If I Am Injured in a Workplace Accident While Performing Non-Work Related Duties, Can I Still File for Workers’ Compensation?

A work injury can happen under numerous circumstances, often when you least expect it. While it is clear that employees performing work-related duties are entitled to workers’ comp benefits, if you are asked to perform a task outside your work duties, this may not be the case. In this blog, our Greenville workers’ compensation attorneys discuss what workers’ compensation covers and in what situations coverage will not apply.

What is Covered Under Workers’ Compensation?

Workers’ compensation is employer provided insurance which provides benefits to employees that have been injured in the scope of their employment or have been diagnosed with a medical condition as a result of their job.

In South Carolina, workers’ compensation provides the following benefits to employees:

Lost Wages

Workers who cannot work may be entitled to two-thirds of lost wages, with employees who are restricted to light work duties being entitled to two-thirds of the difference between their wages before and after their injury.

Medical Expenses

Employees that go through an employer approved provider can get all necessary and reasonable medical costs covered. Benefits will continue until an employee can return to work or have improved as much as possible, known as reaching maximum medical improvement (MMI). Additionally, workers’ comp also offers permanent disability benefits, with workers being eligible to receive benefits for 500 weeks. In cases of total and permanent disability, benefits will last for life.

Job Training

If your injury or ailment prevents you from returning to your previous job, you may be entitled to work training. Vocational training helps injured or ill employees to develop new skills in an effort to find gainful employment.

Death Benefits

Death benefits for a deceased worker will include all medical expenses related to the on-the-job injury or occupational illness, $12,000 in burial costs, and two-thirds of the employee’s average weekly wages for 500 weeks.

Scenarios in Which Workers’ Comp Benefits May Be Denied

South Carolina workers’ compensation regulations are strict, requiring that an injury or ailment arises out of the scope of employment. Although there are exceptions to this rule, in general, these circumstances may disqualify you from making a claim:

You Were Performing Tasks Outside Your Job Duties

If you are completing tasks for a coworker that are not in the scope of your employment, then workers’ comp benefits may not apply. However, if the task you are performing is normally part of your own job duties, then you may be eligible for benefits.

If You Are On Your Way to Work or Leaving Work

Under South Carolina’s coming and going rule, workers’ compensation does not apply if you are injured traveling to or from work. However, there are exceptions to this rule, such as if you were running an errand for your boss, are driving a company vehicle, or if the route you must use to travel to work is considered especially dangerous, to name a few.

If the Injury Was Not an Accident

Where accidental work injuries are covered under workers’ comp, a fight between co-workers that results in injuries or a drunken worker that falls and hits their head will not be covered under workers’ compensation insurance.

Greenville Workers’ Compensation Attorneys Offering Compassion and Guidance

If you were hurt while performing non-work related duties, your injuries may still be compensable. Do not rely on the insurance carrier to decide whether you live a life of solvency or are consumed by debt. Your first step in a workplace accident should be contacting the Greenville workers’ compensation lawyers at Fulton & Barr Attorneys at Law. To learn how we can be of help to you, contact us online or give us a call today to schedule your free consultation.