The complicated language and very specific requirements of the SCWCA make the services of an experienced attorney vital to your claim, especially if it goes to the appeal level.
How to Build a COVID-19 Workers’ Compensation Claim In Horry County South Carolina
If you’re an essential worker whose job creates a higher risk of exposure than the average person has, it’s probable that you contracted the virus while you were working. You can strengthen your claim by proving that you took reasonable steps to protect yourself (wearing a mask, avoiding indoor gatherings, and observing social distancing) when you were not working.
Documenting everything in detail is a smart move. Make notes of dates, times, and exact places when and where you might have been exposed to COVID-19 on the job. Save emails and voice messages that discuss your risk of exposure and/or the exposure or infection of co-workers. Keep your test results and make copies of them.
You don’t have to prove fault or negligence to win your case. Workers’ compensation is no-fault coverage. If the SCWCC finds your claim valid for any reason, your employer’s insurance company must pay your benefits, regardless of the details of your case.
You Can’t Be Fired for Filing a Workers' Compensation Claim In South Carolina
If you believe that you’ve contracted the virus:
- Immediately inform your employer, as well as whoever oversees workers’ comp claims in your workplace.
- File a written claim through your employer’s insurance carrier.
- Seek medical attention from the doctor recommended by the insurance carrier (not your own doctor) to document your condition.
- Follow that doctor’s orders and treatment recommendations to the letter and quarantine yourself.
It is illegal for your employer to fire you or retaliate against you in any way for filing a workers’ compensation claim in good faith.
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