4701 Oleander Drive, Suite A
Myrtle Beach, SC 29577

North Myrtle Beach Workers’ Compensation Lawyer

Home
/
North Myrtle Beach Workers’ Compensation Lawyer

North Myrtle Beach Workers’ Compensation Attorney

Many hardworking Americans go to work every day in dangerous and perilous conditions, and they do it proudly to earn a living for their families. When these workers get injured on the job, it’s important that they receive the compensation owed to them. Even those workers who don’t work in dangerous conditions can get hurt at work, and they have a right to be compensated for their injuries as well. It’s important that workers who are injured on the job understand their rights. In South Carolina, employers with four or more employees are required by law to carry workers’ compensation insurance for their employees. This compensation can help pay for medical bills and lost wages while recovering from a work-related injury. Too often, though, there are obstacles, and they often lie with the insurance company. Insurance companies are notorious for not paying claims to victims who have been awarded a settlement.

Axelrod & Associates, P.A., fights for workers’ compensation for their clients who are entitled to benefits but have not received them for whatever reason. With the many successful victories our firm has won, and over 100 years of combined legal experience, we are well prepared to take on the insurance company or whoever else is preventing you from receiving the workers’ comp you rightfully deserve. We work hard on our clients’ behalf and go after their benefits aggressively. Our reputation in North Myrtle Beach, SC, precedes us, as does our success record in past cases.

North Myrtle Beach Workers Compensation Lawyer

How a Workers’ Compensation Attorney Can Help Your Case

Insurance companies will not only fail to pay benefits to injured workers sometimes, but more often, they will go to great lengths to disprove workers’ comp claims. They are shrewd and practiced in the art of interviewing claimants in a way that opens the door for them to admit fault themselves. A workers’ compensation attorney, though, is also shrewd and experienced in reclaiming benefits for their clients who were previously denied them. When you have an attorney on hand, you can direct any inquiries from your insurance agent directly to your lawyer, who knows how to talk to these companies.

An attorney can work with you to help you prove your employer was at fault and that your injury occurred due to their negligence. An attorney can also investigate other means of compensation due to you from an involved third-party source, ensuring you get all the compensation due to you to pay medical bills and other expenses. There are also alternative compensation options if your workplace does not provide workers’ compensation insurance, such as the South Carolina Uninsured Employers Fund. You may also be able to take legal action, such as filing a personal injury claim against a coworker. You may even have a claim against your employer with the help of a workers’ compensation attorney in some instances, though generally, filing a legal claim against your employer in SC is not allowed by law.

One of the most useful ways that North Myrtle Beach, SC, workers benefit from having a lawyer represent them in their worker’s compensation case is by having help when negotiating with the insurance company. Most of the time, the insurance company’s first offer is their lowest offer, and many people miss out on maximizing their work injury settlement because they don’t know how to negotiate with the adjuster assigned to their case. A well-versed workers’ compensation attorney is experienced in negotiating with insurance companies and can help injured SC workers get more workers’ compensation benefits than claimants can without an attorney bargaining on their behalf.

Types of Workers’ Compensation Benefits

There are different categories of workers’ comp benefits that workers are entitled to. Which type they get depends on their work-related injuries and the type of treatment they require. The types of SC workers’ compensation benefits are described below.

  • Medical Benefits: These are awarded to injured workers as reimbursement for medical expenses.
  • Temporary Partial Disability Benefits (TPD): These may be awarded to workers who are cleared to return to work but must maintain light or modified duties at a reduced pay rate. Benefits are prorated according to the difference between pre-injury wages and reduced-pay wages.
  • Temporary Total Disability Benefits (TTD): These can be awarded to workers who cannot return to work at all until they recover from their injuries and their doctor clears them to return to work or until they have achieved maximum improvement medically, at which time they may qualify for permanent disability benefits.
  • Permanent Partial Disability Benefits (PPD): These are paid to injured workers who reach maximum improvement in terms of their work-related condition. They are given an impairment rating to quantify their capability to use their injured body part for work. They also receive a disability rating that measures their capacity to perform their job despite their work-related injuries. These values are equated to a percentage of the average weekly wages the worker earns and paid to the worker as a permanent partial disability benefit so as not to exceed the current state maximum cap.
  • Permanent Total Disability Benefits (PTD): These are reserved for workers who suffered a total and permanent disability injury because of their workplace environment, defined by SC as the loss of any appendages, shoulders, hip, vision loss in both eyes, or two of any of these. There is a maximum payout of anywhere between 10 and 500 weeks, depending on the bodily injury.
  • Rehabilitation Benefits: These can be paid as compensation for rehabilitation, whether physical rehab with a goal of returning the worker to full, pre-injury employment, new job training, or alternative job placement.
  • Death Benefits: These are paid to the dependents of injured workers.

Steps to Take If You Are Injured on the Job

The first thing you should do as an injured worker is report your injury to your workplace. Your employer should provide the forms needed to file a claim. Once you’ve reported your claim, get an initial medical evaluation and treatment. You may need to go to a specific doctor according to your employer’s insurance, so attempt to inquire about where you should go for treatment when you report your injury to your employer. If necessary, you have the right to have a second opinion from a doctor of your choice, and these expenses should be covered.

If your employer does not provide you with the forms to file your claim, or if their insurance company denies your claim, you should talk to an attorney about filing your claim independently and requesting a hearing for your case. At this hearing, you will have the opportunity to present your case and medical evidence to support our claim to a Workers’ Compensation Commissioner when requesting approval of your claim.

Workers Compensation FAQs

Q: How Much Is a Workers’ Comp Settlement in SC?

A: While the formula for calculating workers’ comp in SC is complicated, it is typically 2/3 of the workers’ wages, but there is a weekly cap set for 2024 at $1,035 per week. This amount is reevaluated annually. Historically, it has been raised each year by anywhere from $7 to $70. The minimum settlement is $75 per week.

Q: How Long Does It Take to Reach a Settlement for Workers’ Comp?

A: A workers’ comp settlement can take anywhere from 12 to 18 months for the whole process to be finalized, from the date an individual files their initial claim to the date they are paid out on their settlement. Many factors can slow or expedite a workers’ compensation case, depending on the complexity of the case, which will slow it down, or whether the claimant has an attorney representing them, which can expedite a case.

Q: How Long Can You Stay on Workers’ Comp in South Carolina?

A: In South Carolina, victims can receive benefits for lost wages via workers’ comp for 500 weeks, but this is just the maximum and not necessarily the length of coverage. The details of the claim will dictate the actual terms of the payment timeline, and medical bill compensation may be given in addition to lost wages compensation.

Q: How Long Do You Have to File a Workers’ Comp Claim in SC?

A: The South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Commission (SCWCC) gives victims a 90-day window to report work-related injuries or illnesses to their employers. However, the statute of limitations for filing a workers’ comp claim is two years. Victims of work injury incidents should not wait to report or file a claim. The more time that passes, the harder it is to definitively determine who was at fault, and the insurance company can gain ground in the case.

Got Axelrod?

If you or someone you love has been injured at work, and is having a hard time getting the workers’ compensation benefits rightfully owed to you, you are not alone. Axelrod & Associates, P.A., can help you file your workers’ comp claim, appeal your denial, follow up on missing benefit payments, and offer essential legal advice to maximize your settlement. Contact Axelrod & Associates, P.A., and schedule a consultation with one of our experienced workers’ compensation attorneys to discuss the details of your case and determine how we can be of assistance to you going forward.

Testimonials

Need help? Contact Axelrod & Associates, P.A.

Our Locations

Medios de Comunicación Social:

pagos

Request your
Consultation

The fields marked with * are mandatory.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
//