Being injured at work could cause many difficulties for employees. In addition to dealing with the pain of an injury, workers face a loss of income, huge medical bills, and economic hardship if injured workers no longer are able to do in their current job.
Adding to this hardship is the process of navigating the worker’s compensation system. Filing a workers’ compensation claim is often a complex situation because it involves extensive knowledge about workers’ compensation and personal injury law.
If you sustained an injury at your workplace, you need the legal advice of an experienced Florence workers’ compensation lawyer that could look out for your interests.
Types of Workers’ Compensation Claims and Injuries
Workers’ compensation claims cover any expenses that are related to injuries that happened on the job. These expenses could include hospital visits, scans, surgeries, and physical therapy costs. Workers’ compensation claims also cover any disabilities that resulted from a workplace injury.
In South Carolina, workers’ compensation disability benefit payments cover two-thirds of an employee’s average weekly wages. Disability payments could include overtime pay, bonuses, and non-wage allowances earned before the injury.
Common types of injuries that are eligible for workers’ compensation benefits include:
- Slip, trip, and fall injuries. Slip and falls may occur on wet floors, sidewalks or due to obstructions in the hallway.
- Repetitive motion injuries. Repetitive motions such as heavy lifting, sitting at a computer typing, or working on an assembly line could lead to injuries.
- Equipment injuries. Heavy machinery might entangle workers by catching their hair, clothing, or limbs.
- Falling object injuries. Falling objects may hit workers below and lead to head and brain injuries. This is a common occurrence for construction workers.
- Overexertion. A worker could suffer injury by lifting heavy boxes, carrying, pushing and throwing objects, causing muscle strain.
- Car accidents. Some employees drive company vehicles for their jobs, such as salespeople and delivery workers. If an employee is involved in a car accident, this is considered a worker’s comp injury.
- Occupational illnesses. These illnesses could result from exposure to asbestos, carcinogens, and airborne exposures that can cause lung disease, cancer, and asthma.
How to File a Workers’ Compensation Claim
Injured workers need to provide detailed documentation that their injury occurred, including the date and time of the injury, the location, who they reported the injury to, what co-workers were present when it happened, and the type of medical treatment received after the injury.
The most common misconception is that the employee should visit the company doctor after suffering an injury. Employees could choose their own doctor if they are certified by the South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Commission. However, the company’s chosen provider may only care about the welfare of the company and not workers who have been hurt. They might diagnose a condition in an unfavorable way and prevent hurt people from receiving fair workers’ compensation benefits.
Retain an Attorney Who Could Help
Every workers’ compensation claim is different. If you have a workplace injury, a Florence workers’ compensation attorney could discuss your legal options with you to determine if you have a legitimate claim.
Whether your injury is severe or minor, an attorney could fight for the compensation and benefits that you deserve. Contact a lawyer today.
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