Hurt at work in South Carolina? Deadlines, weekly benefit and how to file
Tell your employer within 90 days. File your claim within 2 years (the date of the accident, or the date of death).
Temporary total compensation (temporary total disability) can pay two-thirds of your gross (before-tax) wages, up to $1,189.94 a week in 2026.
Your employer's insurer, not the state, usually decides first. If they deny or delay, the free help listed here can explain your options.
In South Carolina, temporary total compensation pays part of your lost wages while your authorized doctor keeps you completely out of work after a work injury. Your employer's representative (its insurance carrier or adjuster) pays benefits, and disputes are decided by a commissioner of the South Carolina Workers' Compensation Commission at a hearing.
Checked against official sources: October 31, 2026.
Deadlines are strict. If you are near one, call the state agency or free help today.
Free tools for South Carolina
Free tools that run in your browser. Nothing you enter is saved or sent until you download, copy or print a document.
Deadline helper
Benefit estimate calculator
This estimate uses the rule in South Carolina's data: a share of your average weekly wage, up to the state maximum.
Written notice to your employer
A letter that tells your employer, in writing, that you were hurt or made sick by your work.
Claim checklist: what to gather and do
A printable list of papers to keep and steps to take.
Deadlines in South Carolina
- Tell your employer
- 90 days
- File your claim
- 2 years
- Waiting period
No wage benefits are paid for the first 7 calendar days of disability.
Weekly benefit in South Carolina
- What it pays
- Two-thirds of your gross (before-tax) wages
- Maximum
- $1,189.94 a week in 2026
- Minimum
- $75 a week in 2026
- Minimum rule
The weekly benefit is at least $75, unless your average weekly wage is less than $75; then you are paid your full average weekly wage.
- Applies to
- Accidents occurring on or after January 1, 2026
Law: S.C. Code §§ 42-1-40, 42-9-10
Source: wcc.sc.gov
Who is your doctor in South Carolina?
- Who chooses
- Your employer or its insurer chooses
In South Carolina your employer has the right to choose your treating doctor. If you go to a doctor you chose yourself, the bills may not be paid, so ask your employer to send you to its doctor. In an emergency, get emergency care first, but check with your employer before follow-up visits the emergency room refers you to.
You can ask the employer's representative to let you see another doctor. If it says no, you can request a hearing and a commissioner decides. The Commission can also order a change in medical care for good cause.
Law: S.C. Code § 42-15-60
Source: wcc.sc.gov
Who is covered in South Carolina
- Size of employer
Employers that regularly employ 4 or more employees in the same business in South Carolina must carry workers' compensation, unless their total payroll for the previous calendar year was less than $3,000. The State and local governments are covered.
- Special rules
- Agricultural employees: Not covered unless the farm employer chooses to be covered.
- Uninsured subcontractors: If a subcontractor is uninsured, the contractor above it (or its insurer) must pay benefits first, regardless of how many employees the subcontractor has.
- Not covered
- Employers with fewer than 4 regular employees, or with less than $3,000 total payroll in the previous calendar year
- Casual employees
- Agricultural employees (unless the employer elects coverage)
- State and county fair associations (unless they elect coverage)
- People who sell farm products for producers on commission
- Licensed real estate salespeople on straight commission with a signed independent contractor agreement
- Certain owner-operator truck drivers under a valid independent contractor contract
- Federal employees and railroad workers (covered by federal law, sometimes in addition to state law)
- Contractors
If you work for an uninsured subcontractor, the higher-tier contractor or project owner (or its insurer) generally must pay your benefits first.
- If your employer has no insurance
If your employer must have coverage but does not, file your claim with the Commission as usual. When the Commission finds the employer is operating without insurance, it notifies the South Carolina Workers' Compensation Uninsured Employers' Fund, which pays or defends the claim.
South Carolina Workers' Compensation Uninsured Employers' Fund
Law: S.C. Code §§ 42-1-150, 42-1-360, 42-1-415, 42-7-200
Source: wcc.sc.gov
If your claim is denied or delayed in South Carolina
- First step
If your employer's representative has not reported your claim, has denied it, or you believe you are not getting all your benefits, file Form 50 as a hearing request with the Commission's Judicial Department, with the $50 fee (you can ask to waive the fee on Form 32).
Fired or punished for filing in South Carolina
An employer may not fire or demote you because you, in good faith, started (or caused someone to start) a workers' compensation proceeding, or because you testified or are about to testify in one. The employer can defend by showing reasons listed in the law, such as habitual absence or lateness, misconduct, or failing to meet work standards.
- The law
- S.C. Code § 41-1-80
- What you may get
You can recover lost wages caused by the violation, and if you were fired or demoted you are entitled to be reinstated to your former position. You must prove the violation.
- Where to file
File a civil lawsuit in court.
- Deadline
Within 1 year.
Law: S.C. Code § 41-1-80
Source: scstatehouse.gov
Lawyers' fees and other benefits in South Carolina
Attorney fees in a workers' compensation case must be approved by the Commission. No one may receive a fee for services in a claim unless the Commission or a court approves it.
South Carolina workers' compensation also pays medical care, mileage and travel to the doctor and pharmacy, temporary partial compensation, permanent partial and permanent total disability, disfigurement, vocational rehabilitation referrals, and death benefits. There is no payment for pain and suffering.
Free help in South Carolina
State agency
South Carolina Workers' Compensation Commission
- Phone
- 803-737-5700
- Address
- 1333 Main Street, Suite 500, Columbia, SC 29201 (mail: PO Box 1715, Columbia, SC 29202-1715)
Free help
Good to know in South Carolina
- Even if your employer has already reported the accident, you must file your own Form 50 within 2 years to protect your rights; filing a claim is free.
- South Carolina gives you 90 days to report an accident to your employer, longer than most states, but you should report it immediately.
- If you have a nurse case manager, you may ask for a private exam with your doctor.
Changes in 2024–2026
The maximum weekly compensation rate rose to $1,189.94 for accidents on or after January 1, 2026.
Questions about workers' comp in South Carolina
How long do I have to tell my employer about a work injury in South Carolina?
Report every work injury to your employer immediately. Tell someone in a supervisory role, such as a manager, supervisor or on-site nurse; telling a co-worker may not count as notice.
How long do I have to file a workers' comp claim in South Carolina?
Even if your employer's representative has already reported the accident to the Commission, you must file your own claim within 2 years after the accident to protect your right to compensation.
How much does workers' comp pay in South Carolina?
Temporary total compensation (temporary total disability) can pay two-thirds of your gross (before-tax) wages, up to $1,189.94 a week in 2026.
Can I choose my own doctor for a work injury in South Carolina?
In South Carolina your employer has the right to choose your treating doctor. If you go to a doctor you chose yourself, the bills may not be paid, so ask your employer to send you to its doctor.
Can my employer fire me for filing a workers' comp claim in South Carolina?
An employer may not fire or demote you because you, in good faith, started (or caused someone to start) a workers' compensation proceeding, or because you testified or are about to testify in one.
What if my workers' comp claim is denied in South Carolina?
If your employer's representative has not reported your claim, has denied it, or you believe you are not getting all your benefits, file Form 50 as a hearing request with the Commission's Judicial Department, with the $50 fee (you can ask to waive the fee on Form 32).
Not about a work injury?
Not about a work injury? Unpaid wages → Wage Claim Map · Hurt in a car crash → Accident Claim Map · A medical bill → Medical Bill Map · Unemployment benefits → Unemployment Claim Map · Other problems → robinclaim.com
Nearby states
Sources
- WCC: Injured Worker FAQ's
- WCC: Compensation Rates (2026 maximum)
- WCC: Claimant Forms
- WCC: Hearings
- WCC: Single Commissioner Decision & Order (appeals)
- WCC: Verify Coverage
- S.C. Code Title 42 (PDF hosted by the WCC)
- S.C. Code Title 41, Chapter 1
- South Carolina Bar: Get Legal Help
- State Accident Fund: Uninsured Employers' Fund