South Carolina car wreck cases turn on proof. You can tell your story to the adjuster ten different ways, but until you put paper and data behind it, the needle barely moves. Subpoenas are the workhorse for getting that proof. Used well, they pull reluctant documents out of corporate files, preserve fleeting data before it is deleted, and put guardrails around witnesses who would rather not cooperate. Used carelessly, they burn time, draw sanctions, and tip the defense to your strategy without much payoff.
I have sent subpoenas to convenience stores for ten minutes of security footage that changed settlement posture from nuisance to policy limits. I have also watched lawyers blow deadlines and lose telematics from a truck before anyone realized it existed. The difference is planning, speed, and a clean understanding of South Carolina law on subpoenas, discovery, and preservation.
This guide walks through how an auto accident attorney in South Carolina builds fault using subpoenas, with practical steps that translate across car, truck, and motorcycle cases. It covers who to subpoena, when to start, how to keep it compliant, and where the traps lie. It also explains how a car accident lawyer pairs subpoenas with preservation letters, Rule 34 requests, inspections, and, when needed, a motion to compel. The same fundamentals help a truck accident lawyer secure black-box data, or a motorcycle accident lawyer rescue helmet-cam footage before it is overwritten.
What a subpoena can and cannot do in South Carolina
A subpoena is a court-backed command to produce documents, appear to testify, or allow inspection of tangible things. In South Carolina, Rule 45 of the South Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure controls the form, service, timelines, and protections. A few concepts matter in practice:
- You do not need court permission to issue a subpoena in a pending case. Lawyers sign and issue them as officers of the court. You cannot use a civil subpoena before a lawsuit is filed, except in limited pre-suit discovery scenarios that require court involvement. For most auto injury claims, you file the complaint first if you need subpoena power to third parties. A subpoena cannot impose undue burden or require disclosure of privileged information. It also cannot be used to harass or fish without reasonable relevance to the claims. Non-parties can and do push back. They may object, demand reasonable costs for gathering voluminous data, or ask the court to quash or modify the request.
The federal rules operate similarly, and they matter when you sue in federal court or when the non-party is out of state. In state court, you stick to South Carolina practice, including county-specific quirks about clerk endorsements, witness fees, and scheduling. A capable accident attorney keeps a checklist for each county.
The timing that protects evidence before it vanishes
Speed beats argument when it comes to electronic data. Dash cameras overwrite in weeks, sometimes days. Small businesses purge video for storage, often at 7 to 14 days. Phone companies do not keep historical location data forever. Telematics from passenger cars may be saved automatically, but the back-end cloud accounts can be wiped by a new owner or a factory reset.
The first move is not a subpoena, because you may not have a case on file yet. The first move is a preservation letter that goes to anyone who might control evidence: the at-fault driver’s insurer, a trucking company, a rideshare provider, a nearby store with exterior cameras, a tow yard, even a city traffic management office. The letter should be prompt, specific, and professional. It puts the recipient on notice to preserve categories of evidence, and it sets the stage for later sanctions if they fail to act.
Once the complaint is filed and service is in motion, subpoenas go out. In a serious crash, I aim to issue third-party subpoenas within 7 to 10 days of filing, and I do not wait for the defense to answer before locking down volatile data. In truck cases, delay kills the ECM harvest. In motorcycle cases, nearby gas station footage can be the only unbiased witness to rider position and speed.
Who to subpoena in typical South Carolina crash cases
No two collisions are identical, but the playbook has familiar targets that yield high-value evidence.
Nearby businesses and homes with cameras. Exterior-facing cameras on storefronts, drive-throughs, and residential doorbells often capture approach angles, headlights, and signal phases. A car crash lawyer who canvasses early, then follows with a subpoena for a copy of the relevant time window, can fix speed and lane position better than any reconstruction opinion alone.
Vehicle owners and dealerships. For newer vehicles, telematics, service histories, and software updates matter. In brake-failure claims, a subpoena to the dealership for prior repair orders has won more than one liability fight. In disputed deployment of airbags, the service center’s diagnostic pull can show fault codes that contradict a clean defense narrative.
Law enforcement agencies. The police incident report is just the start. A subpoena for all CAD logs, body cam, dash cam, 911 recordings, scene photographs, and total station data gives you the raw record. In South Carolina, agencies are used to public records requests, but a subpoena with a litigation tag tends to speed compliance and avoids redactions that sometimes appear in FOIA responses.
Cell carriers and tech companies. Text content is hard to get, but call logs, session times, and certain app metadata may be available with a proper subpoena or, at times, a court order. If texting while driving is suspected and the timeline matters, targeted carrier records tied to a short window can be decisive. For rideshare or delivery crashes, a subpoena to the platform can yield driver status, app pings, trip data, and, in some cases, speed and route segments.
Commercial motor carriers. Truck cases are a different animal. A truck crash lawyer focuses subpoenas on the McDougall Injury Lawyer Workers compensation lawyer near me motor carrier’s driver qualification file, hours-of-service records, ELD or ECM downloads, dispatch logs, bills of lading, maintenance schedules, and post-crash inspections. You are building not just a driver error claim, but potentially a negligent entrustment or supervision claim. The subpoena dovetails with a spoliation letter that names each data source, because federal regulations require specific record retention periods that may otherwise expire.
Towing and storage yards. Wreckers sometimes take photos, and storage lots may hold vehicles long enough for an inspection. A subpoena to the yard for intake photos, inventory logs, and any removal records can help if the defense later claims unknown damage or a missing part.
Hospitals and EMS providers. Medical records prove injury, but they also often include mechanism notes, scene descriptions, and impaired observations. A car wreck lawyer draws a sharp line between necessary treatment records and everything under the sun. Tight framing avoids unnecessary personal disclosures while still getting what matters for fault and damages.
Road authorities. Construction zones, malfunctioning signals, and missing signage can shift fault. Subpoenas to SCDOT or a city traffic department for traffic signal timing plans, maintenance logs, lane closure permits, or work zone plans can rebut a defense that blames the driver alone.
Drafting subpoenas that actually pull usable evidence
Clarity reduces excuses. A subpoena should name the custodian, define the time window, and specify the types of documents or data with enough detail that a records clerk can pull them without guessing. If you want native electronic files, say so. If you need metadata, say so. If you are asking for video, include the camera number if you know it, and specify the desired playback format.
Avoid the temptation to ask for “any and all documents relating to the accident” when targeting a non-party with limited resources. Courts dislike fishing expeditions on non-parties. Scope the request to what you truly need to prove speed, signal, impairment, maintenance, or policy compliance. A narrowly tailored subpoena lands better and survives an objection more often.
Tie production to a realistic date and location. Offer secure electronic delivery, and make it easy. Provide a contact who can answer questions without forcing a clerk to endure phone tag.
Finally, add a litigation hold reminder within the subpoena cover letter. While the subpoena compels production, the hold request preserves what lies outside the initial scope but may become relevant after you see the first wave of records.
Handling objections, motions, and protective orders
Good-faith dialogue solves most subpoena fights. If a store manager says they can only export in a proprietary format, take it and arrange a player later. If a carrier wants reasonable copying costs, pay them. If a hospital insists on a HIPAA-compliant form or a specific release, comply and move along.
There are times to stand firm. When a trucking company balks at producing ELD data beyond eight days, your subpoena should reference the federal retention rules, and your motion to compel should explain why this ESI is central to liability. When a cell provider rejects a standard subpoena for content records, you assess whether a court order or a narrowly focused timeline is proper under privacy laws. Judges reward lawyers who requested only what they need and who come prepared with the rule citations.
Protective orders often help. If a non-party worries about proprietary data, stipulate to a confidentiality order that limits use to the litigation. That removes a common roadblock and avoids later motions to seal.
Chain of custody and authenticity
Getting a video clip is not the finish line. You need to prove authenticity. For non-parties, that means a records custodian affidavit or testimony that the record is kept in the ordinary course of business, along with basic details about the system. For electronic records, metadata and hash values help. In practice, a personal injury attorney will pair the subpoena with a business records affidavit form. Many custodians recognize the form and will sign. If not, plan for a short deposition of the custodian by subpoena for testimony.
With vehicle data, particularly EDR downloads, chain of custody matters. Use a qualified download technician, log every handoff, and preserve a read-only copy of the raw data. In a contested case, you want to show that neither side altered the files.
Using subpoenas alongside other discovery tools
Subpoenas do not replace party discovery. They complement it. You still serve Rule 34 requests on the defendant for vehicle photos, insurance communications, maintenance logs, and the driver’s phone preservation steps. You still depose the at-fault driver about distractions, directions of travel, and what they saw. The subpoena fills gaps that the defendant cannot or will not provide, particularly third-party data the defendant does not control.
Subpoenas also support inspections. In a disputed intersection crash, subpoena the city for the timing plan, then hire an engineer to field-verify the cycle. In a motorcycle case where the defense suggests excessive speed, combine nearby camera footage with a site inspection and crush damage analysis. The synergy builds credibility: various independent sources point to the same speed range or light phase.
How strategy shifts across vehicle types
Car against car collisions often turn on right of way, speed, distraction, and visibility. The most fruitful subpoenas target nearby video, 911 calls that capture contemporaneous statements, and phone records for narrow windows around the crash.
Truck crashes raise the stakes. A Truck accident attorney builds a broader net: ELD logs, driver qualification files, training materials, and dispatch communications. Often the fault theory includes systemic issues such as unrealistic schedules, poor supervision, or maintenance gaps. Subpoenas sharpen those angles, and early preservation letters prevent a carrier from hiding behind short retention periods.
Motorcycle crashes bring bias. Riders are often blamed for speed or lane position without proof. A Motorcycle accident lawyer uses subpoenas to pull unbiased video, helmet-cam files if they exist, and road authority records to check pavement conditions, debris complaints, or prior incidents. The point is to replace assumptions with measurable facts.
In rideshare and delivery cases, platform data matters. Subpoenas to Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, or similar services can show driver status, acceptance times, routing, and sometimes telematics. Those records help prove whether the commercial policy applies and whether app-induced distraction played a role.
Ethics, privacy, and proportionality
Strong subpoenas do not ignore privacy. Medical records should be limited to the injuries at issue and a reasonable look-back for related complaints, not a life history. Phone data should be tied to a concise window unless a larger pattern is truly relevant. When children, bystanders, or employees appear in video, consider redaction protocols or protective orders before broad dissemination in litigation.
Judges expect proportionality. If the property damage is minor and injuries are soft tissue with quick recovery, you will face skepticism if you demand months of telematics or sweeping corporate records. Calibrate your asks to the case value and the dispute at hand.
Practical example: using a single camera to flip liability
A recent T-bone crash at a Columbia intersection arrived with a familiar story. The other driver claimed a green light. Our client had the same story. The police report did not attribute fault. No independent witnesses. Before the insurer took a position, we canvassed the intersection and found a pharmacy with a camera pointed toward the roadway. We sent a same-day preservation letter, then filed suit when the insurer hedged. Seven days after filing, we issued a subpoena naming the date, time window of 15 minutes, and requested the native MP4 with the camera ID.
The pharmacy complied, but the video angle was oblique, and the light head was partly obscured by a tree. Rather than declare victory, we subpoenaed the city for the signal timing plan and the 72-hour conflict monitor log. We matched vehicle headways in the video to the known cycle. The combination showed our client entered on a protected left. The adjuster reversed position within a week of our expert letter. No shouting, just two subpoenas and a short affidavit from the custodian.
Cost control and cooperation with custodians
Non-party custodians are not adversaries. They have jobs to do and limited time. When a car accident attorney makes compliance easy, it pays off. Provide a secure upload link. Offer to pay reasonable copy fees promptly. For large productions, accept rolling delivery so the custodian does not have to finish everything before sending anything. Where a small business owner is wary, a short phone call explaining the narrow scope and the legal duty usually dissolves resistance.
Budget for expert time where needed. Video interpretation, EDR downloads, and signal timing analyses need technical input. Spend money where it changes outcome, not on every shiny possibility. A personal injury lawyer who distinguishes must-have data from nice-to-have background protects the client’s net recovery.
When to file motions and when to walk away
Not every subpoena fight is worth it. If a third party lacks the data, do not throw good hours after bad. If an alternative source exists, pivot. For example, if a gas station overwrote video, a neighboring apartment complex might still have it. If a carrier’s internal GPS is elusive, roadside weigh station records or toll data may establish a route.
There are moments to push hard. If a trucking company stonewalls on ELD or post-crash inspection reports, move to compel with a detailed affidavit from your reconstruction expert explaining why the data is necessary and proportionate. File a narrowly tailored motion, attach your preservation letters, and propose a reasonable protective order. Judges respect a clean record.
Two short checklists to keep you organized
Pre-suit preservation hits
- Identify and send holds to potential custodians within 48 to 72 hours for serious crashes: businesses with cameras, carriers, platforms, tow yards, municipalities. Specify categories: video time window, EDR/ELD data, 911 audio, CAD logs, maintenance files. Confirm receipt by email or certified mail and note the contact person. Photograph the scene promptly and map likely camera views. Calendar overwrite windows and plan suit filing if subpoena power will be necessary.
Subpoena execution best practices
- Tailor scope: define dates, times, formats, and custodians with precision. Request native electronic files and metadata where authenticity will matter. Offer easy delivery methods and cover reasonable costs. Pair with a business-records affidavit or schedule a brief custodian deposition. Track chain of custody and preserve a read-only copy of digital evidence.
The role of the right lawyer for the job
Clients often search for a car accident lawyer near me or the best car accident attorney and assume the label alone solves the evidence problem. The truth is more practical. You want an accident attorney who moves fast on preservation, writes clean subpoenas, and knows when to compel and when to negotiate. In truck cases, a Truck accident lawyer who understands federal safety rules and ELD systems makes the difference. In motorcycle claims, a Motorcycle accident attorney who refuses to accept bias and hunts for camera angles, skid evidence, and signal data changes outcomes.
If you suffered injuries at work in a vehicle crash, a Workers compensation lawyer can coordinate with the civil case to align wage loss and medical benefits without double counting. When multiple policies and forums collide, coordination between a Personal injury attorney and a Workers comp attorney avoids gaps and preserves credits.
Clients rarely see the hours behind the scenes spent on subpoenas, affidavits, and calls with record custodians. They do see the impact when an insurer stops speculating and starts negotiating because video shows the truth, the ELD shows the hours, or the 911 audio captures the admission.
Getting started now
If you are reading this while a loved one is in the hospital or your car sits in a tow yard, a simple step can protect your case. Talk to an auto injury lawyer who will send preservation letters today, not next week. Ask about their plan for third-party subpoenas in your specific scenario. A car crash lawyer should tell you which cameras they will target, which agencies they will contact, and how they will secure vehicle data. A truck wreck attorney should be ready with a carrier-specific hold list that names ELD vendors and record categories. A motorcycle accident lawyer should have a map of the intersection and a plan to validate signal timing.
Evidence does not wait for paperwork to catch up. Subpoenas, used with judgment and speed, turn a he said, she said into a fact-driven case. That is how fault is proven in South Carolina courts and why the right injury attorney treats subpoenas not as a formality, but as the backbone of the case.