Articles Posted in Workers’ Compensation

Generally speaking in South Carolina, a person who is injured on the job (or the family of a person who is killed while in the course and scope of his or her employment) is restricted to recovery of the benefits available under South Carolina’s workers’ compensation law. This is true even if it was the employer’s negligence that led to the employer’s injury or death.

This is because of the so-called “exclusivity provision” of the workers’ compensation law, which provides that relief under such law shall be the sole remedy in the event of a workplace injury or death. The good news is that workers’ compensation cases tend to be less contentious than negligence lawsuits, but the bad news is that the amount recovered in a workers’ compensation action tends to be considerably less than could potentially have been recovered in a negligence case.

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South Carolina law limits both the time that an injured worker has to give notice of a work-related injury and the time for filing a claim with the workers’ compensation commission, seeking to enforce his or her right to medical care, temporary or permanent disability benefits, and other related matters.

Pursuant to S.C. Code § 42-15-20(a), the employee is to give notice “immediately… or as soon thereafter as practicable.” S.C. Code § 42-15-20(b) goes on to state that no compensation is payable to the employee unless notice is given within 90 days, except when the employee had a reasonable excuse and the employer was not prejudiced by the delay.

Although the rules are fairly straightforward, disputes still may arise. Recently, the state’s highest court examined a case in which an employee insisted that he had given notice, but a witness for the employer claimed that the employee’s version of events did not “ring a bell.”

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Although there are limitations and certain disadvantages to a workers’ compensation case as opposed to a more traditional negligence lawsuit, there are some pluses. Among these is the opportunity to reopen one’s case if there is a change in one’s physical condition.

In other injury cases, such as those arising from motor vehicle accidents and product liability claims, this is not possible. Once a jury determines the amount of damages to which an injured person is entitled, and a judge enters judgment upon the verdict, the case is over (except, of course, in cases of an appeal, but even then a change in condition is not likely to result in any increase in the amount of damages for the plaintiff).

In workers’ compensation cases, however, increased benefits are a possibility in some situations.

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When an employee is hurt or becomes ill as a result of his or her employment, the employee may pursue workers’ compensation benefits such as medical care, temporary total disability payments, and permanent total disability benefits.

In cases in which an employee dies as a result of his or her employment, the family of the worker is usually entitled to compensation in lieu of payments to the employee. However, in some cases, an issue arises as to whether an injury was, in fact, work-related or whether it arose during the course and scope of the worker’s employment.

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Personal injury lawsuits and workers’ compensation claims must be timely filed, or else they will be dismissed unless they meet the very narrow criteria of an exception to the general rule.

The statutes of limitations that control the filing deadlines for injury and wrongful death lawsuits exist to encourage plaintiffs to pursue valid claims with reasonable diligence and to protect defendants against stale claims that might be difficult to defend due to the spoliation of evidence.

Of course, determining exactly when a claim accrued – and whether it qualifies as an exception to the general time limitations for a particular type of lawsuit – tends to be a difficult and highly contentious matter.

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Workers’ compensation laws are supposed to simplify the process by which an injured worker, or the family of an employee killed in an on-the-job accident, receives monetary compensation. Of course, the actual ease of the process depends upon several factors, and some cases can be much more complicated than it would seem on the surface.

While factors such as extent of a worker’s disability or whether he or she can return to the pre-injury job are relatively common, other issues can arise. In the recent case of Collins v. Seko Charlotte, the issue was not the amount of compensation due but the pocket from which it would come.

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The familiar adage “time is of the essence” is never more true than in a court of law. Consequently, if you have been hurt in an accident, it is important to contact an attorney about your case as soon as possible. This is because, regardless of the merits of your potential lawsuit, the failure to file your case within the time afforded by law usually means there can be no recovery.

Strict deadlines also apply to other procedural matters, such as the time allowed for filing an appeal. Recently, the state’s highest court was called upon to determine whether the usual time requirements for appealing a worker’s compensation decision could be extended in a particular case.

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A nationwide campaign is underway to gut workers’ compensation laws financed by several large well-known companies including Wal-Mart, Lowe’s, Safeway, Nordstrom, Macy’s, Sysco Food Services, Kohl’s, and several large insurance companies. These companies have formed a lobbying group known as the Association for Responsible Alternative Workers’ Compensation (ARAWC). The organization is attempting to write legislation in several states which would make it more difficult for workers hurt on the job to obtain their lost wages and medical care.

The goal of these large companies is for them to be allowed to opt-out of traditional workers’ compensation plans required in most states. Instead, these large companies would be allowed to write their own plans with their own rules controlling how long and for what reason an injured employee would have access to medical benefits and wages.

Not only would this be unfair to the workers in the states where these plans exist, but it would also be unfair to the medium and small businesses of those states which could not afford to opt-out of state required workers’ compensation benefits. Instead, premiums would go up for those medium and small businesses. This plan would also endanger the uninsured fund of each state to which all employers must contribute. By opting-out, these large companies would not have to contribute to the uninsured fund.

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