A Brief Overview of Workers' Compensation in South Carolina

Workers' Compensation was designed to provide employees medical treatment and weekly checks (if they are unable to work) when they are injured on the job. One of the biggest things that many people misunderstand about filing a workers' compensation claim is that it is simply a claim for benefits and is in fact not a lawsuit against their employer. In fact, employees are not allowed to sue their employers under workers' compensation. Simply put, workers' compensation was created to prevent costly litigation against employers, provide benefits to employees and return injured workers' back to the earning position that they had at the time of their injury (in other words they have tried to design it to prevent a person from "making money" off the system).

Generally, in the state of South Carolina any employer that has 4 or more employees is required to provide workers' compensation insurance. There are some instances that allow employers to not carry workers' compensation; however, those should be dealt with on a case by case basis with an employment law attorney. Some companies who hire independent contractors believe they are exempt from carrying workers' compensation insurance; however, this is simply not the case, and they should consult with an employment attorney as they may be liable for on the job injuries.

Each state has different laws that guide the workers' compensation system for that state. The South Carolina Workers' Compensation statute was initially based on the North Carolina comp statute. For example, in both North and South Carolina an employees weekly workers' compensation checks are payable at 66 2/3% of their gross salary for the year. However, South Carolina calculates its average weekly wage (your "gross wage" under workers' comp) based on quarters of the year while North Carolina goes by weeks of the year. Some injuries could be filed in either North or South Carolina depending on where a person was hired or lives and they should consult with an attorney as their average weekly wages could be much higher in one state versus the other.

Please note: This is for general information purposes only. This is not legal advice. If you have any questions about your workers' compensation claim either contact an attorney or the South Carolina Workers' Compensation Commission.

For more information visit : http://www.wcc.state.sc.us/.