Injured workers who hope to receive workers’ compensation benefits need to be aware of critical deadlines. Any failure to meet a deadline can result in a delayed claim or even possibly a denial. All for failing to act in a timely manner, an injured worker can lose out on important medical and wage loss benefits. Call Hart Law to speak with our South Carolina workers’ compensation lawyer. Below, we highlight important deadlines and provide other information you will need to make a claim.
You Have 90 Days to Report Your Injury to Your Boss
This is the first reporting deadline an injured worker must meet. Under South Carolina Code § 42-15-20(B), you must report your injury to your supervisor or someone in a similar position within 90 days. As the law states, failure to report within that time frame will result in no compensation being paid.
What happens if you are badly injured? Some workers are rushed to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, so they can’t simply tell their boss the next day when they come into work. We recommend picking up the phone and calling or sending an email. Report the injury as soon as you can.
Workers Get Two Years to File a Workers’ Compensation Claim
Reporting the accident to your employer is not the same thing as filing a claim. Workers must fill out Form 50 and submit it to the South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Commission.
You get two years to file. (S.C. Code § 42-15-40.) The clock will begin the day you are injured. Going over this deadline can prove costly and result in a denied claim.
Two years is a fair amount of time. Nonetheless, some badly injured workers lose track of time as they spend most of their days rehabbing or resting. Constant pain also makes some people lose track of the days.
Call an attorney to discuss your case. Hart Law can help with filling out paperwork to keep a case on track.
File As Soon As You Can
Workers get two years, but there is little reason to delay filing your claim. For one thing, you don’t want evidence of the accident to disappear.
Some workers see their claims denied because there are doubts about whether they were injured at work. Workers’ compensation does not cover injuries incurred at home or while on vacation. You are only covered if you were working at the time of injury.
Some evidence could disappear if you wait too long:
- Security footage from your workplace. Your boss might delete or record over the video, which means it is gone forever.
- Coworkers who observed the accident and might quit the job or move away. People leave jobs all the time, and you might be unable to track them down even though they were a critical witness.
- Defective machinery which caused the accident. Your employer could swap out the defective equipment.
- Other hazards on the premises. You might have been injured when you slipped or a part of the ceiling fell on you. Your employer might fix these hazards.
At a minimum, you should call an attorney to discuss what happened. While you recover at home or go to physical therapy, your lawyer can begin gathering evidence.
What Information Do You Need to File a Workers’ Compensation Claim?
You will need the following to complete Form 50, which you submit to the Workers’ Compensation Commission:
- Personal information (name, address, and phone number)
- Employer information (name, address, and insurance carrier)
- Date of injury
- Body parts affected by the accident
- Brief description of the accident
- Dates in which you were disabled
- Whether you have reached maximum medical improvement
- Any continuing disabilities
- Names and addresses for all employers you have worked for since the accident
- Your weekly wages at the time of the accident
- Names and addresses of doctors or other specialists who have treated you
- Information about whether you have participated in mediation regarding the claim
You will need to note whether you are requesting a hearing at the time you file Form 50 and include an appropriate fee, if so.
Schedule a Consultation with Hart Law
Workers power the South Carolina economy, but they are not always treated fairly. Obtaining workers’ comp benefits is hard enough in even the best circumstances. But missing a deadline can lead to a quick and final rejection. For immediate assistance, contact our office to speak with an experienced workers’ compensation lawyer at Hart Law. We can review where you are in relation to the deadlines and help get a claim or appeal filed.