After a Work Injury in Spartanburg County
Treatment comes first. While you're admitted, your spouse or a trusted coworker can notify the employer and start saving documents.
- 911 for anything serious. At the ER, make clear this was a job injury and explain the mechanics of it.
- Ask which doctor is authorized. For nonemergency care, the employer or its workers' compensation carrier usually selects the treating physician.4 Get emergency care right away; before follow-up visits, confirm they're authorized to avoid a fight over bills.
- Notify a supervisor. Say what happened, when and where, then follow up by text or email for a timestamp.
- Confirm a claim was filed. HR saying "we handled it" isn't proof. Request the claim number by email.
- Make notes that night. Which line or bay, what you were lifting or running, and who was working beside you.
- Photograph it. Your injuries over time. A coworker can photograph the spot and any broken equipment, if it's safe.
- Get coworkers' numbers. Shifts change and people move on.
- One accordion file. Pay stubs before and after, work schedules, doctor bills and each form the carrier mails.
- Read before signing. Many workers get a lawyer's answers first.
Workers' Comp Deadlines
Most on-the-job injuries in South Carolina go through workers' compensation.1 An injured worker generally must tell the employer about a work accident right away, and no later than 90 days after it.2 A claim generally must be filed with the Workers' Compensation Commission within two years after the accident.3
The ordinary claim-filing period is two years, but exceptions and special rules may apply. Telling a supervisor isn't necessarily the same as filing with the Commission.5 Check whether a claim was actually filed.
The Commission advises injured workers to file a Form 50, or a Form 52 for a death claim, even when the employer has reported the accident.5
Repetitive trauma and occupational diseases that develop over time may follow different timing rules. The date a worker first experienced symptoms is not necessarily the date the filing deadline began.6
Claims against a South Carolina state or local government agency have their own filing deadline, which can be shorter.7
What Comp May Pay
South Carolina workers' compensation may provide payment for authorized medical treatment, partial wage replacement when an injury prevents work, and benefits for qualifying permanent disabilities. Benefits depend on the nature of the injury, the employee's wages and the applicable rules.8
Workers' comp generally doesn't pay for pain and suffering the way a lawsuit can. You usually don't have to prove your employer was careless to qualify.8
Want someone to look at your situation?
Talk with our team about what happened and ask the questions on your mind.
Claims Against Someone Besides Your Employer
Workers' compensation is generally the exclusive remedy against a covered employer, although limited exceptions exist.9 An injured employee may also be able to pursue a personal injury claim against a responsible third party, such as another driver.10 Whether that works depends on the party's role and the facts.
Contractors need a careful look. South Carolina's statutory-employer doctrine can extend that immunity to some contractors or other businesses.911 Not being your direct employer doesn't automatically make a company a third party.
Talk With Us
Lying awake wondering whether you'll keep your job and how the light bill gets paid is common after a work injury. Tell us about the shift it happened and what HR has said since.
We take cases across South Carolina, including Spartanburg County. Was it a press, a forklift or a conveyor that malfunctioned? Read defective product claims in Spartanburg. If you were hurt building something, see construction accidents in Spartanburg, or the statewide page on workers' comp claims.
Ring us with the claim number, if you have one, and the letters from the carrier.
South Carolina Law on This
- Most injuries that happen on the job in South Carolina go through the workers' compensation system, which has its own rules, and usually limits suing your own employer.1
- An injured worker in South Carolina generally must tell the employer about a work accident right away, and no later than 90 days after it, to receive workers' compensation, unless an exception applies.2
- A South Carolina workers' compensation claim generally must be filed with the Workers' Compensation Commission within two years after the accident, or after a death it caused. Telling the employer does not count as filing. Occupational diseases and repetitive trauma follow different rules.3
- In South Carolina, an employer or its workers' compensation insurance carrier generally must provide and pay for reasonable medical treatment for a compensable work-related injury. The employer or insurer usually selects the authorized treating physician, although exceptions may apply.4
- The ordinary South Carolina workers' compensation claim-filing period is two years after the accident, but exceptions and special rules may apply. Reporting an injury to a supervisor is not necessarily the same as filing a claim with the Workers' Compensation Commission. The Commission advises injured workers to file a Form 50, or a Form 52 for a death claim, to protect their rights even when the employer has reported the accident.5
- Different workers' compensation timing rules may apply to repetitive trauma injuries and occupational diseases that develop over time in South Carolina. The date a worker first experienced symptoms is not necessarily the date the filing deadline began.6
- Claims against a South Carolina state or local government agency have their own filing deadline, which can be shorter, and there could be caps on damages under the South Carolina Tort Claims Act, depending on the facts of the case.7
- South Carolina workers' compensation may provide payment for authorized medical treatment, partial wage replacement when an injury prevents work, and benefits for qualifying permanent disabilities. Benefits depend on the nature of the injury, the employee's wages and the applicable rules. Workers' compensation generally does not provide damages for pain and suffering, and workers usually do not have to prove the employer was negligent to qualify.8
- Workers' compensation is generally the exclusive remedy against a covered South Carolina employer for a qualifying workplace injury, although limited exceptions exist. South Carolina's statutory-employer doctrine can extend that immunity to some contractors or other businesses, so they are not automatically third parties simply because they are not the worker's direct employer.9
- In South Carolina, an employee injured at work may be able to receive workers' compensation benefits and also pursue a personal injury claim against a responsible third party, such as another driver. The workers' compensation insurer may have a right to reimbursement from any settlement or judgment. Special rules and deadlines apply when pursuing both claims.10
- Under South Carolina workers' compensation law, a business that hires a subcontractor to perform work that is part of the business's own trade or operations may be considered a statutory employer. When this rule applies, the business can be responsible for workers' compensation benefits for the subcontractor's employees, even though it did not hire them directly.11
- Most personal injury claims in South Carolina must be filed within three years.12
- South Carolina's statute of limitations generally sets the deadline for filing a lawsuit in court. Simply opening a claim with an insurance company or negotiating with an insurance adjuster does not stop the statute of limitations from running.13
Frequently Asked Questions
I told my shift supervisor. Isn't that a claim?
Not necessarily. Reporting an injury to a supervisor is not necessarily the same as filing a claim with the Workers' Compensation Commission. An injured worker generally must tell the employer about a work accident right away.2 The Commission advises injured workers to file a Form 50, or a Form 52 for a death claim, even when the employer has reported the accident.5
My cousin said I have three years. Is that right?
Can I sue the company I work for?
Workers' compensation is generally the exclusive remedy against a covered South Carolina employer for a qualifying workplace injury, although limited exceptions exist.9 An injured employee may also be able to pursue a claim against a responsible third party, such as an unrelated driver, an equipment maker or an outside contractor.10 Whether someone else can be sued depends on their role and the facts.
Do I get to pick my own doctor?
For nonemergency care, the employer or its insurance carrier usually selects the authorized treating physician, although exceptions may apply.4 Emergency care comes first, always. Before booking follow-up care, confirm it's authorized so a bill dispute doesn't catch you off guard.
Can I start by phone from Spartanburg?
The first conversation can happen by phone. Our office is on King Street in Charleston.
Sources
- S.C. Code § 42-1-540
- S.C. Code § 42-15-20
- S.C. Code §§ 42-15-20 and 42-15-40
- S.C. Code § 42-15-60; S.C. Code Regs. § 67-509(A)
- S.C. Code § 42-15-40; South Carolina Workers' Compensation Commission guidance for injured workers
- S.C. Code § 42-15-40
- S.C. Code §§ 15-78-110 and 15-78-120
- S.C. Code Title 42; South Carolina Workers' Compensation Commission guidance for injured workers
- S.C. Code §§ 42-1-400, 42-1-540; Keene v. CNA Holdings, LLC, 436 S.C. 1, 870 S.E.2d 156 (2021)
- S.C. Code § 42-1-560
- S.C. Code §§ 42-1-400 through 42-1-420; Keene v. CNA Holdings, LLC (S.C. 2021)
- S.C. Code § 15-3-530
- S.C. Code §§ 15-3-20 and 15-3-530
This page is general information about South Carolina law, not legal advice for your situation. Every case depends on its own facts.
