Thousands of South Carolina workers are hurt on the job each year, and many suffer injuries that result in medical bills and lost wages – and sometimes even permanent disability or death. To help victims of workplace accidents get medical treatment and pay their bills, the SC Workers’ Compensation Act establishes a system where employers must pay for medical expenses and disabilities that come from on-the-job accidents.
While people in certain industries are more prone to suffering a serious injury at work, compensable workplace injuries can happen anywhere to those in any profession. Some compensable injuries, known as “repetitive trauma injuries,” take place over time instead of in a single, identifiable mishap. Occupational diseases like asbestos-related cancer also entitle employees to workers’ comp benefits.
Contact Our Workers’ Compensation Lawyers Today
If you’ve suffered an injury at work, the proven South Carolina workers’ comp attorneys at Joye Law Firm can help you through the bureaucratic process of securing the money and benefits you deserve. Respect, compassion and care are what you can expect from our lawyers and staff. Since 1968 we have helped injured people like you recover not just the money they are entitled to, but also their lives.Let us help you too. Just Call Joye. You can reach us at (877) 537-1920 or fill out an online form for a free case review.
Joye Law Firm has offices in Charleston and Myrtle Beach, but our highly qualified workers’ compensation attorneys are ready to take care of your case anywhere in South Carolina. We’ve successfully represented clients all over the state, including Florence, Richland County, Orangeburg, Columbia, Horry County (including Conway and North Myrtle Beach), North Charleston, Mount Pleasant and Summerville.
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Experience Counts
The proven workers’ compensation attorneys at Joye Law Firm are committed to our clients. With more than 110 years of collective litigation experience, multiple South Carolina attorneys at Joye Law Firm have received an AV rating from the prestigious Martindale-Hubbell, and several have been recognized as Super Lawyers.While every case is different, and past results are in no way intended to imply that a similar result can be obtained in a case, past results obtained by a law firm are an indication of the firm’s experience when it comes to serious injury and wrongful death cases. For more details about the workers’ compensation results obtained for previous Joye Law Firm clients, please click on the Results tab on our home page.
About Workers’ Compensation In South Carolina
Originally called “workmen’s compensation,” the system was put into place in 1935 in response to an increasing number of workers being injured in industrial and other accidents. Before workers’ compensation laws were enacted, injured employees could sue their employers in tort, but the injured worker had to prove that the employer was negligent in causing the accident.To ensure that injured employees received compensation for their workplace injuries, the workers’ compensation law struck a compromise: workers gave up their right to sue in tort, but gained the right to compensation without having to show that their employer was to blame. At the same time, employers were relieved of having to defend negligence lawsuits, but they had to agree to take on the responsibility for injured workers’ medical expenses and lost wages.
What Does SC Workers’ Compensation Do?
The primary goal of workers’ comp is to “provide sure, prompt, and reasonable income and medical benefits to work-related accident victims, or income benefits to their dependents, regardless of fault,” according to the SC Workers’ Compensation Commission.The program covers every employee in the state, with only a few exceptions (agricultural, railroad and federal workers, for example). Businesses that employ fewer than four employees are also not responsible for paying workers’ compensation benefits.
Personal injuries — including occupational diseases and repetitive trauma injuries — or death arising out of and in the course of employment entitle you to benefits under the South Carolina workers’ compensation system. Workers’ comp will pay for all necessary medical treatments, lost wages while you are disabled and compensation for permanent disability and disfigurement. The system will also reimburse you for mileage if you must travel more than 10 miles to the doctor’s office or pharmacy.
If your job-related injury puts you out of work for more than seven days, you are entitled to compensation at the rate of 66.66 percent of your average weekly wage, capped at 100 percent of the state’s average weekly wage. For 2011, the maximum is set at $704.92 per week.
If your period of total disability lasts longer than two weeks, you are entitled to compensation from the date of the accident. Total disability and death benefits are capped at 500 weeks of compensation. There is no limit on disability benefits if your compensable injury is paraplegia, quadriplegia or physical brain damage.
It is important to note that injured workers who are found to have partial paralysis due to the nature of their spinal cord injury qualify for the award of lifetime benefits. If you have suffered a severe spine injury, you should consult with an experienced workers’ compensation lawyer to see if you may qualify for this significantly higher recovery.”
Some Common Issues With SC Workers’ Compensation Cases
To help you answer some of the questions you might have about a workers’ compensation claim, we have put together some information on issues we frequently see in our practice.
- The 7 Most Common Mistakes When Filing Your Comp Claim - From failing to give notice to your employer to assuming that you don’t have a claim because you didn’t miss any time from work, this section highlights some of the most frequent mistakes workers’ comp claimants make.
- Reasons For Denial Of Benefits - Although there are some legitimate reasons why an employer or its insurance carrier might reject your claim, disputes over facts and law are at issue in many rejection cases.
- Common Workplace Injuries - Workplace injuries can happen anywhere, even in what you would think of as “safe” settings like an office or a retail facility. This section details some of the categories of injuries and accidents that are frequently the source of a workers’ compensation claim.
- How To File For Workers’ Comp - The process of noticing and filing a South Carolina workers’ compensation claim has strict deadlines and formal procedures that can be a trap for the unwary.
Contact Our Charleston Workers’ Comp Lawyers Today
Although there are some common factors that appear in many South Carolina workers’ compensation cases, every claim is unique. The best way to find out more about your case is to discuss it with one of the knowledgeable workers’ comp attorneys at Joye Law Firm.If you’ve been injured in a South Carolina workplace accident, you can trust our dedicated attorneys to get you the money and benefits you are entitled to.
Just Call Joye at (877) 537-1920 or fill out our free online case evaluation form.
