Workers’ compensation pays for necessary medical treatment, loss of wages during a period of disability, and compensation for permanent disability or disfigurement. If an employee is injured and unable to work for more than seven days, he or she is eligible to be compensated at the rate of 66 2/3% of the employee’s average weekly wage, limited to 100% of the State’s average weekly wage as established each year by the South Carolina Employment Security Commission. If the period of total disability exceeds 14 days, the employee is eligible for compensation beginning with the date of the accident.
The maximum award for total disability or death is limited by law to five hundred weeks of compensation. The rate of compensation is determined by the injured employee’s average weekly wage and cannot exceed 100% of the state’s average weekly wage. The loss of both hands, arms, feet, legs, or vision in both eyes, or a combination of two such losses, constitutes total and permanent disability. In addition, a commissioner can make other disability determinations based on the particular loss or impairment to the whole person.
There are exceptions for brain injury or paralysis which may entitle the claimant to lifetime disability benefits. Cases in which a finding of permanent and total disability is made generally result in lifetime medical care and treatment.