Every employer is required to carry workers’ compensation when they have four or more employees. That may include the owners if they work and receive compensation for the work they do as an owner. When an employer has less than four employees, they are not required to have workers’ compensation coverage. However, it is a good business decision to carry workers’ compensation even if a business has only two or three employees.
To receive workers’ compensation, an employee must demonstrate that their injury occurred or was caused in the workplace or was related to their work. If the employee is at work and they are injured performing the necessary duties of their job, they may have a workers’ compensation case.
An attorney could help you with understanding workers’ compensation and employment in Rock Hill. Reach out to a dedicated workers’ compensation lawyer today.
Steps to Take After Being Injured at Work
After a person has suffered an injury on the job, they should seek medical attention as soon as possible. They should then notify their employer that there was an injury, inform them of the extent of the injury, and request that the employer provide medical treatment or advise them where to obtain medical treatment. Every employer has a specific provider they prefer to use. The medical care is usually based on the employer’s insurance carrier. The employer may have specific work-related urgent care facilities that they prefer their employees to seek treatment from.
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What to Be Cautious of When Filing a Workers’ Compensation Claim
An employee should be aware that employers do not like having workers’ compensation claims because of the increase in the cost of their workers’ compensation. The employer may try to persuade an injured worker to not file their injury on workers’ comp. The employer may offer to handle the expense out-of-pocket on their own, or they could tell the employee that they should file the injury on their health insurance.
Employees should also know that if they seek medical treatment from someone other than the doctor recommended by their employer, that could result in friction with their employer. For example, the doctor recommends light duty and the employer is willing to fulfill that duty, but the employee does not show up for the light-duty work. The employee could lose their job and miss out on the benefits owed to them. A person should be mindful of their employer, make sure to keep their employer informed of what the doctor tells them, and explain to their employer the severity of the injuries if they are written out of work or they are given light duty.
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How Can Individuals Protect Themselves From Being Taken Advantage of By their Employer?
The best way for an employee to protect themselves from being taken advantage of by their employer is to hire an attorney who understands how to file a claim, get the statements properly, and gather all the information available to keep the employer informed about what is going on. By continuing to inform the employer that the injured worker is properly represented, it is less likely that the employer does something that violates the individual’s rights. With an unrepresented party, it is easier for the employer to avoid providing what they are required to provide and take advantage of the injured worker.
In a workers’ compensation claim, the injured person should consider hiring a lawyer because there are so many regulations and statutes. There is a great deal of case law regarding how these cases are to proceed. Too often, an employee tries to handle these matters on their own, and by the time they get a lawyer involved, their case has already gone downhill and it is difficult to recover.
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Employment Options for Disabled Workers
When an injured employee is unable to return to their initial job at the same capacity, the workers’ compensation insurance carrier must pay for weekly benefits until the time they reach maximum medical improvement. In South Carolina, when one reaches maximum medical improvement, they may have a permanent partial disability or permanent total disability. The level of disability is based on the body part that is injured, the rating, the person’s age, occupation, job training, and other jobs they are able to do.
If a person cannot go back to any other type of work, it is a permanent total disability. If they are able to return back to work to a different job, it may be a partial disability. Call a seasoned lawyer to learn more about workers’ compensation and employment in Rock Hill.
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