Charleston Workers’ Compensation Lawyer
If you’re injured on the job in South Carolina, workers’ compensation is typically your exclusive remedy against your employer — but it doesn’t cover everything, and navigating the system alone is a mistake. Benefits are capped, the authorized physician is chosen by the insurer, and a separate personal injury claim against a third party may be available that workers’ comp will never tell you about.
Workplace injuries, denied claims, and third-party cases across South Carolina.
Joe Cunningham Law is with you through every phase of your workers’ compensation claim — from the initial filing through disputed hearings — and assesses every case for third-party claim potential from the first conversation.
- Falls from ladders, scaffolding, and elevated surfaces
- Machinery and equipment accidents
- Forklift and warehouse injuries
- Crush injuries and amputations
- Repetitive stress injuries (carpal tunnel, tendinitis, back conditions)
- Toxic exposure and occupational illness (chemical exposure, asbestos, mold)
- Construction site injuries
- Denied claims
- Disputes over injury severity and impairment ratings
- Disputes over treatment authorization
- Underpaid temporary total disability benefits
- Permanent partial and permanent total disability determinations
- Employer retaliation for filing a workers’ comp claim
- Third-party claims alongside the workers’ comp claim
The SC Workers’ Compensation Act — what it gives you and where it ends.
Workers’ compensation in South Carolina is a statutory system governed by the SC Workers’ Compensation Act SC Code §42-1-10 et seq., administered by the SC Workers’ Compensation Commission (SCWCC).
The Filing Deadlines
Two distinct deadlines — miss either one and you may permanently lose your claim.
1. Report your injury to your employer in writing within 90 days of the accident under SC Code §42-15-20. Verbal notice alone may not be enough.
2. File a claim with the SC Workers’ Compensation Commission within two years of the accident date under SC Code §42-15-20.
The Exclusive Remedy Doctrine SC Code §42-1-540
Under SC Code §42-1-540, workers’ compensation is the exclusive remedy against your employer and co-workers. You generally cannot sue your employer in court for negligence. The tradeoff: you don’t have to prove fault to receive benefits.
This is a significant limitation. Workers’ comp benefits are capped, they exclude pain and suffering entirely, and wage replacement is fixed at two-thirds of your average weekly wage.
Third-Party Claims: The Exception That Changes Everything
The exclusive remedy doctrine applies only to your employer and co-workers. It does NOT apply to third parties.
If someone other than your employer or a co-worker caused or contributed to your injury — a subcontractor, a manufacturer of defective equipment, a property owner, a driver who struck you while you were working — you may have a separate personal injury claim against that third party.
That claim can recover pain and suffering, full lost wages, and other damages that workers’ comp will never pay.
You can pursue both at the same time.
The SC Workers’ Compensation Commission
The SCWCC is the administrative tribunal for all workers’ compensation disputes. Not a civil court. Claims heard by individual commissioners. Decisions can be appealed to the Full Commission and then to the SC Court of Appeals.
The Authorized Treating Physician Problem
The employer’s insurer selects the authorized treating physician. You must treat with that provider unless you get approval to change. Authorized physicians operate within the insurer’s system and may minimize injury severity, impairment ratings, and return-to-work timelines.
The insurer can also require an independent medical examination (IME) — despite the name, arranged and paid for by the insurer. IME results can be challenged.
From injury report to resolution — what to expect.
Workers’ comp cases run through the SCWCC system. A third-party claim runs in parallel on a separate track. Here is what both look like.
Report the injury to your employer
Written notice within 90 days. Keep a copy.
Seek authorized medical treatment
Go to the authorized provider. Your medical record begins here.
File a claim with the SCWCC
Form 50 (employee’s claim) must be filed within two years.
Benefits determination
In straightforward cases: TTD benefits and authorized medical treatment. In disputed cases: hearing before a commissioner.
Medical evaluation and impairment rating
At maximum medical improvement (MMI), the authorized physician issues a permanent impairment rating. This drives calculation of permanent partial disability benefits. We review and challenge low ratings.
SCWCC hearing if disputed
Formal legal proceeding with testimony, medical evidence, and legal argument. Insurer has counsel. You should, too.
Third-party claim assessment (parallel track)
We assess whether any third party contributed to your injury and pursue that claim alongside the comp claim.
Workers’ comp benefits
- Medical treatment (authorized treatment paid by insurer)
- Temporary total disability (TTD): two-thirds of average weekly wage while unable to work
- Temporary partial disability (TPD): if cleared for light duty at lower pay
- Permanent partial disability (PPD): under SC Code §42-9-30, based on impairment rating
- Permanent total disability (PTD): under SC Code §42-9-10, 500 weeks compensation
- Death benefits: under SC Code §42-9-110 for surviving spouse and dependents
- Vocational rehabilitation
What workers’ comp does not cover
- Pain and suffering (excluded by statute)
- Full wage replacement (two-thirds rate plus annual maximum = less than actual income for higher earners)
- Long-term quality-of-life impact
Why the third-party claim analysis matters
A third-party claim can recover full economic damages plus pain and suffering. Workers’ comp will never tell you about it. We assess every case for third-party potential from the first conversation.
A trial attorney who looks at every workers’ comp case for third-party potential.
Workers’ compensation claims involve a system built in part to limit injured workers’ recovery. The insurer has experienced adjusters and counsel managing your file from day one.
Joe Cunningham is a trial attorney admitted in South Carolina, the U.S. District Court of South Carolina, and the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Former Congressman, SC-1, 116th Congress. Looks at every workers’ comp case for third-party claim potential. Selective caseload.
U.S. District Court, D.S.C.
Questions we hear before every first call.
Report within 90 days (SC Code §42-15-20). File with SCWCC within two years.
You have the right to a SCWCC hearing. You need medical evidence and documentation connecting the injury to work duties.
Not without approval. Insurer directs medical care and selects the authorized physician.
IME results can be challenged. We review IME reports and push back with your treating physician’s records and additional medical opinions.
Request a SCWCC hearing. Common denial grounds can be contested.
Medical treatment, TTD, PPD, PTD, vocational rehabilitation, death benefits — depending on your claim and impairment rating.
Generally no. SC Code §42-1-540 establishes workers’ comp as the exclusive remedy against your employer.
A personal injury claim against someone other than your employer or co-worker who contributed to your injury. Can recover pain and suffering and full lost wages that comp excludes.
SC requires coverage for 4+ employees under SC Code §42-1-150. If not covered, you can file with the SC Uninsured Employers’ Fund and may be able to sue directly.
No. SC Code §41-1-80 prohibits retaliation. If fired or penalized, you may have a separate retaliation claim.
Accepted claims: several months after MMI. Disputed claims requiring SCWCC hearing: longer.
Nothing upfront. Contingency fee, subject to SCWCC approval.
Talk to a Charleston Workers’ Compensation Lawyer — Free Consultation
Injured on the job in Charleston or anywhere in South Carolina? Free consultation. We review your comp claim and assess whether a third-party claim exists.
Charleston, S.C. 29407
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We review every message personally and will get back to you, usually within the hour during business hours. For anything urgent, call (843) 633-3360.