JEBAILY LAW FIRM – IN YOUR COMMUNITY
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1-800-868-0400
Call Us for a Consultation
1-800-868-0400
Fighting for South Carolina Injury Victims for Over 50 Years
Our attorneys have been fighting for South Carolina injury victims since 1969. With over 100 years of combined legal experience, Jebaily Law Firm has the knowledge, the resources, and the determination to get the outcome you deserve.
If you or a loved one need the help of an attorney, look no further.
At Jebaily Law Firm, we believe it is crucial for injured and ill workers in Florence and throughout South Carolina to seek legal assistance.
Jebaily Law Firm knows the workers’ compensation laws in South Carolina inside and out. We also stay on top of new developments and trends in this constantly evolving, complex area of the law. We can put our skill and experience to work for you today.
When you contact Jebaily Law Firm, we can help determine whether you are eligible to receive workers’ compensation benefits in South Carolina. The answer will depend on your employment status and how your injury or illness arose.
South Carolina requires any company that employs four or more full-time or part-time workers to carry workers’ compensation insurance (or be self-insured). As a result, most employees in our state are eligible for workers’ compensation benefits. It does not matter if you are a minor or adult. However, if you are an unpaid volunteer, you would not be covered.
To avoid paying workers’ comp benefits, an employer may argue that you are an “independent contractor” and not an “employee.” However, it does not matter what an employer calls you. Instead, what matters is the degree of control which an employer exercises over you.
For instance, does the employer:
If so, you are likely an employee and entitled to workers’ compensation benefits.
Additionally, if you work for a subcontractor that does not have workers’ comp insurance, you should be covered by the principal contractor’s policy.
Of course, to be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits, you must have suffered an injury or illness that arose within the scope and course of your employment.
In other words, you must have been carrying out duties for your employer. Examples include:
Jebaily Law Firm can conduct a careful review of your case and help you to take the next steps if you are an employee who has suffered a qualifying injury or illness. At Jebaily Law Firm, workers’ compensation attorney, Ronald J. Jebaily, has helped disabled workers to get the benefits they deserve for more than four decades. He is a recipient of the S.C. Workers’ Compensation Educational Association’s “Lifetime Service Award.”
According to the latest figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 45,000 non-fatal occupational injuries and illnesses occur in South Carolina during an average year. Based on those stats, the state’s most dangerous industries are:
Among the most common types of injuries that South Carolina workers suffer are:
If you have been injured at work, Jebaily Law Firm can help you to determine if you are eligible for benefits and, perhaps, a third-party liability claim as well.
If you are eligible for workers’ compensation medical benefits, we can help you to file a claim for full coverage of all necessary medical expenses that you incur to treat your injury or illness, including:
Additionally, you should be reimbursed for mileage to and from your doctor’s appointments (as long as you travel at least five miles each way).
In South Carolina, you must get treatment from the medical care provider that your employer (or its workers’ compensation insurer) selects. If you go to a different doctor without the employer’s or insurer’s authorization, your medical expenses will not be covered.
Jebaily Law Firm knows that getting proper medical treatment is crucial for your recovery. We can help you to pursue the medical benefits you deserve. If you wish to see a different doctor, and your employer refuses to authorize a change, we can help you with filing an appeal.
If you cannot do work – or do the same work as you did before your injury or illness – you may be entitled to lost-wage benefits in South Carolina. The types of benefits you can receive will depend on the extent of your disability.
Total Disability Benefits
You can receive total disability benefits after you have been out of work for at least seven days. If your injury keeps you out of work for 14 days or longer, you can receive benefits that cover the wages you lost from the date of your accident.
Total disability benefits cannot be extended beyond 500 weeks. However, if you have suffered a substantial brain injury or spinal cord damage resulting in paralysis, you may be eligible for lifetime benefits.
Partial Disability Benefits
The amount you receive would equal 66 and 2/3 of the difference between your average weekly wage before your injury and what you earn after your injury.
If your injury leaves you with permanent work restrictions, you may be eligible to receive permanent partial disability benefits. A doctor will give you an “impairment rating” that will help determine the extent of disability benefits you are eligible to receive.
If your employer challenges your disability benefits claim or if you disagree with the impairment rating assigned to you, Jebaily Law Firm will protect your rights and fight for the benefits you deserve.
If you have lost a family member to a work-related injury or illness, the South Carolina workers’ compensation system may provide death benefits and cover the costs of putting your loved one to rest.
Additionally, workers’ compensation can cover up to $2,500 in funeral and burial expenses.
If you suffer a work-related injury, you should give notice to your employer as soon as possible. Failure to give notice to your employer within 90 days after your on-the-job accident could result in loss of benefits.
If you were diagnosed with repetitive trauma or an occupational disease, then you must give notice to your employer within 90 days of the date you discovered the illness or could have discovered it by “exercising reasonable diligence,” or within 90 days of your definitive diagnosis.
If your employer fails to report your injury or illness or denies that your condition is work-related, or if you do not receive the full amount in benefits that you believe you are entitled to receive, you must file a claim with the Commission on your own behalf.
At this point, it is crucial to seek help from an experienced work injury lawyer. The attorney can make sure all proper paperwork is filed and deadlines are met. He or she can also get to work on gathering and reviewing evidence and establishing the strongest case possible on your behalf.
You must file the claim within two years from the date of your injury or the death of your loved one.
You (and your work injury lawyer) will then likely attend mediation with the employer or its insurer. The goal will be to reach a settlement that resolves your workers’ compensation claim. An attorney who has been through many mediated settlement talks can play an invaluable role at this stage.
If no agreement is reached, your case will go before a hearing commissioner, who will issue a decision on your claim. If you disagree with this decision, you then have 14 days to file an appeal (using Form 30). The appeal will be reviewed by a three-member Commission panel.
If you disagree with the decision made on your claim, you will have 30 days from the Commission’s decision to file notice of appeal with the Court of Appeals.
Generally speaking, you cannot sue your employer for a work-related injury or illness in South Carolina. Filing a claim for workers’ compensation benefits is your “exclusive remedy.”
Unlike a workers’ compensation claim, you can recover the full amount of your lost wages in third-party liability claims as well as pain and suffering damages. However, your third-party recovery will likely be subject to a lien by the workers’ compensation insurance carrier to recover what they paid out to you in workers’ compensation benefits.
Additionally, if you have suffered a disability that prevents you from working, you may also be eligible to file a claim for Social Security Disability (SSD) benefits. The amount you could receive in SSD benefits would likely be subject to an “offset” for workers’ compensation benefits you received.
Jebaily Law Firm takes pride in making a difference in the lives of workers in Florence, Myrtle Beach, and throughout South Carolina after they have suffered a work-related injury or illness.
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