Workers' Compensation

Experienced lawyers in Oconee County fighting for your future

When you are injured on the job, you are entitled to workers' compensation benefits. However, the payments are not automatic. The South Carolina Workers' Compensation Commission looks for reasons to avoid paying your claim. You need the assistance of experienced workers' compensation lawyers. At Stoudemire & Sprouse, we help you file a successful claim that will allow you to take care of yourself and your family.

Qualifying for workers' compensation

To receive workers' compensation benefits, you must have received an injury in the course of your employment. Your injury may be due to:

An accident
An occupational disease
Repetitive stress trauma

If you miss less than a week of work as a result of your injuries, you cannot recover those lost wages, but you are entitled to complete coverage of your medical bills.

Temporary total disability payments

If you are unable to work while you recover from your injuries, we help establish your temporary total disability. If you are out of work for more than seven days you can get compensation for your lost income at a rate of two-thirds of your average weekly wage, but no more than the state's average weekly wage. The state average is recalculated annually, and is $704.92 for 2011.

Permanent total disability settlements

When you are temporarily disabled, workers' compensation payments continue until your doctor finds that you have reached a state of maximum medical improvement. However, benefits are limited to 500 weeks — just under ten years — except in cases of paraplegia, quadriplegia or brain damage. If you are too severely injured to work ever again, our lawyers help establish your permanent total disability. In South Carolina, total and permanently disabling injuries are defined as the loss of:

Both hands
Both arms
Both feet

Both legs
Vision in both eyes

A combination of two such losses also constitutes total and permanent disability.

When you are totally and permanently disabled, you cannot afford to have your benefits stop after ten years. You need to be confident that your medical bills will be covered and you will have a source of income for the rest of your life. In such cases, our workers' compensation lawyers negotiate a lump sum settlement for an amount that ensures you have a secure future.

Work with lawyers who help get you compensation for on-the-job injuries

You do not pay attorney's fees unless we recover compensation for you, and our office advances most of our costs. If you are unable to travel due to your work-related injuries, our local attorneys meet you in your home or at your hospital bed. To schedule a free consultation with a lawyer from Stoudemire & Sprouse, contact us online or call 864.973.4608.