Being injured on the job can be scary and upsetting. This is especially true if the injury suffered is serious enough to prevent the worker from returning to the job, resulting in medical bills and lost wages. Knowing what to expect after an on-the-job injury can give you some actionable steps and peace of mind. In this post, we’ll take a look at how South Carolina workers’ compensation settlements work.
At the Marc Brown Law Firm, our South Carolina workers’ compensation lawyer can represent you if you have been injured on the job. Contact us today to request a free consultation.
Types of Compensation Available in a Workers’ Compensation Settlement
The first thing you should familiarize yourself with if you are pursuing workers’ compensation benefits is the types of benefits that are available. Under South Carolina’s workers’ compensation law, benefits include the following:
- Medical expenses. A worker who is involved in a workplace accident is entitled to the full extent of medical care that they need. All medical expenses that are reasonable and necessary should be covered under workers’ compensation insurance, including surgeries, hospital stays, doctors’ visits, prescription medications, rehabilitation, and more.
- Temporary total compensation for lost time. If a worker is unable to work due to a workplace injury or an occupational illness, then they are eligible for payment to compensate them for lost wages if they miss work for more than seven days. If they cannot return to work for at least 14 days, then they will also be eligible for compensation for the first seven days.
- Permanent disability benefits. In some cases, a worker is involved in an accident that’s so severe that they suffer a permanent disability. Compensation is available in the form of permanent partial disability benefits and permanent total disability benefits. Partial disability benefits are offered when the employee is able to perform some type of work, but cannot perform the same type of work that they did prior to the accident. Permanent disability benefits, on the other hand, are for those workers who have been in workplace accidents that resulted in the loss of both hands, feet, arms, legs, vision in both eyes, or a combination of these losses.
Note that the above benefit types are paid on a case-by-case basis—while all workers who require medical care are eligible for medical benefits through workers’ compensation, only those who meet certain criteria will qualify for wage replacement benefits or permanent disability benefits.
What Types of Injuries are Common In Workers’ Compensation Cases In South Carolina?
When an injury prevents you from returning to work during a recovery period, keeps you from returning in your previous capacity, or prevents you from returning to work at all, it’s an overwhelming and frightening experience, leaving you facing an uncertain future. Injuries in South Carolina workers’ compensation claims range from mild, fully recoverable injuries to life-altering disability. Common injuries in workers’ compensation claims include the following:
- Back injuries
- Neck injuries
- Repetitive motion injuries
- Soft-tissue injuries such as sprains, strains, torn ligaments, and tendon damage
- Broken bones
- Lacerations, contusions, and abrasions
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Burns, scalds, and chemical burns
- Radiation exposures
- Illnesses from toxic exposures
- Electrocution injury
- Crush injuries
- Traumatic amputations
- Spinal cord injuries
- Facial and dental injuries
In some cases, South Carolina workers’ compensation considers PTSD a work-related injury. For instance, if an employee’s PTSD resulted from a workplace assault or act of violence, or if an employee witnesses an act of violence or a fatality while at work, and there is a clear link between the violence and the conditions of the work environment. It takes skillful legal representation to obtain workers’ compensation for PTSD.
What to Do After a Workplace Injury In South Carolina?
After suffering a severe injury at work, you could be incapacitated and unable to take any steps to protect yourself; however, many injury victims can take purposeful action despite their injury and take steps to protect their physical and financial futures. After an on-the-job injury, it’s important to apply emergency medical treatment and call 911 to request an ambulance or arrange transportation to a hospital or urgent care center (if your injuries aren’t life-threatening). Then, while waiting for transportation to a hospital, use your phone’s camera to take photos of anything that caused or was relevant to the accident, such as a broken ladder, collapsed scaffolding, or a dangling cord that caused you to trip and fall. Take photos of any visible injuries. Note the names of any coworkers who witnessed the accident. Report the accident to your immediate supervisor and request that they fill out an accident report.
In most cases, it’s not necessary to see a provider on your employer’s list for emergency medical treatment at an emergency room, but it’s essential to choose a provider from your employer’s list for all further care.
Report your injury to your employer in writing as soon as possible. South Carolina provides an official form for reporting injuries to employers. An injury victim must report the accident to their employer within 90 days of the date the injury occurred.
Contact a South Carolina workers’ compensation attorney for legal representation before filing your claim. A significant number of workers’ compensation claims are undervalued or denied due to filing errors and other mistakes that don’t allow the injury victim to recover the maximum compensation available.
How Is a South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Settlement Calculated?
How each benefit type is calculated varies. Again, medical benefits are paid in full—you should not have to pay for any of your medical expenses out of pocket.
Calculating temporary total compensation benefits (wage replacement benefits) and permanent disability benefits is slightly more complicated, though. Let’s take a closer look.
Compensation For Lost Wages
Remember, you are only eligible for compensation for lost wages if your injury prevents you from returning to work for at least seven days; if you miss work for 14 days or more, you can be compensated for the first seven days that you missed work, too. Compensation for lost wages is based on the amount of money that you were earning prior to your accident. The rate at which payment will be offered is 66 ⅔ percent of your average weekly wage prior to the injury. However, the weekly amount that you receive cannot exceed the maximum limit set forth by the state. For the year 2020, South Carolina’s maximum weekly compensation rate in a workers’ compensation case is $866.67.
Compensation For Permanent Disability
South Carolina Code of Laws Section 42-9-30 outlines how certain disabilities are to be compensated. Specifically, the amount of compensation that is paid and the duration for which payments will be made is based on the type of body part that has been lost/rendered totally disabled. For example, the loss of a thumb is compensated at 66 ⅔ percent of the worker’s average weekly wage prior to the injury for a total of 65 weeks. However, the loss of an eye will result in compensation of 66 ⅔ percent of the worker’s average weekly wage prior to the accident for a total of 140 weeks.
One of the complications with calculating based on “average weekly wage” is that this calculation often fails to account for items like overtime wages, bonuses, and wages from multiple jobs. Our lawyers will work to make sure that these are accounted for when your workers’ compensation settlement is calculated.
Settlement Negotiations: What Happens If You Can’t Reach a Settlement?
It is critical that you understand that you are under no obligation whatsoever to accept the first settlement that you are offered by a workers’ compensation insurer. In fact, it is usually within your best interests to deny a first settlement offer and negotiate for a greater compensation award.
Negotiations may go back and forth for weeks or even months. We strongly recommend working with a skilled workers’ compensation attorney who has experience negotiating claims like yours.
The goal is to settle your case out of court—this will save you time and money and is typically less contentious and stressful. However, if you are not offered a settlement that you deserve, your employer/insurer refuses to negotiate, or if your claim is denied altogether, you can request a hearing before the Workers’ Compensation Commission, and the commissioner will rule on the case. If you disagree with the commissioner’s decision, you maintain the right to file an appeal.
What Factors Might Affect My South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Settlement?
A skilled workers’ compensation attorney works tirelessly to maximize the amount of your workers’ compensation settlement, but the following factors ultimately affect the final result of your case:
- The severity of your injury and the “impairment rating” assigned to you by your doctor
- The impact of your injury on your ability to work
- Whether your injury requires future medical treatment or rehabilitation
- Your average weekly wages before the injury
- Whether or not you lost a body part or experienced a catastrophic injury
- If you’ve received injury-related treatment through a doctor who is not on your employer’s approved medical provider list
- If you failed to follow your doctor’s treatment recommendations
Additionally, whether or not you reported your injury to your employer within the 90-day time limit, and how well you documented your injury treatment and related expenses, may factor into the eventual settlement decision. Gathering your records and consulting with a skilled South Carolina workers’ compensation attorney is the best way to maximize your chances of a favorable outcome.
Can I File a Lawsuit After a Workplace Injury In South Carolina?
All South Carolina employers with four or more employees are required to carry workers’ compensation insurance. Not only does workers’ compensation provide medical expenses and a portion of an injury victim’s income after a workplace injury, but it is also a legal contract that protects the employer from lawsuits. Under most circumstances, an injury victim cannot file a lawsuit against their employer; instead, they must file a claim against their employer’s workers’ compensation insurance.
You may be able to file a lawsuit against a third party if the injury directly resulted from the negligence of a non-employer in the workplace. For example, if you suffered an injury caused by any of the following:
- A careless or reckless driver while you were driving for a work-related reason
- A contractor or subcontractor
- A negligent property owner, if your work took you to property not owned by your employer, such as a construction project, or while making a delivery
- The manufacturer of a defective product or equipment
If a non-employer’s actions caused your on-the-job injury, you could recover additional compensation through a lawsuit. For example, a lawsuit could recover compensation for non-economic damages like pain and suffering or disfigurement, which isn’t available from workers’ compensation.
An experienced workers’ compensation attorney from Marc Brown Law Firm will explore all available avenues for your compensation.
Get Legal Help Today
Now that you know how South Carolina workers’ compensation settlements work, our experienced legal team at Marc Brown Law Firm is ready to assist you. If you have been injured at work, we want to help you recover the settlement that you deserve. Contact us today for a free consultation, and learn more about the workers’ compensation settlement process, your rights, and how working with a lawyer may improve the outcome of your case.