What to Do After a Work Injury Around Summerville
Medical care comes first. If you are in the hospital, a spouse or coworker can report the injury and start the paperwork.
- Get emergency care if needed. Tell every doctor and nurse it happened at work, and how.
- Check before the follow-up visit. For routine care, the employer or insurer usually selects the authorized treating physician, so call the adjuster to confirm.4
- Report it in writing. Tell a supervisor what happened, when and where, then send a text or email so there is a dated record.
- Confirm a claim was filed. HR saying "we took care of it" is not the same as a filing; request the claim number.
- Write down the details: the time, the task, the equipment and who was nearby.
- Photograph your injuries as they heal. Someone on your crew can snap the forklift, ladder or conveyor involved when it is safe.
- Get coworkers' phone numbers now.
- Keep a folder of medical bills, pay stubs, schedules and every form from the employer or insurer.
- Don't rush the insurer's paperwork.
Work Injuries Around Summerville
People in the Summerville area work in warehouses and distribution centers along I-26, manufacturing plants toward Ridgeville, retail stores and restaurants on North Main Street, hospitals and clinics, schools, and the construction crews building new neighborhoods. Forklift accidents, lifting injuries, falls, machine injuries and crashes while driving for work can all put someone out of work.
Comp Deadlines
Most on-the-job injuries in South Carolina go through workers' compensation.1 Workers generally must report a work accident to the employer within 90 days.2 A claim generally must be filed with the Workers' Compensation Commission within two years after the accident, and telling the employer does not count as filing.3
The ordinary filing period is two years after the accident, but exceptions and special rules may apply. Telling a supervisor is not necessarily the same as filing a claim with the Commission, and the Commission advises filing a Form 50, or a Form 52 for a death claim, even when the employer has reported the accident.5
Repetitive trauma injuries and occupational diseases may follow different timing rules, and the day symptoms first appeared is not necessarily the day the deadline began.6
Claims against a South Carolina state or local government agency have their own filing deadline, which can be shorter.7
Want someone to look at your situation?
Talk with our team about what happened and ask the questions on your mind.
What Comp May Pay
South Carolina workers' compensation may pay for authorized medical treatment, partial wage replacement when you can't work and benefits for qualifying permanent disabilities. Benefits depend on the injury, your wages and the rules. Comp generally does not pay for pain and suffering, and you usually don't have to prove your employer was negligent.8
Claims Against Someone Else
Workers' compensation is generally the exclusive remedy against a covered employer, with limited exceptions.9 An employee injured at work may be able to receive comp benefits and also pursue a personal injury claim against a responsible third party, such as a delivery driver who rear-ends your work van on I-26.10
Contractors are tricky. South Carolina's statutory-employer doctrine can extend comp immunity to some contractors or other businesses, so they are not automatically third parties just because they aren't your direct employer.911
For the statewide overview, see South Carolina workers' compensation.
Talk With Us
Missing paychecks while a shoulder or back heals puts a whole household under strain. Tell us about the shift when it happened and how the employer has treated you since.
Our office is on King Street in downtown Charleston. We take cases across South Carolina, including Summerville. If you were hurt on a building site, see construction accidents around Summerville.
Tell us how you were hurt and what your employer and its insurer have done since.
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
Can I talk with you by phone after my shift?
Yes. The first conversation can happen by phone. Our office is on King Street in downtown Charleston.
I told my supervisor. Isn't that filing a claim?
Not necessarily. Reporting an injury to a supervisor is not necessarily the same as filing a claim with the Workers' Compensation Commission. Your boss should hear about it immediately, and no later than 90 days after the accident.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
Don't I get three years like other injury cases?
Can I sue my employer?
Can I pick my own doctor?
For non-emergency care, the employer or its insurer usually selects the authorized treating physician, though exceptions may apply.4 Get emergency care right away if you need it, and confirm follow-up care is authorized to avoid a fight over bills.
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.
