Promptly reporting your work injury is crucial for ensuring you receive the rightful compensation from your employer’s workers comp insurance company. By documenting the incident immediately, you establish a clear record of the injury and its circumstances. This documentation not only helps the veracity of your claim, it also ensures that any necessary medical treatment or rehabilitation is covered appropriately.
Delayed reporting can complicate matters and potentially jeopardize your eligibility for compensation. Therefore, it’s essential to notify your employer and file a report as soon as possible after any work-related injury to protect your rights and secure the support you deserve.
Ladder Fall Causes Meniscus and MCL Tear
Attorney Matt Jackson, the Head of Joye Law Firm’s Workers’ Compensation Department, represented a man who slipped off an oily ladder while working at a metal supply company in Berkeley County. The worker injured his knee in the fall, and MRIs showed that he tore his lateral meniscus and his medial cruciate ligament (MCL), along with various other tears and sprains. For years after the fall, he experienced extreme hip pains despite undergoing surgery and physical therapies. Although he tried everything he could to recover and get back to work, the man was left disabled by this incident and finally called Joye Law Firm for help. As soon as Attorney Jackson met the worker, he knew he liked him, but he also knew he’d need to fight to get the compensation he deserved.
South Carolina Law Offers Hope for Injured Workers
The South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Act is designed to protect employees who suffer work-related injuries or illnesses by providing them with medical benefits and compensation for lost wages. The act mandates that almost all employers carry insurance to cover these benefits, ensuring injured workers receive necessary medical treatment and financial support without having to prove fault. It also outlines procedures for reporting injuries, filing claims, and resolving disputes through the state’s Workers’ Compensation Commission, which oversees the administration of benefits and compliance with the law. The goal is to provide a fair and efficient system that balances the interests of both employers and employees in the event of workplace injuries.
Slipping off a Ladder Leads to Workers’ Compensation Settlement
Attorney Matt Jackson worked to build the strongest case possible for his client. He filed a claim with the workplace’s insurance carrier. As with all his clients, Attorney Jackson began his representation by getting to know his client. He had been married for 32 years and prided himself in being a provider for his family. He had graduated from high school, and attempted to go to college, but ended up serving in the military for four years before joining the workforce as a civilian. Matt realized that his client’s injury, work history, and age meant it was unlikely he would be able to start a new career, and it made the most sense to settle the case.
When the client first came to Joye Law Firm, he had only reported one affected body part from the fall, his knee. However, years of compensating for the injury had left his ‘good’ leg in bad shape. Under South Carolina law, when a person only suffers injury to one body part, they are only able to recover compensation for that body part. However, as anyone who has suffered a serious injury knows, it’s rare for an injury to stay localized to one area. By bringing the other leg into the workers’ comp claim, Attorney Jackson was able to argue that his client was Totally and Permanently Disabled and obtained a $300,000 settlement for him. This settlement ensured that our client could continue to provide for himself and his family, despite his career-ending injuries.
Get The Compensation You Deserve After a Work Injury
Suffering a work injury can be one of life’s most stressful experiences. Financial stress, worries about your future, and pain and suffering are more than enough to keep you up at night. Our main goal is to relieve as much of this stress as possible. Holding insurance companies accountable after a work injury is crucial to ensure that injured workers receive fair and timely compensation as mandated by law.
Insurance companies may sometimes attempt to minimize payouts or deny valid claims, which leave injured workers without necessary medical treatment or income replacement. By forcing insurance companies to hold up their end of the deal, Joye Law Firm helps injured workers enforce their rights and secure their futures.
If you or someone dear to you has suffered an injury at work, it’s in your best interest to receive a free case evaluation to learn what your case is worth. While some work injuries are straightforward, navigating the workers’ comp system after a life-altering injury requires legal representation. You only get one chance to recover the compensation needed to make you whole again. Joye Law Firm has helped tens of thousands of injured workers in South Carolina since first opening our doors in 1968, let us help you, too.
Disclaimer: Past results do not guarantee future outcomes
