South Carolina Workers Compensation Laws
Worker's compensation is a type of insurance that businesses obtain in case their employees suffer a work-related injury. This insurance will cover any medical care that the employee needs as a result of the injury as well as any wages the employee will miss out on because of the injury.
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Responsibilities
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South Carolina law gives an employer different rights and options, such as choosing the physician that will monitor and care for the employee. The employee also has the right to file a claim if the employer does not report the injury. Employees must begin receiving physician care within three days of their injury and payments for any wage loss they have due to the work related injury within seven days.
Physician Care
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A physician will monitor the employee and determine the severity of his injury. If the physician decides the employee should be taken off work, the employer will have to adhere to the ruling and pay the worker's compensation benefits. Once the physician decides the employee may return to his position, the employee must return. The physician that examines the employee is one chosen by the employer. The employee may seek another physician, but it is the employer-chosen doctor who determines whether worker's compensation is allowed.
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Start of Benefits
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When an employee has been taken off work because of a work related injury, she is entitled to receive worker's compensation benefits. The employee will not start receiving the benefits immediately because there is a process the employee must complete first, which includes paperwork. South Carolina laws state that the employee only has to wait seven days after the injury to begin receiving her worker's compensation benefits if the benefits are approved.
Exemptions
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The Worker's Compensation Act requires all employers to purchase worker's compensation insurance. If the employer does not have the insurance, they could face legal action for violating the law as well as for the employee's medical claims.
In South Carolina, an employer with four or fewer workers is exempt from purchasing worker's compensation insurance. Employers of agricultural, railroad,and railway express employees do not have to have workers compensation insurance for their employees.
Weekly Payment Amounts
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The amount of worker's compensation weekly payment depends on the employee's wages, and South Carolina's average weekly wage rate. For example, employees receive 66 2/3 percent of their weekly wages, as long as this amount is not higher than the average weekly rate for all of South Carolina. The average worker's compensation wage for 2008 in South Carolina was $681.36. This means that workers receiving worker's compensation after Jan. 1, 2009, will not get more than $681.36 a week. These payments are for wages lost by the employee. Medical bills caused by the work related injury are paid through worker's compensation..
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