You sustain an injury at work, report the incident to your boss and other required parties, and have filed for workers’ compensation. Now you find yourself wondering, “When will I receive my workers’ comp check?” Your question is absolutely warranted, but unfortunately, it does not come with a “set” answer. Several factors can affect how long it takes your benefits to arrive.
A South Carolina workers’ compensation lawyer from Shelly Leeke Law Firm can manage your case for you, working to get you compensated as soon as possible and answering your questions in the meantime. Our firm has been serving South Carolina residents for over a decade, and we are ready to get to work for you.
Getting Workers’ Compensation Approved
South Carolina put workers’ compensation laws in place to help injured workers stay financially afloat after sustaining a work injury. The system was designed to move matters along efficiently for the benefit of workers and employers. However, as with many bureaucratic systems, points of disagreement, technicalities, and fear of system abuse create roadblocks.
Sometimes, employers or workers’ compensation insurance companies do not immediately accept a worker’s claim of a work injury. Until they “approve” the injury, the worker is left without benefits. So the question is, how long does it take to get workers’ compensation approved?
There are steps you can take to move the approval process along:
- Tell your manager, boss, human resources representative, or other appropriate party as soon as possible. The deadline for reporting is 90 days, but it is best to make an immediate report.
- If possible, see a doctor right away or at least within a few hours or the day after your injury. Get an official diagnosis and documented proof of the injury.
- Use “Form 50” found on the South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Commission site (SCWCC) to file your workers’ compensation claim. If your employer and the insurance company approve your claim, you may not need this form, however, it is better to file just in case you are denied.
- Hire a workers’ compensation lawyer in South Carolina. If you communicate without anyone else regarding the injury before you speak to your lawyer, keep careful notes.
Post-Approval Timeline
After your medical exam, your doctor–or the doctor your employer requires you to see–may diagnose an injury severe enough to warrant time off from work and, if so, will give you a note establishing the duration of your off-work recovery time. If you are taken off work for more than 7 days, you can receive temporary compensation for lost wages starting the “8th calendar day following your inability to work,” according to the WCC Injured Workers FAQs page. If you are taken off work for over 14 days, you can “receive benefits from the first day of incapacity.”
Should your doctor say you can work, but in a limited capacity as you heal, you can receive temporary partial compensation. How long does it take for workers’ compensation to pay you? The timeline is the same for temporary partial benefits as for temporary wage replacement.
Approval prompts a first check on the eighth day following your inability to work or the first day of incapacity if you are off work for more than 14 days. After that, the answer to “When will I receive my workers’ comp check?” is once per week. You will continue to get weekly wage replacement checks until you are released back to work with no restrictions.
Approval Roadblocks
Unfortunately, the answer to “How long does it take to get workers’ comp approved?” can extend beyond that 8th-day timeline if your claim is delayed or denied. Having a South Carolina workers’ compensation attorney manage your case can help reduce the potential for denials. Common roadblocks to approval include:
- Missed reporting or filing deadlines
- Failure to follow doctor’s orders or other procedures
- Determination that your injury or illness was caused while off the job
- Pre-existing medical condition
- Errors in employment status classification
- Insufficient evidence of injury
- Suspicion that you were under the influence of alcohol or drugs when injured
- Suspicion that your own “roughhousing” caused your injury
Your workers’ compensation lawyer in South Carolina will help you fight this denial. The most important first step, if you have not completed it already, is filing your claim (Form 50) with the SCWCC. The Commission follows a two-year statute of limitations or filing deadline.
When You Have to Fight a Denial
If you have to fight a denied claim, you will wait longer for benefits. How long does it take to get a workers’ comp check when you have to fight for it? The answer varies.
Once you file the Form 50, you can request a hearing with the Commission. Your employer’s representative will file a Form 51, and your case will go on the Commission’s “docket,” as explained by the South Carolina Bar. An individual commissioner will serve as a “fact finder” and rule on how workers’ compensation laws apply to your case.
You will typically get a hearing for your case within three to five months, though this timeline is approximate. The hearing itself takes time, and if there are appeals or other complications, it can take up to a year from your filing to get a decision. An experienced workers’ compensation lawyer in South Carolina will help move the process along as efficiently as possible.
Working to Get You Prompt Benefits
How soon you get your benefits depends on multiple factors. You need to report your injury promptly, but your employer also needs to report the injury to the workers’ compensation insurance carrier. A delay on your employer’s part can slow down the insurance company’s review.
To get the benefits you need as quickly as possible, secure representation from a knowledgeable South Carolina workers’ compensation lawyer at Shelly Leeke. We will provide sound legal guidance, work to keep your employer and the insurance company on track, and challenge reasons for denial. We will keep you informed throughout your case and work to answer your question of “How long does it take to get a workers’ comp check?” with “Not long at all.”
