South Carolina § 44-54-40 - Persons who may bring action; persons against whom actions may be brought; damages recoverable.

§ 44-54-40. Persons who may bring action; persons against whom actions may be brought; damages recoverable.

(A) Any one or more of the following persons may bring an action for damages caused by an individual's use of an illegal controlled substance against those persons enumerated in subsection (B) of this section:

(1) a parent, legal custodian, child, spouse, or sibling of the individual user;

(2) an individual who was exposed to an illegal controlled substance in utero;

(3) an employer of the individual user;

(4) a medical facility, insurer, employer, governmental entity, or other legal entity that funds a drug treatment program or other employee assistance program for or that otherwise expends money on behalf of the individual user; or

(5) a person injured as a result of the wilful, reckless, or negligent actions of an individual user.

(B) A person entitled to bring an action pursuant to subsection (A) of this section may seek damages from one or more of the following:

(1) a person who sold, administered, or furnished an illegal controlled substance to the individual user; or

(2) a person who knowingly participated in the marketing of an illegal controlled substance, if all of the following apply:

(a) The place of illegal activity by the individual user is within the municipality, county, or unincorporated area of the county in which the defendant's place of participation is situated.

(b) The defendant's participation in the marketing of illegal controlled substances was connected with the same type of illegal controlled substance used by the individual user, and the defendant has been convicted of an offense for that type of specified illegal controlled substance, which he committed in the same county as the individual user's place of use.

(c) The defendant participated in the marketing of illegal controlled substances at any time during the period in which the individual user used the illegal controlled substance.

(C) As used in paragraph B(2) of this section, "knowingly participated in the marketing of an illegal controlled substance" means an individual was convicted of possession with the intent to distribute or distribution of an illegal controlled substance in violation of Chapter 53 of Title 44, Poisons, Drugs, and Other Controlled Substances, Section 44-53-10, et seq.

(D) A person entitled to bring an action under this section may recover all of the following damages:

(1) economic damages including, but not limited to, the cost of treatment and rehabilitation, medical expenses, loss of economic or educational potential, loss of productivity, absenteeism, support expenses, accidents or injury, and any other pecuniary loss proximately caused by the use of an illegal controlled substance;

(2) noneconomic damages including, but not limited to, physical and emotional pain and suffering, physical impairment, emotional distress, mental anguish, disfigurement, loss of enjoyment, loss of companionship, services, and consortium, and other nonpecuniary losses proximately caused by an individual's use of an illegal controlled substance;

(3) exemplary damages;

(4) reasonable attorney fees; and

(5) costs of suit including, but not limited to, reasonable expenses for expert testimony.

HISTORY: 1999 Act No. 62, SECTION 1.