The South Carolina workers compensation system exists to protect employees that get injured on the job. Employees that are hurt in their workplaces or develop occupational diseases related to their lines of work are eligible for workers compensation eligibility in South Carolina.
How Does workers compensation eligibility in South Carolina work?
In South Carolina, the workers compensation program operates under a “no fault” system. This means that employees aren’t required to prove that their employer was responsible for their injuries in order to receive workers comp benefits. The only thing an employee needs to prove is that the injury or disease they acquired was caused by their workplace or work environment.
Exceptions to workers compensation eligibility
Unfortunately there are a few types of employees that are ineligible to receive workers comp benefits in South Carolina. Included are:
- Railway express or railroad company employees
- Federal employees
- Employees employed for a business with less than 4 employees
- Agricultural workers
- Realtors
- Temp employees
- Some corporate officers
Workers compensation eligibility with injured or ill
If you’re injured at work or develop an illness or disease because of your work environment, you need to report your injury or condition to your employer as soon as possible! Ideally you’ll want to keep a paper-trail of your reporting to protect yourself and collect evidence to support your workers compensation claim. Failure to report your injury or illness within 90 days could cause you to lose your workers comp benefits. Note that you have 90 days to report to employer. You have up to 2 years to file your workers comp claim to collect benefits.
Once your employer is aware of your injury or illness, they have 10 days to then report your injury/illness to the South Carolina Workers Compensation Commission. The Commission reviews your case and determines your workers compensation eligibility from there.
Filing Your Own Claim for workers compensation eligibility
If, for whatever reason, your employer neglects to file your workers comp claim for you, you may file your own, using Form 50. You can also use this form if you believe you’re not getting the workers compensation benefits you deserve or if your employer doesn’t believe that your injury is work-related.
If you need help filing your workers compensation claim or have questions about your workers compensation eligibility, contact The Clardy Law Firm for a free consultation with an experienced workers comp attorney for help with your case.
