While the average person might immediately think of criminal issues such as murder when the topic of death and the law is mentioned, death and the law interact in a variety of ways. From the civil side such as probate matters dealing with a decedent’s estate to criminal issues such as homicide, the issue of death appears in the law.  A search of the word “death” in the S.C. Code Annotated online reveals 314 entries in many titles including Title 12 Taxation to Title 35 Securities.  Below is a brief overview of the ways death has crept into South Carolina Law.

Title 15 Death by Wrongful Act and Lynching. 

S.C. Code Ann. §§15-51-10 through 15-51-60 provides the basis for the wrongful death and survival actions filed in South Carolina.  S.C. Code Ann. §15-51-10 provides:

Whenever the death of a person shall be caused by the wrongful act, neglect or default of another and the act, neglect or default is such as would, if death had not ensued, have entitled the party injured to maintain an action and recover damages in respect thereof, the person who would have been liable, if death had not ensued, shall be liable to an action for damages, notwithstanding the death of the person injured, although the death shall have been caused under such circumstances as make the killing in law a felony. In the event of the death of the wrongdoer, such cause of action shall survive against his personal representative.

Code sections 15-51-20 through 15-51-60 address who can bring the action, how damages can be determined, the effects of illegitimacy, and advises all damage awards must be approved by the courts.  Interestingly, this title also provides the basis for civil liability for lynching but only the county’s liability. S.C. Code Ann. § 15 -51-210 states the county where a lynching occurs is always liable when death occurs, for at least two thousand dollars in exemplary damages, without regard for the conduct of its officers.  The section further states the county can pursue recover of those damages against the parties who engaged in the lynching.  

Title 52 Amusement Rides and Athletic Contest

Title 52 has a surprising number of references to death.  For example, S.C. Code Ann. §52-19-280 requires owners of bungee jump operations to immediately report all serious injuries or deaths to Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation and cease operations until given permission to resume. Interestingly, under S.C. Code Ann. § 52-21-50, the operator of a skating rink is not liable for injury or the death of a skater or spectator due to the inherent risks of skating, unless the operator engaged in a wanton act in breach of his duty under S.C. Code Ann. § 52-21-20.  Further, the S.C. Code of Laws does not have any reporting requirements for operators of ice or roller rinks.  

Clearly, the issue of death is considered in a variety of ways from determining amount of damages, to liability risk, to punishment for a criminal offense.  Listed below are two law library books for further reading about death and the law. All of the cited South Carolina Code sections are available online at https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/statmast.php .

From Lynch Mobs to the Killing State: Race and the Death Penalty in America, edited by Charles J. Ogletree, Jr. & Austin Sarat, call number KF9227.C2 F76 2006.

The South Carolina Law of Torts, Patrick Hubbard & Robert Felix, call number SC KFS1995.H82 2011 and Lexis.

Joanna Averch

         

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