SC Workers Compensation Law 
In most personal injury cases, “pain and suffering” is the most valuable part of any recovery second only to medical treatment. Workers compensation cases, while personal injury, are different. The laws were set up to make certain injured workers are compensated, but fairly harsh restrictions are placed on what benefits are available? So how were workers compensation laws created?
Before workers compensation, employees hurt at work were left with the traditional personal injury negligence theories of liability. They had to prove that their employer was negligent and that they were injured as a result. In many cases, the employer did nothing wrong, and the accident and resulting injury was actually the fault of the injured worker. Consequently, there were many serious injury cases where no compensation would be available under the law. So the laws were changed by legislatures across the country to solve this problem. The system, while not perfect, was much better at protecting injured employees. The law, as developed, provides for certain elements of damages, including medical care (but the employer gets to choose where and which doctors), lost time benefits (paid at 2/3 a workers’ average weekly wage), and payment for any resulting permanent disability (based on a percentage of impairment to the specific body part affected). In truly serious cases, an injured worker can receive lifetime medical treatment and weekly benefits. The one item left out was “pain and suffering.” Why? Because this is the element that is purely subjective in nature and cannot be easily quantified, even by juries in regular civil cases. In serious accidents, “pain and suffering” is often described as excruciating and unbearable. How can you place a dollar value on such element. As a result, the legislatures took away fault from the employer and “pain and suffering” from the employee. As we said earlier, it is not a perfect system, but injured workers are assured that if hurt on the job, they will receive medical treatment and sufficient compensation to get them back on their feet and return to work.
SC workers compensation laws are complex and can be very confusing if your lawyer is new to this area of practice. Better make sure your lawyer is experienced in this complicated field and is willing to fight for you and your family. SC workers compensation attorney Robert J. Reeves has over 25 years of workers compensation experience. He is a former Registered Nurse (RN) and former workers compensation insurance defense lawyer. He would be honored to sit down with you and review your particular case. Each case is unique, and small facts can often make a big difference in outcome. Call today for a private, confidential consultation.