Receiving Unemployment and PPD

In almost every case, workers’ comp benefits and unemployment insurance are mutually exclusive. If you lose your job while you’re off due to your work-related injury, you may continue to collect your workers’ comp benefits, but you generally cannot collect unemployment insurance at the same time. To receive unemployment, you must be available for work. If you’re collecting workers’ comp, you’re not well enough to work, so you’re not eligible for unemployment. 

The only exception is a case in which your doctors have determined that you’re permanently partially disabled (PPD) and you’re working with restrictions for a lower salary than you previously received while you look for a new job that you can perform. In this case, you might be able to collect your workers’ comp benefits and unemployment insurance at the same time. Again, the services of a workers’ comp attorney are recommended to help you handle the complexities of such a circumstance.

What Are The Potential Benefits of Hiring a Workers’ Comp Attorney?

If you face any of the issues discussed above when you’re ready to return to work in your previous position or in a light-duty role, an experienced workers’ comp attorney can help you by:

  • Examining your medical records
  • Interviewing your doctors about your restrictions
  • Making sure your employer accommodates those restrictions if possible
  • Requesting vocational re-training
  • Arranging a lump-sum payment of workers’ comp benefits, rather than weekly checks
  • Appealing any denial of benefits to the SCWCC, SC Court of Appeals, or SC Supreme Court

If you lose your job while you’re off work due to your injuries, your attorney can obtain records of your:

  • Job performance
  • Absence/lateness
  • Disciplinary history
  • Correspondence with your employer

If evidence shows that you’re the victim of retaliatory firing, you may initiate a wrongful termination suit against your employer.

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 ConwayMyrtle Beach, Murrells Inlet, Mt. PleasantNorth Myrtle Beach or North Charleston office locations.

 

Dirk J. Derrick
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South Carolina Lawyer Dirk Derrick helps victims recover from car accidents, personal injury & wrongful death.