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Workers' Compensation

Workers' compensation laws (or workmen's compensation, as they were previously called), were enacted soon after the turn of the century. Prior to this, courts were bogged down with numerous lawsuits by injured industrial workers, whose only recourse for recovering compensation for medical expenses and lost income was to hire a lawyer and sue.

Sometimes a worker settled his or her case successfully or prevailed in court. But by the time he got any relief, court and lawyer expenses often resulted in the loss of home, family, and health. The number of indigent, injured workers this created put a large strain on society.

Workers' compensation is essentially a compromise

• Workers give up their right to sue their employers in exchange for swift and assured benefits
• Employers give up their common law defenses in exchange for limits on their liability

Workers' compensation has evolved into a system of statutes enacted by each state that provide lost income, medical, and permanent disability benefits for employees who are injured on the job.

You can sue a third party

While an employee covered by workers' compensation cannot sue her employer, she may file suit against third parties whose negligence caused her to be injured. For example, if a trucker is injured when an automobile hits his truck, the trucker could file a worker's compensation claim against his employers' insurance carrier and a negligence suit against the driver of the automobile.

Employers are generally not required to advise their employees on the specifics of the workers' compensation coverage they provide. But most states require that a summary of the state's workers' compensation laws and the name of their insurance carrier be posted in a prominently visible place at the work site. If an employer does not carry workers' compensation insurance, an employee who is injured on the job may sue his or her employer directly, and many states award penalties against such employers.

If an employer's workers' compensation insurance company goes bankrupt, sometimes other insurance carriers will purchase and take over the bankrupt carriers' claims. Failing this, states have set up funds to guarantee that injured worker's benefits are honored.

You need someone on YOUR side

Despite the safeguards, workers' compensation insurance companies are businesses interested in keeping their costs down, and employers tend also to be interested in keeping their workers' compensation premiums as low as possible. You may therefore need someone knowledgeable in workers' compensation law on your side. This is especially true in the event that you have a severe injury or permanent impairment that prevents you from continuing to perform your job.

Workers' compensation cases are usually more complex than they may at first appear. Your injuries, for example, may be covered even though they were caused by inadequate instruction or supervision. The insurance carrier may ask you to settle your claim by trying to convince you that coverage does apply due to circumstances surrounding your particular case. If you have your own workers' compensation attorney with the resources to properly investigate such circumstances, he can help you gain fair recovery by helping you strengthen your position and pursue all available legal remedies.

Click here for Workers' Compensation FAQs.

Our Workers' Compensation attorneys have been helping residents of South Carolina for many years, with excellent results. Please call or email us at the Law Firm of McWhirter, Bellinger & Associates to set up your free case evaluation.

With offices in Aiken, Camden, Columbia, Lexington, Newberry, Orangeburg, and Sumter, South Carolina, our personal injury lawyers are ready to serve you. Call us today at 1-800-694-0994.

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