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Office: 803.951.0389
Cofield Law Firm
809 South Lake Dr
Lexington, SC 29072
Injury or death occurring at work
SC has a workers' compensation program for injuries or death occurring at work, which may
provide compensation whether negligence is involved or not. In some situation, however, an
injury or death at work may result in a claim that is outside of the workers' compensation
program.
For instance, if an employer does not participate in the workers' compensation program, an
injured employee has the right to make a claim directly against the employer if negligence is
involved. Even if the employer does carry workers' compensation insurance, an employee may
still have a negligence claim against a third party, that is, someone other than the employer. This
type of situation comes up when a third party has manufactured or supplied a defective product
that injured the employee, or when the negligence actions of the third party have injured the
employee. The employee or employee's family may also have a claim against the employer if
"gross negligence I involved. Gross negligence is proceeding with conscious indifference
despite knowledge of an extreme degree of risk.
An injured employee should immediately report an injury to the employer and determine if the
injury is subject to workers' compensation insurance. It is also a good idea to contact an attorney
with experience in handling on the job injury claims to be sure than all of the potential sources of
recovery are considered. SC law imposes some strict deadlines for filing claims (called statutes
of limitation), and if those deadlines are not met, you will be forever barred from pursuing your
claim. The statute of limitations typically begins to run from the date of the injury, and if an
employee is covered by worker's compensation then different time deadlines apply.
Workers' Compensation benefits
SC has workers' compensation insurance program for injuries or death occurring at work. SC
employers are required to carry workers' compensation insurance if they have at least 4
employees. If the employer has workers' compensation insurance, or is self insured, workers'
compensation will pay for the medical treatment of an injury or illness if the injury occurred on
thejob or the disease or illness is work-related. Additionally, workers' compensation will
replace some of an employees lost wages if the injury or illness caused the employee to lose
some or all income for more than seven days.
An injured worker has the right to receive medical care that is reasonable and necessary to treat a
work related injury or illness without any specific time limit. You have the right to hire an
attorney. You have a right to confidentiality. But, the employer has the right to direct your
treatment.
You should tell your employer about an injury as soon as possible following an injury or when
you first know that an illness may be work related. If you do not tell the employer promptly you
could lose the right to get benefits.
You must make a claim to the SC Workers' Compensation Commission within two years of the
date your injured or knew that your illness or disease might be work related. If your employer
does not maintain workers' compensation insurance, then you may receive benefits from the SC
Uninsured Employers' Fund.
Social Security Benefits
Under the Social Security Disability Insurance Program you must meet certain requirement in
order to be eligible. Social Security Disability is based on prior work and pays only for total
disability. No benefits are payable for partial disability or for short-term disability. Disability
under social security is based on a person's inability to work. A person is considered disabled
under social security if the person cannot do work the person did before and the social security
administration decides that the person cannot adjust to other work because of the person's
medical condition. The person's disability must also last or be expected to last for at least one
year, or to result in death.
A person should apply as soon as disability occurs. Applications can be made online at
www.ssa.gov; by calling 1-800-772-1213, or by going to any social security office. The claims
process for disability benefits takes from 90 to 120 days. If a person's application for social
security is denied, the decision can be appealed. An attorney can be helpful in the appeals
process.
