A workers compensation claim can be filed in South Carolina if the injured worker was hired in South Carolina, injured in South Carolina, or if South Carolina is where his employment is located.
Workers’ compensation is no-fault insurance that almost every South Carolina employer with four or more employees must carry. If you’re injured on the job, workers’ comp should cover:
- All your medical expenses
- Approximately two-thirds of your lost wages
- Vocational re-training
- Death benefit/funeral expenses
You may not be fired for filing a claim, and you don’t have to prove your employer did anything wrong to cause your injury or illness. Even if you caused your own accident, you may still file for benefits.
South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Exceptions
Each state in the U.S. administers its own workers’ comp program. In South Carolina, the program is overseen by the South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Commission (SCWCC). Its deadlines and other procedural requirements may differ slightly from those of other states.
The only exceptions to this rule are certain employers not required by law to purchase workers’ comp coverage and certain employees who aren’t eligible to receive it:
- Railroad workers
- Real estate agents
- Business partners
- Sole proprietors
- Workers for an employer with fewer than four employees (unless the amployer has elected to come under the Act)
- Agricultural workers
- Independent contractors or casual employees
- Federal employees working in South Carolina
Filing a South Carolina Claim
If you do not fall into one of the exempt/ineligible categories above, you should begin the following process as soon as you’re injured or diagnosed with an occupational illness:
- Report your injury or illness to your boss or a claims administrator at your workplace. You have 90 days to do this, but you should not wait.
- File a Form 50 (or 52 for the death of a loved one) via the SCWCC website. Although you have two years to file, don’t wait.
- See the doctor recommended by your employer’s insurance company (not your own doctor).
- Follow all treatment guidelines and take medications as prescribed.
- Keep receipts and documentation of all medical treatment or related expenses.
- Consult a workers’ comp attorney if:
- Your claim is denied.
- You’re offered insufficient benefits.
- The insurance company is slow to approve necessary treatments.
- You don’t feel your treatment is helping you recover.
- You’re cleared to return to work before you feel you’re ready.
Have You Been Injured On The Job?
If you've been hurt at your job you can speak with a workers' compensation lawyer. Please contact us online or call our Charleston, South Carolina office directly at 843.488.2359 to schedule your consultation. We are also able to meet clients at our Conway, Myrtle Beach, Murrells Inlet, Mt. Pleasant, North Myrtle Beach or North Charleston office locations.
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