The general rule: three years, down from six
Under S.C. Code § 15-3-530(5), most personal injury claims must be filed within three years. A genuinely significant historical detail: this wasn't always the rule. A 1988 legislative act actually reduced South Carolina's general civil limitations period from six years down to three — cutting it in half, the reverse of what many states have done over time. That same 2001 update folded assault and battery claims into this same three-year period, alongside ordinary negligence.
Libel, slander, false imprisonment: a shorter, separate deadline
Not every "injury to a person" claim shares the three-year rule. Libel, slander, and false imprisonment carry a distinctly shorter two-year deadline under S.C. Code § 15-3-550 — a separate statute from the general personal injury rule.
Wrongful death: the same three years
Wrongful death claims generally carry the same three-year deadline from the date of death, under S.C. Code § 15-3-530(6).
Medical malpractice and sexual abuse: genuinely layered rules
Medical malpractice claims follow their own framework, with a real absolute outer limit. Sexual abuse and incest claims follow an entirely separate, more generous structure. See our full guide to South Carolina's discovery rule and tolling for both.
Government claims: a shorter two years
Claims against a government entity follow a notably shorter deadline than the general rule. See our full guide to South Carolina government claim deadlines.