According to the most recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), private industry employers reported 2.5 million nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses in 2024, down 3.1% from 2023 and the lowest number recorded since data collection began in 2003. While this is encouraging progress, workplace injuries remain a major crisis. In 2023 (the most recent year for fatal data), there were 5,283 fatal work injuries recorded in the United States, meaning a worker died every 99 minutes from a work-related injury.
Fortunately for injured employees and their families, states have laws in place that allow them to seek compensation for the financial losses that stem from on-the-job accidents. The primary ways of accomplishing this task are through workers’ compensation claims, third-party claims, or lawsuits against the employer.
Workers’ Compensation
Most states, including South Carolina and North Carolina, require certain employers to carry workers’ compensation insurance. In South Carolina, any business with four or more employees is required to carry workers’ compensation insurance. In North Carolina, employers with three or more employees are generally required to carry coverage. Qualifying employees who are hurt or diagnosed with an occupational illness can file a claim for workers’ compensation through their employer. If approved, employees can receive coverage for medical expenses, a portion of their lost wages, and disability benefits while they are out of work.
The advantage of workers’ compensation benefits is that they are awarded regardless of fault. Employees do not have to prove that anyone was to blame for their injuries or illness. All they have to prove is that the injury is work-related.
But workers’ compensation also has limitations. In exchange for providing no-fault benefits, employees give up their right to sue their employers for negligence. In addition, workers are not compensated fully for their losses because they only receive a portion of their lost wages and cannot collect damages for pain and suffering.
What Workers’ Compensation Covers
Workers’ compensation benefits in South Carolina and North Carolina typically include:
- Medical benefits: All necessary and reasonable medical treatment related to your work injury, including doctor visits, surgeries, hospital stays, medications, physical therapy, and medical equipment.
- Wage loss benefits: Generally, two-thirds (66⅔%) of your average weekly wages while you are unable to work (subject to state maximums).
- Temporary total disability (TTD): Benefits while you are completely unable to work during recovery.
- Temporary partial disability (TPD): Benefits if you can return to work but at reduced hours or in a lighter-duty role that pays less.
- Permanent disability benefits: If your injury results in a lasting impairment, you may receive permanent disability compensation based on the body part affected (after maximum medical improvement).
- Vocational rehabilitation: Assistance with job training or retraining if you cannot return to your previous job.
Workers’ Compensation Filing Deadlines in South Carolina
Injured workers in South Carolina must be aware of strict deadlines:
- 90-day notice requirement: You must notify your employer in writing within 90 days of your workplace accident. Failure to do so can bar you from receiving benefits, with limited exceptions (e.g., employer knowledge or no prejudice).
- 2-year statute of limitations: You must file a formal claim with the South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Commission within two years of your injury date. For occupational diseases or repetitive trauma, the two-year period begins from the date of definitive diagnosis or discovery.
- Death claims: Surviving spouses and dependents have two years from the date of the worker’s death to file a claim for death benefits.
Workers’ Compensation Filing Deadlines in North Carolina
North Carolina workers face similar but distinct deadlines:
- 30-day notice requirement: You must report your injury to your employer within 30 days; a late notice may be excused if no prejudice to the employer or if they had knowledge.
- 2-year statute of limitations: You must file a claim with the North Carolina Industrial Commission within two years of the date of the accident or the last payment of medical compensation, whichever is later.
- Occupational disease: The 2-year period runs from the date you were first disabled and knew (or should have known) your condition was work-related.
Third-Party Claim
Sometimes, a worker is injured on the job due to no fault of the employer. That changes the employee’s legal options. If someone else’s negligence — such as an independent contractor, non-employee, or the manufacturer of a defective product — causes an employee’s injury, the worker could be able to file a personal injury claim against the at-fault party.
The upside of a third-party claim is that workers can pursue compensation for the full amount of their losses, including medical expenses, all of their lost wages, pain and suffering, and more.
Lawsuit Against Employer
It’s very difficult to file a personal injury lawsuit against an employer. Again, that’s because employers get immunity from lawsuits by providing no-fault workers’ compensation benefits to their employees. In South Carolina, workers’ compensation is an “exclusive remedy” system, meaning it is generally the only legal action available against an employer after a workplace injury.
In rare circumstances, an employee may be able to file a lawsuit against his or her employer. If the employer acted intentionally or exhibited severe negligence, it could be possible for the injured worker to file a personal injury claim against them.
3 Important Steps in Filing a Workers’ Compensation Claim
- Report the injury to your employer immediately (within 30 days in NC; within 90 days in SC). Delays can jeopardize your claim.
- Seek medical treatment from an approved physician. In both states, your employer or their insurer generally has the right to direct your medical care, at least initially.
- Consult a workers’ compensation attorney before accepting any settlement. Once you settle a workers’ comp claim, you typically cannot reopen it, even if your condition worsens.
Contact a Workers’ Compensation Attorney at Stewart Law Offices
Have you been injured in a workplace accident in South Carolina or North Carolina? Get in touch with an experienced workers’ compensation lawyer at Stewart Law Offices today. For more than three decades, our law firm has stood up for the rights of injured workers throughout the Carolinas.
Call or contact us today for a free consultation. We’ll listen to your story, help you apply for and/or appeal a claim for workers’ compensation, and advise on whether you have a third party or employer claim.
We’re standing by to help. Let’s get started now.
Originally published February, 2017. Updated Mar, 2026