Hurt At Work
S.C. Code 42-15-20 and S.C. Code 42-15-40 — notice within ninety days, a claim within two years
Ninety days to tell the employer. An injured employee gives the employer notice of the accident immediately, or as soon as practicable. No compensation is payable unless notice is given within ninety days after the accident or death, unless the commission accepts a reasonable excuse and is satisfied the employer was not prejudiced.
Two years to file the claim. The right to compensation is barred unless a claim is filed with the commission within two years after the accident, or within two years of the death if the accident caused it. For an occupational disease, the two years run from a definitive diagnosis and notice of it. A claim may be filed by registered mail.
For repetitive trauma, notice is due within ninety days of when the employee discovered, or with reasonable diligence could have discovered, that the condition was compensable, and the claim within two years of knowing it was compensable, but no more than seven years after the last injurious exposure.
For total disability, the employer pays weekly compensation of sixty-six and two-thirds percent of the employee's average weekly wages, no more than the state average weekly wage, for up to five hundred weeks, or for life in the cases of paraplegia, quadriplegia or physical brain damage the section names.
Before notice is given, the employee is not entitled to physician's fees or compensation that accrued, unless the employer knew of the accident or the employee was prevented from giving notice. Partial disability, medical care and which employers are covered are set out elsewhere in the title. A particular claim is a question for a licensed South Carolina attorney.
Sources for this section (3)
- S.C. Code 42-15-20 — Notice to employer of accident or repetitive trauma
- S.C. Code 42-15-40 — Time for filing claim; filing by registered mail
- S.C. Code 42-9-10 — Amount of compensation for total disability
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed South Carolina attorney.