What the police report says matters less than people think. For a South Carolina government claim, what usually matters more is who controlled the sidewalk, when the city had notice of the defect, and how fast you protect the deadline.

If this happened off the clock on a Charleston city sidewalk, your employer is usually not the defendant. Your claim is generally against the public entity under the South Carolina Tort Claims Act. That law has traps: the normal deadline is 2 years, but it can become 3 years only if a verified claim is filed within 1 year. Damages are capped at $300,000 per person and $600,000 per occurrence. A boss cannot lawfully threaten you into dropping a separate claim, but South Carolina is still an at-will employment state, so retaliation can be disguised as "hours changes" or "performance issues." Save texts, schedules, and write down every threat.

If you were working when you fell - for example, walking from a job site, making a delivery, or crossing near a school-zone bus stop during back-to-school traffic - you may have two claims: workers' compensation and a separate claim against the city, county, or state agency that controlled the walkway. That is where employers sometimes pressure people the hardest. Filing workers' comp and pursuing a third-party government claim are different systems. VA benefits are different too; using the VA does not erase a Charleston sidewalk claim.

If the property was not city-owned at all, the rules change fast. A fall near Meeting Street, Calhoun Street, or a storm-damaged walkway after hurricane-season flooding might involve:

• City of Charleston
• Charleston County
• SCDOT
• a private business or landlord

Do not trust a supervisor who says, "The report says you just tripped." Get photos of the crack, heaving pavement, pooled water, missing warnings, nearby school-zone signs, and any witnesses before repairs happen.