South Carolina cases can hinge on timing—both for evidence and for required legal steps. In the days after a fall, facilities may claim they followed protocol, and documentation can become harder to obtain if you wait.
Take these immediate steps:
- Request the incident report and any fall risk assessment updates around the time of the fall.
- Ask for the resident’s care plan (including transfer, toileting, and mobility instructions).
- Document what you can: date/time, where the fall occurred (room, hall, bathroom), what the resident was doing, and what staff said.
- If video may exist, ask the facility to preserve surveillance footage.
- Keep copies of ER/urgent care records, imaging, discharge summaries, and rehab recommendations.
Even if you’re unsure whether you have a claim, early collection of records can make a major difference.


