File a Summons and Complaint in the Richland County Court of Common Pleas within 3 years if the fall happened on private property like a hotel, apartment complex, store, or wedding venue in Columbia. If it happened on city, county, or state property, the South Carolina Tort Claims Act can shorten that to 2 years, or 3 years if a verified claim is filed first. Your immigration status does not cancel your right to bring a South Carolina injury claim.

To prove it, gather evidence fast:

• Photos or video of the exact hazard: wet floor, broken stair, loose handrail, bad lighting, uneven sidewalk, or a collapsed retaining wall
• The incident report from the property owner, manager, or security desk
• Medical records tying the fall to your injury, like a separated shoulder / AC joint diagnosis from Prisma Health Richland, Lexington Medical Center, or another Columbia provider
• Witness names and numbers, especially workers, guests, or tenants who saw the fall or knew the hazard was there before
• Texts, voicemails, schedule screenshots, or threats from a boss about calling immigration, cutting hours, or firing you for reporting what happened
• Proof of where you were working that day: pay stubs, shift sheets, catering schedules, or uniform photos

South Carolina premises cases often turn on notice. You need proof the owner knew or should have known about the danger and failed to fix it or warn people. In Columbia, that can mean showing a hotel ignored a spill during a busy wedding, an apartment complex left stairs unrepaired after heavy rain, or a parking lot stayed dangerous during back-to-school traffic near bus stops and school zones.

If the fall was while working someone else's property, you may also have a workers' comp claim against the employer and a third-party premises claim against the property owner. Those are separate. Your boss does not get to veto either one.