S.C. Code § 42-1-520
An officer of a corporation who elects not to operate under this title, shall, in any action to recover damages for personal injury or death brought against an employer accepting the compensation provisions of this title, proceed at common law and the employer may avail himself of the defenses of contributory negligence, negligence of a fellow servant, and assumption of risk, as such defenses exist at common law.
S.C. Code § 42-1-520
1996 Act No. 424, Section 13, provides, in part, as follows:
"Section 13. Employers who have filed with the Workers' Compensation Commission a notice to reject the provisions of Title 42 before the effective date of the 1996 amendment will have until July 1, 1997, to comply with the provisions of the 1996 amendment relating to insuring their workers' compensation liabilities. Any employer who has rejected the terms of this title prior to approval of the 1996 amendment and has procured another form of employee benefits insurance shall comply, not later than July 1, 1997, with the provisions of the 1996 amendment relating to the insuring of its workers' compensation liabilities. Furthermore, nothing in the 1996 amendment shall affect or alter any cause of action, right, or claim accruing before the effective date of the 1996 amendment; however, any such cause of action, remedy, or claim accruing before the effective date of the 1996 amendment shall be governed by the law prior to the effective date of the 1996 amendment."