Slip and Fall Claims in South Carolina: What You Need to Prove
A spilled drink in a grocery aisle. A rain-slick entryway with no mat. A broken step outside a restaurant. Falls like these cause thousands of injuries every year, from sprained wrists to broken hips and head injuries.
In many slip-and-fall cases involving spills or foreign substances at businesses, the central question is whether the business created the dangerous condition or had actual or constructive notice of it. Other premises-liability cases, such as those involving defective stairs or unsafe building conditions, may involve different considerations.
The Basic Elements of a Slip and Fall Claim
A slip and fall case is a type of premises liability claim, which is based on negligence. In general, you must show:
Duty. The property owner or occupier owed you a duty of care.
Breach. The owner failed to meet that duty, usually by not fixing or warning about a dangerous condition it knew or should have known about.
Causation. That failure caused your fall and your injuries.
Damages. You suffered real losses, such as medical bills, lost wages, or pain and suffering.
Your Status on the Property Matters
South Carolina recognizes different categories of visitors, and the duty the owner owes depends on why you were there. The South Carolina Court of Appeals described these categories in Sims v. Giles (2001).
Customers in a store, restaurant patrons, and hotel guests are generally considered invitees. Property owners owe invitees the highest duty: to use reasonable care to keep the premises safe, which includes inspecting for hidden dangers and warning about or fixing those the owner knows or should know about.
Social guests, such as a friend visiting your home, are generally treated as licensees. The owner’s duty to a licensee is narrower. The owner must warn of or make safe concealed dangers the owner actually knows about and use reasonable care in activities on the property, but generally does not have to inspect for unknown hazards.
Trespassers, people on the property without permission, are owed very little. In general, the owner must not intentionally or recklessly injure them. Children can be an exception. When a dangerous condition such as a swimming pool is likely to attract children, special rules may apply when a dangerous artificial condition creates a foreseeable risk of injury to children, depending on the circumstances.
Most slip and fall claims involving businesses fall into the invitee category, which offers the strongest protection.
The Key Issue: Notice of the Hazard
For falls in stores and other businesses, the most important question is usually notice. In Garvin v. Bi-Lo, Inc. (2001), the South Carolina Supreme Court explained that to recover for injuries caused by a dangerous condition, the injured person must show that the business either:
Created the hazard, such as an employee mopping the floor without a warning sign, or
Had actual notice, meaning an employee knew about the hazard and failed to fix it or warn customers, or
Had constructive notice, meaning the hazard existed long enough that the business should have discovered and corrected it through reasonable inspection.
That same year, in Wintersteen v. Food Lion, Inc., the South Carolina Supreme Court declined to adopt a broader rule that would have made stores responsible simply because their way of doing business, such as a self-service drink station, made spills foreseeable. The plaintiff still has to prove the store created the hazard or had actual or constructive notice of it.
In practice, this means evidence about how long the hazard was there is often the deciding factor. Was the spill dried at the edges or tracked through by shopping carts? Did store inspection logs show anyone checked the aisle? Is there surveillance video showing when the spill occurred?
What if the Hazard Was “Open and Obvious”
Property owners often argue they had no duty to warn about a danger the injured person should have seen. South Carolina law limits that defense. In Callander v. Charleston Doughnut Corp. (1991), the South Carolina Supreme Court held that an owner can still be liable for an open and obvious danger if the owner should anticipate that visitors will encounter it anyway, for example, when customers are likely to be distracted by store displays.
How Your Own Fault Affects the Claim
In slip and fall cases, insurers often argue the injured person was looking at their phone, wearing the wrong shoes, or not watching where they were going. Under South Carolina’s modified comparative negligence rule, you can still recover if you are 50% or less at fault, with your recovery reduced by your share. We explain how that math works in our post on South Carolina’s comparative negligence rule.
Deadlines for Filing a Claim
Most slip and fall claims: Generally, three years from the date of injury under S.C. Code § 15-3-530.
Falls on government property: Claims against the State, cities, counties, school districts, and other government entities fall under the South Carolina Tort Claims Act, which generally requires a lawsuit within two years under § 15-78-110, unless a verified claim was first filed under the Act, which can extend the deadline to three years. The Act also has its own rules and exceptions that can limit recovery.
Waiting until the deadline approaches is risky. Evidence disappears quickly, and businesses often record over surveillance footage within days or weeks.
Evidence That Can Make or Break Your Case
Report the fall to a manager or property owner and ask for a copy of the incident report.
Take photos of the hazard, the surrounding area, any lack of warning signs, and your injuries.
Get names and contact information for witnesses, including employees.
Keep the shoes and clothing you were wearing.
Seek medical care promptly and follow through with treatment.
Ask an attorney about sending a preservation letter requesting that surveillance video and inspection records be saved.
Avoid giving a recorded statement to the property owner’s insurance company before getting legal advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have a case if I did not see what I slipped on?
Possibly. Many people do not notice the hazard until after they fall. Photos, witness statements, incident reports, and video can help establish what caused the fall and how long it was there.
Does a “wet floor” sign mean I cannot recover?
Not necessarily. A warning sign is evidence the owner tried to address the hazard, but whether the warning was adequate, visible, and placed in the right location can still be disputed.
What if I fell at a friend’s or neighbor’s house?
Social guests are generally treated as licensees in South Carolina, which means the homeowner’s duty is more limited. These claims are often handled through the homeowner’s insurance policy rather than paid by the homeowner personally.
What if I fell on a city sidewalk or in a government building?
Claims against government entities are governed by the South Carolina Tort Claims Act, which has shorter deadlines and special procedures. Speak with an attorney promptly.
How much is my slip and fall case worth?
It depends on the severity of your injuries, your medical expenses, lost income, the strength of the evidence on notice, and whether any fault is assigned to you. Every case is different.
The Bottom Line
Falling on someone else’s property does not automatically make the owner responsible. In South Carolina, the case usually turns on whether the owner created the hazard or knew or should have known about it, and whether you can prove that with evidence. Acting quickly to document the scene and preserve video can make all the difference.
Stegall Law represents people injured in falls and other accidents throughout the South Carolina Lowcountry, including Dorchester, Berkeley, and Charleston Counties. If you were hurt in a slip and fall, contact Stegall Law to discuss what happened and whether you have a claim.
Disclaimer: This article is for general informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Every case is different, and reading this article does not create an attorney-client relationship. If you have questions about your specific situation, consult a qualified South Carolina attorney.
Sources
Garvin v. Bi-Lo, Inc., 343 S.C. 625, 541 S.E.2d 831 (2001), as quoted in a 2025 Court of Appeals opinion: https://law.justia.com/cases/south-carolina/court-of-appeals/2025/2025-up-094.html
Wintersteen v. Food Lion, Inc. (S.C. 2001) (rejecting mode-of-operation approach; plaintiff must prove creation or notice): https://law.justia.com/cases/south-carolina/supreme-court/2001/25254.html
Callander v. Charleston Doughnut Corp., 305 S.C. 123, 406 S.E.2d 361 (1991) (open and obvious dangers): https://law.justia.com/cases/south-carolina/supreme-court/1991/23429-2.html
Sims v. Giles, 343 S.C. 708, 541 S.E.2d 857 (Ct. App. 2001) (visitor classifications), summarized here: https://www.kloklaw.com/blog/2026/june/premises-liability-in-south-carolina-the-four-cl/
Nelson v. Concrete Supply Co., 303 S.C. 243 (1991) (modified comparative negligence): https://law.justia.com/cases/south-carolina/supreme-court/1991/23303-2.html
S.C. Code § 15-3-530 (three-year limitations period): https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t15c003.php
S.C. Code § 15-78-110 (Tort Claims Act limitations period): https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t15c078.php