Spartanburg Workers' Compensation Litigation Attorney
Upstate South Carolina Retaliatory Discharge Lawyer
In South Carolina, you have a duty to report your injury to your employer. This seems like it would be simple, and yet in my more than 35 year of practicing workers' comp and personal injury law, I've seen it happen many times that the employer simply refuses to acknowledge the injury and file the report.
- Employees are told to get back to work if they want to keep their job
- Employees are told to go to the nurse and get an aspirin, or to ice the injury and wait
- Employers refuse to report the injury to their workers' comp carrier
There are ways to work around your employer. At the Patrick E. Knie Law Offices, I can help. I will send a letter to your employer but also file your report directly with the Workers' Compensation Commission. Your employer cannot prevent you from getting the workers' compensation you are due.
Contact me, a Spartanburg workers' compensation litigation attorney, to schedule a free consultation. You can also call my office at 864-641-3459 or toll free at 866-665-4995.
Did Your Employer Deny Your Injury Occurred on the Job?
Another common way employers try to dodge responsibility for on-the-job injuries is to say that the employee's injury occurred because of something done away from work, or that he or she had the injury before taking the job. For example:
- The employer says that because there were no witnesses to the workplace accident, it didn't happen at work
- The employer may say that the type of work an employee does couldn't cause a repetitive stress injury, like carpal tunnel injuries, so the employee must have done something at home to cause it
- The employer says the employee had a back injury before taking the job and therefore it's a pre-existing medical condition and not eligible for compensation
These excuses don't hold water. You do not have to have a witness to your accident in order to get compensation. You only need to report the injury to your employer. Furthermore, it's not up to your employer to decide that your job couldn't have caused an injury. A medical doctor will determine that.
As for pre-existing injuries, if you have a pre-existing medical condition that is then aggravated by your working conditions (for example, if you have asthma and the exposure to chemicals in your workplace causes your asthma to worsen), you can indeed file for workers' compensation. When you will run into problems with a pre-existing condition is if you lied about it on your initial job application. As an experienced workers' comp litigation attorney, I can advise you if there may be difficulties in recovering for your aggravated condition.
Did Your Employer Retaliate Against You?
South Carolina Code Section 41-1-80 protects workers who have been injured on the job from retaliation. Your employer cannot fire you, demote you, or in other ways retaliate against you because you filed a workers' compensation claim. That doesn't mean some employers won't try it. If you are fired from your job, I will take your case to court for wrongful termination.
What the law cannot do is guarantee that your employer has to keep you if you can no longer do your job. Once you've reached max medical improvement, an assessment will be made about whether your condition allows you to go back to your old job. if you can't do the work you once did, you can be laid off, but the workers' comp system must compensation you for your disability. This is usually a lump sum payment. Learn more about getting paid for a job-related injury.
Understand your rights and protect your ability to get the compensation you are owed. Contact me, a Upstate South Carolina retaliatory discharge lawyer, or call 864-641-3459 or toll free at 866-665-4995. Consultations are free and confidential.
