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There are several categories of benefits available under the workers' compensation law. Entitlement to them depends upon the severity of the injury, your ability to work, the degree of your disability, whether temporary or permanent, the availability of work, and your need for medical care.

The amount of compensation is based upon your weekly compensation rate which usually is calculated as two-thirds of your gross average weekly pay.

One type of benefit available is medical treatment for the job injury or disease. In most cases this benefit is available only while you are recuperating and have not reached your maximum healing. For some types of profound injuries or diseases, medical benefits may be available for your lifetime.

Reasonably Necessary Medical Treatment:
Under the South Carolina Workers' Compensation Law, an injured worker is entitled to reasonably necessary medical treatment which tends to lessen his or her period of disability. This treatment includes doctors, hospitals, medicines, physical therapy, supplies, nursing services, and other necessary care as determined by the South Carolina Workers' Compensation Commission. There is no deductible or co-pay on the part of the employee, and the employer or the insurance company is responsible for one hundred percent of the medical expenses.

In addition, the employee is entitled to a travel expense of 31.5 cents per mile for travel to and from the medical providers.

Temporary weekly benefits may be paid for the weeks or months that you are unable to work because of your injury or disease. These benefits typically end either when you return to work or a doctor certifies that you can. If you reach your maximum healing and are still unable to work, your temporary weekly benefits for total inability to work cease. If you have a permanent disability, you may receive compensation for a limited number of weeks as payment for that permanent disability.

No compensation will be paid for the first seven calendar days of temporary total disability unless the injury results in disability of more than 14 days, in which case compensation will be paid from the date of disability.

Often a job injury is permanent in nature. This means that after you have gotten as well as you are going to be, you still have a permanent loss of use or disability to some part of your body. The workers' compensation law allows compensation, with limits, for these permanent injuries. For example, if you injure your back, eye, arm, leg, or some other part of your body, and the full function of that body part never returns, you should be entitled to benefits commensurate with the percentage loss of use or function of the injured body part. Limits are placed on compensation related to loss of function of most body parts, and some body parts have higher limits than others. The amount of your compensation is based on your weekly compensation rate and dependent on proving the percentage loss to the body part. These benefits are paid in addition to the temporary total benefits.

Some injuries are so severe that even after you have reached your maximal healing, you are still unable to engage in any type of employment. In such cases of permanent total disability, you are entitled to as much as 500 weeks of compensation, and medical treatment for your injury for life. Any temporary total benefits which you have received before you are determined to be permanently and totally disabled will be credited against the 500 weeks of compensation you receive for permanent total disability.

If death results from the injury or accident, and that death occurs within two years of the accident or while total disability continues and within six years after the accident, the dependents of the deceased employee are entitled to 66 2/3% percent of the employee's weekly wages - not to exceed the average weekly wage for the State of South Carolina for the preceding fiscal year - for a period of 500 weeks.