Wrongful Death Attorneys in Summerville

A husband or wife and any children stand first under Section 15-51-20. Section 15-51-40 then divides the recovery in the shares each would take if the person had died without a will. Under Section 62-2-102 of the Probate Code, a surviving spouse takes half when there are children and the whole amount when there are none. Section 62-2-103 splits the rest equally among the children.

Take a Ladson father who dies on his way home from work, survived by his wife and two children. On those facts, the widow would take half of the wrongful death recovery, and each child would take a quarter. A divorced father with three children and no spouse would leave the recovery to the children in equal thirds.

Children Born to Parents Who Were Not Married

Section 15-51-30 addresses two deaths involving a child born outside marriage, the death of the child and the death of the child's mother. In either case, the child, the parents and the heirs have the same rights and remedies as if the child had been born to married parents. The section does not mention the death of the child's father. A lawyer reviews that situation separately with the family's records.

When a Will Leaves Everything to Someone Else

A will does not decide who shares in a wrongful death recovery. The statute fixes the beneficiaries, and Section 15-51-40 divides the money as if no will existed. Suppose a Summerville woman's will left her estate to her sister, and she also left a husband and a son. The sister might serve as personal representative, yet the wrongful death recovery would still go to the husband and son.

When the person who died left no spouse and no children, the recovery goes to the parent or parents. Two surviving parents share equally under Section 62-2-103. An unmarried teenager or young adult without children is the common example. Section 15-51-40 then adds a limit on a parent's share. If the child died without a will, a motion can ask the probate court to deny or limit that share. It targets a parent who failed to reasonably support the child. That parent must also have failed to otherwise provide for the child's needs while the child was a minor.

The court decides that question by a preponderance of the evidence, meaning more likely than not. Picture a 20-year-old who dies on Bacons Bridge Road, whose father paid no support and stayed away for years. The mother could ask the probate court to limit or deny his share. Frost Law Group explains that motion to families, although the ruling belongs to the court and turns on the proof.

If no spouse, child or parent survives, the heirs take the recovery under Section 15-51-20. Heirs are the relatives the Probate Code names in its order for estates without a will. Under Section 62-2-103, brothers and sisters and their descendants take next, followed by grandparents and their descendants. If a retired Knightsville man dies with no wife, children or living parents, his two sisters would share the recovery.

Section 62-3-103 says a person gains a personal representative's powers only after the court appoints the person, the person qualifies and letters issue. Letters are the court document showing who acts for the estate. Insurers, banks and opposing lawyers ask to see them. Section 62-3-203 sets the order of priority for appointment. Frost Law Group's two attorneys, Tara and Jack Frost, help a family choose who should serve before any paperwork reaches the court.

Priority When the Person Left a Will

First priority goes to the personal representative named in a probated will, including someone nominated through a power the will grants. Second comes a surviving spouse who takes property under the will. The other devisees, meaning people who take under it, rank third. Unless the will says otherwise, anyone with priority may also nominate someone else to serve, so families should look for the original will early.

Priority When There Is No Will

Without a will, the surviving spouse comes first, then the other heirs in the order the intestacy rules set. Forty-five days after the death, a creditor may also seek appointment. Section 62-3-203(e) bars anyone under 18 from serving. Two situations come up under that list, minor heirs and relatives who disagree.

When the Only Heirs Are Minor Children

Children cannot serve because of the age rule, yet they may hold the top priority among the heirs. Section 62-3-203(c) lets a conservator, a guardian or the custodial parent of a minor use the child's right to be appointed. A court-appointed guardian ad litem cannot use it. Think of a divorced father whose former wife has custody of their two young sons. She could step into the boys' priority and seek appointment as personal representative of his estate.

When Relatives Disagree About Who Serves

Section 62-3-203(b) allows an objection to an appointment only in formal proceedings. Suppose an heir or devisee with a substantial interest objects to someone whose priority does not come from the will. The court may then appoint a person acceptable to heirs and devisees holding more than half of the estate's likely value. Without that agreement, the court may choose any suitable person. Agreeing on who will serve before the estate opens can spare the family the extra hearing a contest brings, and Frost Law Group can help relatives talk that through.

Section 62-3-301 lists what an application for informal appointment must contain, and the applicant swears or affirms that it is accurate. The list includes the date of death, the person's age and county of domicile, and the names and addresses of the spouse, children, heirs and devisees. It also asks for the ages of any minors, and the applicant should gather them before the first filing.

Before letters issue, Section 62-3-601 requires the representative to file any required bond and a statement accepting the duties of the office. A bond is a financial promise filed with the court and backed by a surety company, individual sureties or other security the court accepts. Section 62-3-603 excuses the bond in several cases, including when all heirs and devisees agree to waive it or the representative is the only heir.

Some steps can happen before the appointment. Under Section 62-3-701, a personal representative named in the will may protect estate property before appointment. That person may also carry out the written funeral and burial instructions of the person who died. Once appointed, the representative's powers also reach back to his or her own earlier acts that benefited the estate.

The wrongful death claim looks at the people left behind. Their lost income and support, their grief and the loss of the person's company all belong in this claim. The money goes to the statutory beneficiaries in their intestacy shares, and it does not pass under a will. Frost Law Group documents those losses through the family's own accounts, pay records and the history of the household.

The survival claim carries what the person suffered before death. The South Carolina Court of Appeals listed those losses in Welch v. Epstein, Opinion No. 3235, filed in 2000. They include medical, surgical and hospital bills, along with the person's conscious pain, suffering and mental distress. In Welch, the man lapsed into a coma and never recovered, so the trial court limited the survival damages to the medical bills.

Proof of Conscious Pain Before Death

Conscious pain requires evidence that the person was aware after the injury. In Carson, witnesses testified that they heard the injured man call out and moan before he died at the scene. Frost Law Group looks for the same kind of proof from bystanders, first responders and the time stamps in medical records. How far that proof supports a survival claim varies with each case, and a lawyer has to test it first.

Hospital Bills Between the Crash and the Death

Treatment between the crash and the death belongs to the survival claim. EMS may take a critically injured patient from the Summerville area to MUSC in Charleston. The Department of Public Health's trauma list shows MUSC at Level I for adults and as South Carolina's only Level I center for children. Trident Medical Center in North Charleston appears there at Adult Level II. When Medicaid or Medicare paid those bills, the program has a statutory right to repayment from the recovery.

Section 15-5-100 lets a family recover reasonable funeral expenses in either the survival claim or the wrongful death claim, but only in one. In Carson, the estate sought its funeral and burial costs in the survival action. The choice affects who receives that money, since one claim pays the estate and the other pays the beneficiaries. The funeral home and cemetery receipts go in one claim, never both.

Section 15-51-60 sets one limit. The wrongful death article does not apply when the injured person sued over the injury and the case reached trial and final judgment before death. The question can arise when a person lived for years after a crash and pursued the injury case personally. Frost Law Group asks whether the person ever filed suit over the injury, and how far that case went.

Officers recorded 360 collisions and 7 deaths in 2024 on the Dorchester County corridor they logged as US-17. The Fact Book cautions that road totals rely on the route names officers write down. Frost Law Group handles fatal car crash claims from corridors like that one, beginning with the full collision report. When the same wreck also hurts survivors, the firm can pursue their car accident claims in the same investigation.

Deaths Caused by Impaired Drivers

Under Section 56-5-2945, an impaired driver whose unlawful act or neglected duty causes a death commits felony DUI. The prison term runs from 1 to 25 years. Section 15-51-10 keeps the family's civil claim alive even when the killing is a felony. The criminal case and the civil claim proceed separately, each with its own proof. A guilty plea or conviction on a felony arising from the crash lifts the punitive damages cap that Section 15-32-530 sets.

Under Tobias v. Sports Club, a bar that knowingly sells to an intoxicated patron can answer to people that patron injures. In a death case, Section 61-2-147 applies when the family's claim arose or accrued after January 1, 2026, the line Act 42 drew. Suppose a verdict runs against both the business and a driver charged with DUI. The business then answers jointly and severally for half of the actual damages. Joint and several liability means the family may collect that half from the business alone.

Pedestrians and Riders Killed on Dorchester County Roads

Dorchester County's 2024 deaths included 4 pedestrians, 7 motorcyclists, 1 bicyclist and 1 moped operator. Statewide, 123 of the 158 fatal pedestrian collisions that year happened in the dark in clear or cloudy weather. A driver's insurer may argue that the driver had no chance to see a pedestrian or rider. A lawyer can test that argument against lighting, sight lines and the driver's speed, and the outcome depends on how that proof holds up.

Drivers Who Flee After a Deadly Crash

Leaving the scene of a crash that kills someone is a felony under Section 56-5-1210. The penalty runs from 1 to 25 years in prison, plus a fine between $10,000 and $25,000. When police never identify the driver, the family may turn to uninsured motorist coverage under Section 38-77-170. After the 2024 rewrite of that section, video or another recording that shows the fleeing car caused the crash satisfies one of the proof routes. Someone must also tell police about the crash within a time that is reasonable under the circumstances.

A crash with a loaded tractor-trailer brings federal and state safety rules into a death case. Section 56-5-4240 applies the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations to in-state commercial vehicles weighing or rated at 26,001 pounds and up. Interstate carriers fall under many of the same rules from 10,001 pounds. Frost Law Group handles fatal truck crash cases and broader truck accident claims with those rules in mind.

Drug and Alcohol Testing After a Deadly Truck Crash

A death triggers testing under 49 CFR 382.303 whether or not anyone gets a ticket. The trucking employer must test each of its surviving drivers who needs a commercial driver's license, as soon as practicable. If two hours pass without an alcohol test, the employer must record the reason, and after eight hours it stops trying. Attempts at drug testing stop at 32 hours.

Truck Logs and Repair Files With Short Retention Periods

The federal minimum for keeping a driver's hours-of-service records is 6 months. Inspection, repair and maintenance records must stay for 1 year at the place that houses or maintains the truck. The minimum for driver vehicle inspection reports is three months. An early preservation letter asks the carrier to hold those files, and a lawyer decides which records matter most for a given crash.

Section 56-5-1210(B) says no one may move a vehicle from a crash that caused a death or great bodily injury until the investigating officer authorizes it. That pause leaves the scene in place while officers measure and photograph it. Frost Law Group can order the full collision report from SCDMV, which charges a $10 fee per report, and compare it with photos, video and witness accounts. A report is one piece of proof, and its weight depends on everything else a lawyer gathers.

Some crashes kill the driver who caused them as well. Section 15-51-10 addresses that situation directly. When the wrongdoer dies, the family's claim survives against the wrongdoer's personal representative. A head-on collision on a two-lane road outside Ridgeville is the kind of crash where this comes up. Frost Law Group checks whether the probate court has appointed a representative for that driver's estate, because the claim proceeds against that estate.

Pecuniary loss means a loss someone can measure in money. It can include the income the person would have contributed to the household. Pay stubs, tax returns and benefit statements help show that income and how the family relied on it. Consider a mother who worked day shifts at a store on Central Avenue and paid the rent and the car note. Her paycheck may count as a pecuniary loss for her children. How much a jury allows under that heading depends on the proof, which Frost Law Group gathers from the family's own records.

The other categories in Welch cover losses that no receipt can show. Grief and sorrow, wounded feelings and mental shock describe what the death did to each beneficiary. Loss of companionship describes the absence at supper, at ball games and on holidays. A child who loses a mother also loses her experience, knowledge and judgment in running the family's affairs, a loss Welch lists by name.

Section 15-51-40 allows exemplary damages, also called punitive damages, when the wrongful act came from recklessness, willfulness or malice. Punishment is the purpose, not repayment of a loss. The usual ceiling in Section 15-32-530 is the greater of $500,000 or three times the compensatory damages. Each year the dollar figure adjusts for inflation. Punitive damages also require clear and convincing evidence under Section 15-32-520.

No ceiling applies when the defendant was so affected by alcohol, or by drugs taken outside a lawful prescription, that his or her judgment was substantially impaired. Picture a driver who leaves a restaurant bar and crosses the center line on Dorchester Road. The family's lawyer would look at that exception, but whether a court applies it depends on the proof. For wrongful death attorneys in Summerville, punitive damages in a case like that are possible, never promised.

When no suit is pending, the personal representative petitions either the probate court or the circuit court. The representative verifies the petition, which means swearing to its contents. The court then schedules a hearing, takes the evidence it considers necessary and issues an order approving or disapproving the settlement. A personal representative does not need a lawyer for the court to consider the petition. Approval of a death settlement runs under Section 15-51-42, not Section 62-5-433, the separate statute for settling a child's own injury claim.

Facts the Petition Must Lay Out

Section 15-51-42(B) lists the contents. The petition sets out the basic facts of the death, the facts bearing on the wrongdoer's liability and the insurance available to pay damages. It also states the settlement terms, the statutory beneficiaries, the heirs or devisees, and the appropriate creditors with the amounts of their claims. All of it must appear in terms satisfactory to the court.

The Lawyer's Signed Opinion on Fairness

When a lawyer represents the personal representative, the lawyer must sign a statement of opinion that the settlement is fair and reasonable. The statement also says the settlement serves the best interests of the statutory beneficiaries and, in a survival action, the estate. Frost Law Group treats that signature as a duty owed to the family. The firm signs it only when the proof and the terms support it.

If a case is already pending in state court, timing decides the procedure. A settlement reached before trial goes back to that court by petition. A settlement reached during trial, or after trial but before a notice of appeal, needs no petition. The judge holds a hearing on the terms instead. After a notice of appeal, the representative asks the appellate court to send the case back to the circuit court for review.

A federal court may follow the same steps or transfer the case to state court to consider the settlement. Section 15-51-42(F) adds a notice rule for suits filed outside the probate court. The person bringing the suit has ten days after filing to notify the probate court. Frost Law Group can calendar that notice with the complaint, so the probate court learns of the case on time.

A single settlement may cover both claims, so the papers have to divide the money. Survival money goes to the estate, which the personal representative distributes under the will or the Probate Code. Wrongful death money goes to the statutory beneficiaries in their intestacy shares. In Welch, the trial court reallocated a pretrial settlement between the two claims to offset it against the verdict. The Court of Appeals affirmed that ruling. Any split depends on the evidence behind each claim, and a lawyer reviews that evidence before proposing one.

The petition must state the insurance available, and Section 38-77-250 gives the family's attorney a way to learn it. An auto insurer that is or may be liable must answer a sworn request within 30 days. The statute specifies how the request travels, and the incident report goes with it. The insurer then discloses its name, each insured and the limits of known non-fleet private passenger policies. Fleet, umbrella and excess limits fall outside that disclosure rule, so Frost Law Group looks for those policies separately.

When Medicaid paid for treatment, South Carolina law treats the right to recover those payments as assigned to the Department of Health and Human Services. The department may reduce its claim by 25% when the recipient has a lawyer, although that reduction is optional. Medicare's crash-related payments are conditional, and federal law requires reimbursement out of any settlement, judgment or award. Before any money changes hands, Frost Law Group identifies those claims, because they can reduce the net recovery.

Survivors hurt in the same wreck have injury claims of their own. Section 15-3-530(5) gives those claims three years. Section 15-3-535 then sets the starting point, the day the person knew of the claim or reasonably should have. A passenger who survived the March 3 crash would ordinarily count from that date, not from the later death. Frost Law Group tracks each person's deadline separately for that reason.

The survival claim is the person's own injury claim, and Section 15-3-530(5) generally allows three years for injury claims. Section 62-3-109 of the Probate Code adds a pause for claims that belonged to someone who has died. It suspends the running of any limitations period on such a claim for the eight months after the death, if the period had not already expired. Frost Law Group does not count on that pause to stretch a date and works from the earliest deadline that could apply.

The South Carolina Tort Claims Act sets its own clock for suits against a state agency, county or town. Under Section 15-78-110, suit generally must begin within two years of when the family discovered the loss or reasonably should have. Families who first present a verified claim to the agency get three years instead. That third year depends on Section 15-78-80(d), which says the agency must get the claim no more than one year after that discovery date. A fatal crash with a county-owned truck is one example that falls under these rules. The Act also shields government entities from liability for highway design. For many road defects, an entity is liable only if it left the problem uncorrected for a reasonable time after actual or constructive notice.