When an employee dies as a result of a work-related injury, his or her dependents are entitled to receive compensation in most cases. However, if an employee who is injured on the job dies from unrelated causes while his or her case is pending, the situation can be much more complex.
A South Carolina appellate court was recently asked to review the issues in such a case, the employee having died from causes unrelated to a very serious on-the-job injury he had suffered prior to his death.
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.
Every driver should know that South Carolina state law requires a motorist to stop when he or she is meeting or overtaking a school bus with its flashing red lights activated.
For obvious safety reasons, a driver is simply not allowed to pass a stopped school bus, nor is he or she allowed to drive past such a bus from the opposite direction. This much is clear from the plain language of the statute.
However, there can be other, less obvious situations involving a driver’s obligation to stop in the presence of a school bus with its lights flashing. In a case recently considered by the South Carolina Court of Appeals, one driver apparently assumed that it was safe to make a left turn when the bus was stopped, but another driver passed the bus and struck the first driver’s car in the side.
Being successful in a wrongful death lawsuit arising from a motor vehicle accident requires that the plaintiff prove the basic elements of negligence (duty, breach of duty, damages, and causation). Unfortunately, however, not every legally sound case results in a fair amount of compensation for the victim’s family.
The second – and more practical – inquiry focuses on the actual payment of the damages award entered by the trial court. If the responsible party does not have adequate insurance (or personal assets) to cover the judgment, the plaintiff could be left with very little, if any, monetary compensation, even in a clear-cut case of liability.
Do you have insurance on your home? Do you know what it covers?
As a recent case shows, if you have homeowner’s liability insurance, you might think you are covered for more situations than you actually are. It’s always a good idea to review your policy from time to time so that you understand exactly what is – and is not – covered.
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.”
The majority of personal injury cases, wrongful death actions, and bad faith insurance claims are litigated in state court. However, the federal courts have concurrent jurisdiction in such cases if there is diversity of citizenship between the parties and there is more than $75,000 is in controversy.
Litigation in either the state or the federal system can be protracted and complex. Typically, a suit begins with the plaintiff filing a complaint, and the defendant filing an answer (and sometimes a counter-complaint against the plaintiff or a third-party complaint against someone not yet involved in the case).
Once the pleadings are filed, the next phase of litigation is the discovery phase, during which the parties are given an opportunity to submit document requests, interrogatories, and requests to admit so that each side can learn as much as possible about the other’s case. This is both to help the parties prepare for trial and to encourage settlement, if at all possible.
It seems that the amount of paperwork required in order to be admitted to a hospital, nursing home, or other health care facility grows with each passing year. It can be overwhelming even under the best of circumstances. Unfortunately, health care providers can be quite demanding and pushy, shoving papers into a patient’s hands or insisting that a loved one complete them prior to admission.
In many cases, the patient or the family member has no idea what he or she is signing. This is especially true when it comes to arbitration agreements, which have the power to prevent a dispute between the patient and the facility from proceeding to court.
The litigation of a personal injury case can be protracted and sometimes complex. Many issues can arise, and the parties may disagree at every possible juncture. It is then up to the trial judge to decide the various pre-trial, trial, and post-trial issues that arise.
A recent federal case sheds some light on some of the pre-trial issues that may come up in a personal injury case.
There are several issues that are common in nursing home and senior care litigation, such as falls, medication errors, bedsores, and medical malpractice. In the recent unreported per curiam opinion of Evanston Insurance Company v. Agape Senior Primary Care, Inc., the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit was asked to review a case arising in the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina at Columbia that presented a more unique issue.
In early 2012, the defendant facility hired a man who held himself out to be a board-certified physician. In actuality, the man was an impostor, and he had stolen the identity of the real physician, who was out of the country at the time. Approximately six months later, the defendant learned of the impostor’s fraud when he was arrested. He was later convicted and sentenced to two years in federal prison for aggravated identify theft.
South Carolina Personal Injury Law Blog
