At The Arndt Law Firm, we understand how a sudden injury on someone else’s property can disrupt your life. Whether it’s a slip and fall, a maintenance failure, or an incident in a business or public space, the consequences can affect your health, your ability to work, and your peace of mind. We’ve helped people across Summerville and the Lowcountry navigate the aftermath of these events, and we know what it takes to hold property owners accountable for dangerous conditions.
Our approach is thorough and personal. We start by listening to your story and investigating the facts: how the injury happened, what the property owner knew or should have known, and what your status was on the property. South Carolina law sets different duties for property owners depending on whether the visitor is a customer, a guest, or a trespasser, and building a strong case means getting these details right from the beginning.
We don’t just focus on the hazard itself; we look at how quickly evidence can disappear. Surveillance footage, maintenance records, and witness accounts are often crucial, and moving quickly to preserve them makes all the difference. Our experience with local insurers and property owners helps us anticipate the arguments they’ll use and build a case that addresses them head-on.
If you’ve been injured on unsafe property in Summerville or anywhere in the Lowcountry, we invite you to reach out for a free consultation. You can learn more about our approach and see how we can help by visiting our site or contacting us directly. We’re here to make sure your rights are protected, and your story is heard.
South Carolina premises liability begins with a question that surprises many injured people: what was your legal status on the property when you were hurt. The law sorts visitors into categories, and the property owner's duty depends on which one applies. The three principal categories are invitees, licensees, and trespassers, with special protections for children, and the difference between them can decide whether a claim succeeds.
An invitee is someone on the property for the owner's benefit, most commonly a customer at a business. Property owners owe invitees a duty to exercise reasonable or ordinary care for their safety and may be liable for injuries caused by a breach of that duty. The owner must use reasonable care to keep the property safe, which includes inspecting for hazards, fixing dangerous conditions, and warning of dangers that cannot be immediately corrected.
A licensee is a social guest, someone present with the owner's permission but for the guest's own purposes, and the owner owes a lesser duty: to warn of known hidden dangers, but not to inspect the property or make it safe.
A trespasser, someone on the property without permission, is generally owed only the duty not to be intentionally or wantonly injured, which is why status matters so much to a claim. Children may receive additional protection under South Carolina doctrines governing dangerous conditions and attractive nuisances.
Whether those protections apply depends on the specific condition, the child’s age and circumstances, and the controlling elements, not simply whether the hazard attracted the child onto the property. Establishing the correct status is the first step in any premises case, because it sets the standard the owner had to meet.
Status is not always fixed, and that is a point insurers exploit. A person can begin as an invitee in the public area of a business and become a licensee or even a trespasser by entering an employee-only area or a part of the property where customers are not permitted. Insurers sometimes argue that a person who was clearly invited onto the property had wandered into a restricted area, in order to reduce the duty that applied. Establishing where the injury actually occurred and that the person had a right to be there is therefore part of building the claim.
For most premises cases involving invitees, liability turns on notice, meaning whether the owner knew or should have known about the hazard that caused the injury. South Carolina recognizes two kinds. Actual notice means the owner actually knew about the dangerous condition, such as an employee who saw a spill. Constructive notice means the condition existed long enough that the owner should have discovered and fixed it through reasonable inspection, even without actually knowing.
The notice requirement is often the heart of the dispute, and South Carolina law makes it a real hurdle. Courts have been clear that a jury may not simply speculate about how long a hazard was present; the injured person must offer evidence of the timeline. Constructive notice depends on evidence showing the condition existed long enough that, under the circumstances, the owner should have discovered and corrected it. South Carolina law does not impose a fixed number of minutes or hours.
This is why evidence of the timeline matters so much. Surveillance footage showing when a hazard appeared, employee testimony, inspection logs, and the condition of the hazard itself all help establish how long it was present. Because owners do not volunteer this evidence and it can disappear quickly, securing it early is frequently what determines whether constructive notice can be proven.
A strong premises claim is built on facts about the hazard's history, not on the assumption that the owner must have known. Where the owner or its employees created the hazard, the timeline question recedes, because the owner is charged with knowledge of a condition it made, and the same is true where a hazard arose from a recurring or foreseeable source the owner knew about and failed to address.
Premises liability covers a wide range of injuries, united by the common thread of a dangerous condition the owner should have addressed. Slip-and-fall and trip-and-fall injuries are the most common, arising from wet floors, uneven surfaces, poor lighting, and obstacles in walkways, and they have their own considerations addressed on our Summerville slip and fall lawyer page. Stairway falls from broken steps, missing handrails, or code violations are a frequent and serious category.
Other claims arise from structural and maintenance failures. Inadequate maintenance of walkways, parking lots, and common areas produces falls and other injuries, and swimming pool injuries, including drownings, are a recurring premises concern, especially where pools are not properly secured against children. Falling merchandise or objects in stores, elevator and escalator malfunctions, and exposure to hazards a property owner failed to address all generate claims.
Negligent security is a distinct and important category. When a property owner fails to provide reasonable security and a visitor is harmed by a foreseeable criminal act, such as an assault in a poorly lit or unsecured area, the owner may be liable for failing to protect against a danger they should have anticipated. Dog attacks on a property are another premises-related injury, addressed on our Summerville dog bite lawyer page. Each type turns on the same core questions of duty, notice, and causation.
South Carolina follows modified comparative negligence. Under Nelson v. Concrete Supply Co., an injured person may recover if they are 50 percent or less at fault, although the award is reduced by their percentage of fault. Recovery is barred at 51 percent or more. In premises cases, the owner's insurer routinely argues that the injured person was partly to blame, which makes the fault analysis central.
The most common defense is that the hazard was open and obvious, meaning the injured person should have seen and avoided it. South Carolina courts do consider whether a condition was open and obvious. Still, visibility does not automatically defeat a claim, particularly when the owner created the hazard or when the layout of the property made avoidance impractical. A condition can be visible and still unreasonably dangerous, and the owner's duty is not erased simply because a hazard could theoretically have been seen.
Insurers also argue that the injured person was distracted or not watching where they were going. These arguments go to comparative fault, and they are met by shifting the focus to the owner's failure to maintain the property. Because even a finding of partial fault reduces the recovery, and a finding of majority fault defeats it, establishing the owner's responsibility and minimizing any share attributed to the injured person is often where a premises case is won.
Summerville spans Dorchester and Charleston Counties, so the proper court depends on where the premises injury occurred. A case arising on the Dorchester County side may proceed in the First Judicial Circuit at the Dorchester County Courthouse, 5200 East Jim Bilton Boulevard in St. George. A case arising on the Charleston County side may proceed in the Ninth Judicial Circuit at the courthouse at 100 Broad Street in Charleston.
Premises injuries range widely in severity, from sprains and bruises to catastrophic and fatal harm. Falls, especially from height or on stairs, can cause traumatic brain injuries, spinal damage, hip and wrist fractures, and other serious injuries, and older adults are particularly vulnerable to severe consequences from a fall. A negligent-security assault or a serious structural failure can produce life-altering injuries.
When a serious premises injury occurs in the Summerville area, the injured may be treated at HCA Summerville Hospital or, for serious trauma, at Trident Medical Center in North Charleston, the area's Level II trauma center, with the most catastrophic cases going to MUSC's Level I center in Charleston. The medical records generated from the initial treatment through rehabilitation establish the severity of the injury and form the backbone of the damages claim. Many premises injuries require surgery and extended recovery, and some leave permanent effects.
The consequences extend beyond the immediate injury. A serious fall can lead to lasting mobility limitations, chronic pain, and a reduced ability to work, and the costs of ongoing care and lost earning capacity often exceed the initial medical bills. Capturing the full scope of the injury, including its future consequences, is essential to a claim that addresses the real impact rather than just the emergency room visit.
Some premises injuries occur on government property, such as a public building, a park, a school, or a publicly owned facility, and those claims follow different and shorter rules. When the property is owned or maintained by a governmental entity, the South Carolina Tort Claims Act governs the claim. In addition to its special limitations periods and damages caps, the Act contains statutory exceptions to governmental liability that must be considered based on the facts.
The South Carolina Tort Claims Act, S.C. Code Ann. § 15-78-120 (2023), also caps recovery against a government entity at $300,000 per person and $600,000 per occurrence, and it bars punitive damages against the government. These limits and the shorter deadlines mean a premises claim against a public entity must be handled differently from one against a private owner, and the one-year verified-claim step in particular can catch an injured person off guard. In an area with significant public property, from government buildings to parks to schools, an injury on what appears to be ordinary property may in fact trigger these rules.
Because it is not always obvious whether a property is publicly or privately owned, or whether a public entity is responsible for its maintenance, identifying the correct owner early is essential to protecting the claim. A premises injury on what looks like ordinary property may in fact involve a government entity and the Tort Claims Act's shorter clock, and missing the verified-claim step can end an otherwise valid claim.
Premises cases are won on evidence that establishes the hazard, the owner's notice, and the timeline, and much of it disappears quickly. Photographs of the dangerous condition, taken as soon as possible after the injury, preserve what the hazard looked like before it is cleaned up or repaired, and they document lighting, weather, and the surrounding conditions. This early documentation is often the single most valuable step an injured person can take.
The owner's records are central to proving notice. Surveillance footage can show when a hazard appeared and how long it persisted; inspection and maintenance logs reveal whether the owner met its duty to monitor the property. Incident reports document what the owner knew. Because businesses often record over footage within days and have no incentive to preserve unfavorable records, a prompt preservation demand is essential to securing this evidence before it is lost.
Witnesses and medical records complete the case. People who saw the hazard or the fall, who can describe how long a condition had been present, and who can confirm the injured person's lawful status all carry weight, and they are easiest to identify soon after the event. Because the deadline is generally three years under S.C. Code § 15-3-530(5), but the key evidence is time-sensitive, acting early is frequently decisive in a premises case.
The steps taken after an injury on someone's property can determine whether a claim succeeds, because the evidence these cases depend on is both decisive and quickly lost. The first priority is medical attention, both for health and to document the injury at its origin, since a gap between the injury and treatment gives an owner's insurer room to argue the injury was minor or unrelated. Some injuries from a fall worsen over hours or days, so prompt evaluation matters even when an injury seems minor at first.
Reporting and documenting come next. Report the injury to the property owner or manager and ask that an incident report be created, which establishes an official record of when and where the injury occurred. If you are able, photograph the hazard, the surrounding area, the lighting, and any absent warning signs before anything is cleaned up, and note the names and contact information of any witnesses who can describe the condition or how long it had been present.
In the days that follow, preserve everything and be careful with communications. Keep a file of medical records, bills, and any correspondence, and keep the footwear and clothing you were wearing, which can rebut an argument that your own footwear or conduct caused the injury. Avoid giving a recorded statement to the property owner's insurer before understanding your rights. Because the most important evidence, the footage and the timeline, is controlled by the owner and disposed of quickly, seeking advice early is often what allows a preservation demand to go out before the evidence is lost.
| Visitor status | Who it describes | Owner's duty |
| Invitee | Customer or business guest | Highest duty: inspect, fix hazards, and warn |
| Licensee | Social guest | Warn of known hidden dangers; no duty to inspect |
| Trespasser | Person without permission | Only the duty not to inflict willful or wanton injury |
| Child | Child drawn by a hazard | Attractive nuisance protections may apply |
Yes, South Carolina sets the owner's duty by your status. Invitees are owed a duty of reasonable or ordinary care, licensees a lesser one, and trespassers very little, with special protections for children.
If the property owner or its employee created the dangerous condition, separate proof of notice may not be required. Otherwise, the injured person generally must prove the owner had actual or constructive knowledge of the condition and failed to correct it. Constructive notice means the hazard existed long enough that the owner should have discovered and fixed it.
A condition being open and obvious does not always defeat an invitee’s claim. A landowner may still have a duty when the landowner should reasonably anticipate that the invitee could be harmed despite knowing of or being able to see the condition.
A wrongful death claim runs three years from the date of death, not from the date of injury under S.C. Code Ann. § 15-3-530(5) (2023). If the injured person is a minor, the deadline is tolled during minority under the South Carolina Minor Tolling Statute, S.C. Code Ann. § 15-3-40 (2023). And if a government property owner is responsible, the South Carolina Tort Claims Act deadline applies instead: two years unless a verified claim is filed within one year, in which case it is three.
Yes, as long as you were 50 percent or less at fault. Your recovery is reduced by your percentage, and barred at 51 percent or more.
The Arndt Law Firm builds every Summerville premises case around the questions that decide it: the injured person's status, the owner's duty, and whether actual or constructive notice can be proven, moving quickly to preserve the surveillance footage and maintenance records that establish the hazard's timeline. Because attorney Arndt previously defended insurers and institutional clients, the firm anticipates the open-and-obvious and lack-of-notice defenses that property owners raise and builds the case to overcome them.
If you were injured on unsafe property in Summerville or anywhere in the tri-county Lowcountry, acting early protects the footage and records that prove notice, much of which the owner controls and can be lost within days. The consultation is free; premises cases are handled on a contingency basis with no fee unless there is a recovery, and the evidence that establishes how long a hazard existed is most available right after the injury. Reach out through our contact page to discuss what happened, and see how these rules apply across the state on our South Carolina premises liability page.
Last reviewed: June 2026
This page was reviewed by Jonathan S. Arndt, licensed in South Carolina since 2018.
Content is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Consult a licensed South Carolina attorney for guidance specific to your situation.
