind of accident shapes both answers, so an attorney sorts that out first.
Under South Carolina's limitations law, Code Section 15-3-530, most injury lawsuits have a three-year filing window. For a wrongful death action, the three years start on the date of death. Suits against a town, county or state agency usually get two years instead, under the South Carolina Tort Claims Act. Filing a verified claim with that agency ahead of the lawsuit can extend the period to three years. That claim has to reach the agency within one year of when the loss came to light, or reasonably should have. Note the accident date, keep every insurer letter, and learn which claim you have before signing a release.
Married attorneys Jack C. Frost and Tara L. Frost practice together as Frost Law Group in Summerville. They represent people hurt in crashes, falls and dog attacks, and families after a fatal accident. Tara L. Frost is a former Dorchester County Magistrate Judge and a former Dorchester County Associate Probate Judge. Watching cases from the bench taught her what a court looks for in evidence, preparation and credibility.
To learn which kind of claim fits your accident, call Frost Law Group at (843) 242-0821. The consultation is free and confidential, and an attorney answers the call.
- Car accidents
- Truck accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Uber and Lyft accidents
- Slip and fall
- Dog bites
- Wrongful death
- Catastrophic injuries
- Pedestrian accidents
On this page
Motor Vehicle Crash Cases Our Summerville Personal Injury Lawyers Handle
Across South Carolina, the Department of Public Safety's Traffic Collision Fact Book tallied 143,801 collisions in 2024. They took 1,040 lives. Frost Law Group handles four kinds of vehicle crash claims, and the coverage rules differ for each.
South Carolina is an at-fault state. The driver who caused a crash is responsible for the harm, and that driver's liability insurer usually pays first. Section 38-77-140 sets the minimum bodily injury limits at $25,000 per injured person and $50,000 per accident. The property damage minimum is $25,000, a floor lawyers write as 25/50/25. Every auto policy must also carry uninsured motorist coverage for crashes with uninsured drivers. Whether a policy covers a given loss depends on its terms and the injuries, which a lawyer checks.
Auto Collisions and the Other Driver's Liability Coverage
In a car wreck, the claim usually runs against the driver who broke a traffic law. One example is the left-turn duty to yield in Section 56-5-2320. When that driver's limits run out, or no policy exists, your own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage may apply. Officers recorded 333 collisions on SC 165 in Dorchester County in 2024. SCDOT names that route Bacons Bridge Road and Delemar Highway. Frost Law Group represents drivers and passengers in car accident claims on routes like that one.
Commercial Truck Crashes and the Carrier Behind the Driver
A commercial truck crash can involve two defendants, the driver and the motor carrier behind the driver. The carrier's logs and maintenance files can show who shares the fault. Statewide, 3,260 crashes in 2024 involved a commercial motor vehicle, and those crashes killed 145 people. Frost Law Group handles commercial truck crash claims, where the truck's weight and route decide which rules apply.
Tractor Trailers Hauling Freight Across State Lines
Under 49 CFR 387.9, an interstate for-hire trucking company moving ordinary freight needs at least $750,000 in public liability insurance. The regulation sets a floor, and it does not cap what an injured person can seek. Federal hours-of-service rules generally cap a property-carrying driver at 11 hours of driving in a 14-hour window. Frost Law Group builds tractor-trailer crash claims around the driver's duty-status logs and the carrier's policy.
Delivery Trucks and Box Vans Where Weight Sets the Rules
Federal motor carrier rules generally reach a delivery van rated at 10,001 pounds or more in interstate commerce. Under Section 56-5-4240, South Carolina applies them to in-state trucks of 26,001 pounds or more. A local truck between those weights that never leaves South Carolina is generally exempt. Frost Law Group handles delivery truck crash claims, where the weight rating and the driver's employer both matter.
Motorcycle Riders Hit by Drivers Who Took Their Lane
Under Section 56-5-3640, a motorcycle is entitled to the full use of a lane. No driver may take that space from a rider. The same statute makes lane splitting illegal in South Carolina. Dorchester County's 2024 crash reports list 66 motorcyclists as victims, and 7 of them died. A motorcycle must carry the same 25/50/25 minimum and uninsured motorist coverage as a car. Frost Law Group takes on motorcycle crash claims for riders and their passengers.
Uber and Lyft Collisions Under the TNC Act Coverage Tiers
South Carolina's Transportation Network Company Act, or TNC Act, ties rideshare insurance to the driver's app status. Under Section 58-23-1630, a driver logged in and waiting for a request needs primary liability coverage, meaning coverage that pays first. The floor for that stage is 50/100/50. That means $50,000 for one person's injuries, $100,000 for one incident and $50,000 in property damage. Accepting a trip request raises the requirement to a $1,000,000 combined limit for death, injury and property damage. It lasts until the last rider gets out. Frost Law Group handles rideshare accident claims, where the app status at the moment of the crash sets the coverage.
Uber Passengers and Pedestrians Hurt During a Trip
An Uber passenger and a pedestrian hit on the same trip may both look to the $1,000,000 tier. Section 58-23-1625 lets personal auto insurers exclude coverage while a driver is logged in or on a ride. If the driver's own policy does not respond, the rideshare company's insurer must pay from the first dollar. Frost Law Group handles Uber accident claims for passengers, other drivers and people on foot.
Lyft Driver Screening and Crash Disclosure Duties
South Carolina requires Lyft, like every rideshare company, to confirm each driver is at least 21 before approval. It must also check a ten-year driving record and criminal history, then rerun those checks at least yearly. After a crash, the driver owes insurers and investigating officers a statement of whether he or she was logged in or on a trip. In Lyft accident claims, Frost Law Group can use those records to show which coverage tier applied.
Premises and Dog Bite Injury Cases for Summerville Accident Attorneys
Not all Summerville personal injury cases start on a road. Picture a shopper who slips on spilled detergent in a store off Dorchester Road. Or picture a mail carrier bitten on a porch in Knightsville. Each claim runs against whoever controlled the property or kept the dog, and often goes to that person's liability insurer.
Frost Law Group handles these claims in Summerville and in the surrounding counties it serves. The legal tests differ sharply. A dog owner answers under a statute that ignores whether the dog had bitten before. A property owner usually answers only when the owner created the hazard or knew or should have known about it. How either rule applies depends on facts a lawyer reviews case by case.
Does a Store Owe You for Every Fall on Its Floor?
No. In Wintersteen v. Food Lion, Inc., a 2001 decision, the South Carolina Supreme Court declined to make stores answer for every foreseeable spill. A shopper has to show that the store caused the hazard, or that it knew or should have known and did nothing. That second idea, constructive notice, covers a spill a routine floor check would have caught. A social guest in a home is a licensee, owed a warning about concealed dangers the owner actually knows of. Frost Law Group handles slip and fall claims against stores, landlords and other owners. Falls on public property follow the Tort Claims Act, which caps recovery at $300,000 per person.
Is a Dog Owner Liable the First Time a Dog Bites?
In most situations, yes. Under Section 47-3-110, liability for a bite or attack falls on the owner or on anyone keeping the dog. The injured person must have been somewhere public, or on private property with a lawful reason to be there. South Carolina's Supreme Court calls this strict liability, so the injured person need not prove carelessness. The statute does not apply if the injured person's provocation or harassment of the dog caused the attack. Trespassers also fall outside it. A doctor who treats a bite reports it to the county office of the South Carolina Department of Public Health, which took over DHEC's health programs in 2024. For a bitten child, Section 15-3-40 may add time, though that extension ends one year after the child turns 18. Frost Law Group handles dog bite claims for adults and children.
Wrongful Death Claims a Summerville Injury Attorney Pursues for Families
Among Summerville personal injury cases, fatal ones often start in probate court rather than a trial court. Under Section 15-51-20, the executor or administrator, called the personal representative, brings the case. So a family first asks the probate court to appoint one. The petition goes to the probate court of the county the person called home at death. Summerville spans parts of three counties, Dorchester, Berkeley and Charleston, so the right probate court depends on the part of town.
In 2024, 37 people died in 32 fatal collisions in Dorchester County. Measured against population, the county's motor vehicle death rate was 21.2 per 100,000, compared with 8.8 a year earlier. Frost Law Group represents the families left behind. What a family may recover, and how it is divided, depends on facts a lawyer reviews.
Fatal Crash Claims Brought Under the Wrongful Death Act
Section 15-51-10 allows a claim when a wrongful act or neglect causes a death the person could have sued over if alive. The claim benefits the spouse and children first, then parents if there are none, then other heirs. The personal representative must file within three years of the death itself. Any settlement needs approval from a probate court, circuit court or federal district court. In Dorchester County, a wrongful death lawsuit in circuit court proceeds in the Court of Common Pleas. That court sits in St. George, on East Jim Bilton Boulevard. Frost Law Group handles wrongful death claims after fatal crashes on Summerville roads.
Survival Claims for Losses Suffered Before Death
A survival claim is the injured person's own claim, which Section 15-5-90 lets the personal representative pursue after death. It can include conscious pain and suffering between the injury and death. Survival damages benefit the estate, while wrongful death damages benefit the family members the statute names. Under Section 15-5-100, funeral expenses belong in one action or the other, not both. Frost Law Group brings survival claims beside a wrongful death claim when evidence shows the person suffered before dying.
Ask a Summerville Injury Lawyer Which Claim Fits Your Accident
Unsure whether a fall at a friend's house or a sideswipe from a delivery van counts as a claim? You do not need that answer before you call. Frost Law Group can sort the facts into a claim type and explain the rule and deadline that go with it.
Tara L. Frost and Jack C. Frost review Summerville personal injury cases themselves. When you call, an attorney picks up, not a call center. Clients reviewing the firm on Google have rated it 4.8 stars.
Bring the accident date, any report number, insurer letters and photos to a free, confidential consultation. Meetings take place at 128 Linwood Lane, Summerville, SC 29483. The attorneys can explain which claim fits, which deadline controls and which insurer is likely involved. Asking questions there does not commit you to hiring the firm.
Call (843) 242-0821 or reach the office online, and say which kind of accident brought you in.
