What Is a South Carolina FR-10 Form?

When police officers respond to car accidents, they complete South Carolina accident reports to document the details of the accidents. Part of this documentation is the insurance verification form, called the South Carolina FR-10 form, which the officer gives to every driver involved in the accident.

The operator or owner of a motor vehicle involved in an accident resulting in property damage of $400 or more or in bodily injury or death must complete the FR-10, regardless of whether a law enforcement officer investigated the accident.

Read on to learn more about the South Carolina FR-10 form and what to do after you’ve been in an accident.

What Is a South Carolina FR-10 Form?

The FR-10 form is the one-page SC accident report that serves as verification that each driver has the proper liability insurance coverage as required by SC law. Typically, the responding police officer fills out a portion of the FR-10 form and gives it to all the drivers involved in the accident.

Then, these drivers are required to work with their insurance companies to fill out the rest of the form and submit it and proof of liability insurance (either electronically or via mail) to the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles (SC DMV) within 15 days of the accident.

How Important Is a FR-10 Form?

The FR-10 form in South Carolina is extremely important. If you fail to complete and submit the FR-10 within 15 days of the accident, the SC DMV can assume that the vehicle is uninsured and this could result in the suspension of your driver license and registration privileges.

South Carolina Post-Accident Procedure

Immediately after a car accident, we recommend that you take the following steps in SC:

1. Call 911 and secure the accident scene.

1. Seek medical care and evaluation.

1. Exchange information with the other driver and document the accident scene details.

1. Contact a car accident attorney before you talk to the insurance company.

Here is a detailed checklist of the many other things you should do after an accident. Note that this list is detailed, but it is not specific to South Carolina. So in addition to the to-do’s on this list, be sure to remember to fill out and submit your FR-10 form within 15 days of the accident.

There are also things you should not do after a car accident. This article covers what you should do (and not do) after a car accident.

Contact the Law Offices of James Scott Farrin for a free case evaluation. We can guide you through the various steps of the post-accident procedure. We’ve been helping car accident victims since 1997.

How to Determine Who Is at Fault in an SC Accident?

Analyzing the SC Highway Patrol accident report helps determine who may be at fault in an SC accident, but S.C. law generally prohibits the submission of the report as evidence of driver negligence in cases that go to court. If you have been injured in an accident and are seeking compensation for your harms and losses, consult with a car accident attorney to help investigate the crash and determine possible liability.

An experienced attorney can help you try to determine, as applicable:

- Who had the right-of-way

- Who failed to yield

- Who disregarded traffic signals or signs

- Whether there were eye-witnesses

- Whether you had any percentage of blame for the accident

To answer these and other questions critical to determining fault, an attorney may investigate the crash by:

- Reviewing the police report and any photos of the accident

- Interviewing witnesses

- Enlisting the help of an accident reconstructionist, if needed

- Reviewing any blood alcohol test results

It is important to note that what you say to the insurance company can also impact the determination of liability. In general, insurance companies are for-profit businesses and many may want to protect their profit position by paying as little as possible in compensation to claimants. They may take what you say to try to reduce or deny your claim.

We recommend that victims talk to an attorney before talking to the insurance company. Call us at 1-866-900-7078 for a free case evaluation. We can help you try to determine who was at fault in your accident.

What Is Comparative Negligence?

South Carolina follows the doctrine of comparative negligence. This means that any potential compensation you may receive from the accident can be reduced by your amount of responsibility for it. And if it is determined that you are more than 50% responsible for the accident, you generally cannot seek any compensation.

As you can imagine, some insurance companies may try to assign you a higher percentage of blame to limit or eliminate the amount they pay in compensation.

How Can James Scott Farrin Help Your Claim?

Our firm can fight for your rights after you have been injured in a car accident. Our firm has helped more than 60,000 injured people since 1997. We can help you read a South Carolina accident report so that you can identify any omissions or mistakes that could later injure your chances to receive compensation. We will counsel you on how to deal with the insurance company as well as how to seek the maximum compensation.

We work on a contingency fee basis so that our services are available to those seeking legal counsel, even if they don’t have the funds to retain a lawyer at the outset of the case. Simply put, there is no hourly fee charged by our firm, so if we do not recover compensation from your claim, there is no attorney’s fee.²