How long can I keep receiving workers’ comp benefits in South Carolina?

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

South Carolina caps most workers' compensation benefits by the week rather than by a fixed date. The time limit looks different depending on whether you're receiving wage replacement, permanent disability, or medical care. 

Weekly wage checks generally stop once you're medically able to return to work or reach maximum medical improvement, while permanent disability benefits run anywhere from a handful of weeks for a minor injury up to 500 weeks, or a lifetime, for the most catastrophic cases. A Charleston workers’ compensation lawyer can determine how long you should receive workers’ comp benefits and protect your rights. 

If you get hurt on the job in Charleston, you may be entitled to workers’ comp medical benefits and wage benefits. South Carolina law puts firm limits on nearly every kind of benefit, and knowing how long yours will last can be the difference between a full claim and one that's cut prematurely short by the insurance company.

At the Law Office of Sean M. Wilson, our experienced Charleston workers’ compensation lawyers help injured workers throughout the Lowcountry and Midlands determine exactly where they stand with their South Carolina workers' compensation benefits. We can advise you on how long you are entitled to benefits and help you take the necessary steps to protect your rights if payments stop too soon.

What Determines How Long Your Benefits Last?

South Carolina doesn't set one blanket end date for every workers' compensation benefit. How long benefits may continue depends on the type of compensation you're receiving, the extent of your disability, your medical progress, and whether your injury qualifies for special rules that allow certain benefits to continue longer.

Wage-replacement benefits, permanent disability compensation, and medical treatment each follow different rules. Understanding those differences can help you know what to expect as your claim progresses—and recognize when a change in your benefits deserves a closer look.

How Long Do Weekly Wage Replacement Benefits Last?

If your South Carolina work injury leaves you unable to work, weekly wage replacement benefits, also referred to as temporary total disability payments, can help replace part of your lost income. How long those checks last depends on whether your disability is total or partial, whether you can return to work, and how your recovery progresses.

For most workers with total disability, South Carolina law caps compensation at 500 weeks. That does not mean every injured worker receives benefits for the full 500 weeks. Weekly payments may stop sooner if you recover and can return to work, or another legal basis exists to terminate or suspend benefits.

There is a narrow exception to the 500-week limit. A worker who is determined to be totally and permanently disabled because of paraplegia, quadriplegia, or physical brain damage resulting from a compensable injury may receive benefits for life.

What if You Receive Temporary Partial Disability Benefits?

If you can return to work but earn less because of your injury, you may qualify for temporary partial disability benefits. South Carolina generally pays two-thirds of the difference between your pre-injury average weekly wage and what you can earn while recovering, subject to the state's maximum weekly compensation rate.

Temporary partial disability benefits can continue for up to 340 weeks from the date of injury. They may end sooner if your earning capacity returns to its pre-injury level or you are no longer eligible for partial disability payments.

Does a Permanent Disability Change How Long Workers’ Comp Benefits Are Paid?

Once you reach maximum medical improvement, you may be entitled to permanent disability compensation if your work injury has left you with a lasting loss or loss of use. How long those benefits last depends on the body part affected, the degree of loss, and whether your condition qualifies as permanent total disability.

How Long Do Benefits Continue for Scheduled Injuries? 

South Carolina law assigns a maximum number of compensable weeks to specific body parts. The schedule represents the compensation period for total loss or loss of use of that body part. If you have only a partial loss of use, your award is generally calculated as a proportion of the applicable number of weeks.

Some of the statutory schedules include:

• Thumb. Up to 65 weeks.
• Hand. Up to 185 weeks.
• Arm. Up to 220 weeks.
• Foot. Up to 140 weeks.
• Leg. Up to 195 weeks.
• Back. Up to 300 weeks when the loss of use is 49% or less.

For example, an injured worker with a partial loss of use of an arm would not automatically receive 220 weeks of benefits. The percentage of loss is applied to the 220-week schedule to determine the compensable period.

How Long Can You Be Paid Permanent Total Disability Payments?

Permanent total disability benefits are generally subject to a maximum of 500 weeks in South Carolina. However, the law provides lifetime benefits when a worker is determined to be totally and permanently disabled because a compensable injury resulted in paraplegia, quadriplegia, or physical brain damage.

Certain losses also qualify as total and permanent disability under South Carolina law. The loss of both hands, arms, shoulders, feet, legs, hips, or vision in both eyes—or any two of those listed members—constitutes total and permanent disability.

How Long Will Workers’ Comp Pay Your Medical Expenses?

Medical benefits follow different time limits than wage benefits. South Carolina law requires necessary medical treatment for up to 10 weeks after an injury, and the Workers' Compensation Commission may allow treatment to continue when medical evidence shows it will shorten the period of disability.

Workers who are totally and permanently disabled may receive reasonable and necessary medical care for life. Reaching the end of weekly disability benefits does not necessarily mean your medical coverage ends at the same time.

Why Weekly Benefits Stop Before the Maximum Period

The 500-week limit is a ceiling for total disability benefits, not a promise that checks will continue for that long. Depending on the circumstances, your weekly benefits may be affected when:

• You are released to full-duty work. The South Carolina Workers' Compensation Commission states that temporary compensation should continue until you are fully released to return to work without restrictions.
• You return to work. Going back to your job can end temporary total disability payments. However, temporary partial disability benefits may be available if your injury limits your earning capacity and you make less than you did before the accident.
• Your condition reaches maximum medical improvement. MMI means your medical condition has stabilized to the point that further treatment is not expected to materially improve it. Reaching MMI can shift the focus of your claim toward permanent disability, but it does not automatically mean that every workers' compensation benefit ends.
• Your claim is denied, or benefits are properly suspended. South Carolina law establishes procedures that an employer or insurer must follow when terminating or suspending temporary compensation. The rules differ depending on how long benefits have been paid and the reason for stopping them.

What Happens if the Insurance Company Stops Your Checks?

South Carolina has specific procedures for ending temporary disability benefits, and the process depends in part on whether benefits have been paid for more than 150 days. Here are two forms you may encounter:

• Form 15 applies in certain cases during the first 150 days. If you are released to return to work within 150 days after the employer receives notice of the accident and your temporary benefits are stopped, the employer's representative should send you a Form 15 explaining the reason for the termination. If you disagree, the form provides a way to request a hearing before the South Carolina Workers' Compensation Commission.
• Form 17 may be used after the first 150 days. If you are released to return to work after temporary compensation has continued beyond 150 days, the employer's representative may ask you to sign a Form 17 after you have been back at work for 15 days. Signing it indicates that you agree you can return to work.

What Should You Do If Your Benefits End Too Soon?

A stopped check does not necessarily mean your right to workers' compensation benefits has ended. But deadlines may apply when benefits are reduced, suspended, or terminated, making it important to understand your options quickly.

Whether you're facing a disputed Form 15, questioning a low impairment rating, or struggling to get medical treatment authorized, you don't have to determine your next move alone. Our workers' compensation lawyers can review your claim, gather supporting medical evidence, challenge an improper termination of benefits, and represent you at hearings before the South Carolina Workers' Compensation Commission. We’re here to help you obtain the justice and workers’ compensation benefits you deserve so that you can focus on recovering from your workplace injury.