In order to recover against an employer in workers’ compensation, a person must be an “employee,” and they must be hurt in an “injury by accident.”  While there are other obstacles to a recovery in workers’ compensation, in order to even fall within the workers’ compensation scheme the employee must meet these two fundamental requirements.  Since these two requirements are so important they are discussed in detail below.

Who is covered by workers’ comp? Only “Employees.”

SC Code of Laws Section 42-1-130 defines “employee” as meaning “every person engaged in an employment under any appointment, contract of hire, or apprenticeship, expressed or implied, oral or written, including aliens and also including minors, whether lawfully or unlawfully employed, but excludes a person whose employment is both casual and not in the course of the trade, business, profession, or occupation of his employer…” So what does this statute really say about who is covered under workers’ compensation law? The easiest cases are those persons who are hired full-time or part-time and receive a paycheck. Other examples of compensable employment include temporary jobs, job services (although you can technically be an employee of the service company), and contract employees who are hired to do a specific job or fill a job for a limited period of time. Employees also include aliens or immigrants, whether they are here legally or illegally. Persons who are NOT covered include “independent contractors” (although that classification can be challenged) and “casual employees” who are typically hired on a random basis to do random jobs.

“Injury by Accident”

Every potential workers’ compensation case starts with an “accident” on the job. However, not every “accident” results in a compensable “injury.” And likewise, not every “injury” is the result of a compensable “accident.”

SC Code of Laws Section 42-1-160 defines (A) “injury” and “personal injury” as meaning only “injury by accident arising out of and in the course of employment.” This is an unusually short definition by legislative standards, but each word in the chain is critically important. All elements listed have to be satisfied to be a compensable claim. Lawyers have argued from the beginning over exactly what “arising out of” and “in the course of employment” actually means. In typical cases, the answer is obvious. If you are injured because your hand gets caught in a machine or if you are lifting something heavy and hurt your back, it is a valid claim. However, the answer is not always so clear. For example, if you slip in water or grease and injure your knee, it is compensable. On the other hand, if you simply lose your balance or stumble, it may not be compensable. Getting hurt at work is not enough. The injury must have some relationship to your job.