Columbia Workers’ Compensation Lawyers

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Columbia Workers’ Compensation Lawyers

If you or your loved one were recently injured while on the job in Columbia, South Carolina, you may be eligible to receive workers' compensation benefits. At the Law Offices of Jason E. Taylor, P.C., our team of work injury lawyers help injured workers who require legal assistance with their workers' compensation claims. Continue reading to learn more about the workers' compensation process in Columbia, South Carolina.

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Is It Worth Getting a Workers’ Comp Attorney in Columbia, South Carolina?

Filing a workers’ compensation claim in Columbia is generally a straightforward administrative process that you can complete on your own. However, unique factors and circumstances can quickly complicate the process.

Workplace injury cases involving minor injuries that are clearly work-related, do not require extensive medical treatment or heal completely with treatment, and do not result in permanent disability typically do not require a lawyer. Employers and their insurance companies are likely to approve these types of claims because they do not result in high costs and you typically return to work after a short time.

But, if you’ve suffered more severe injuries that require extensive or long term medical care or your employer had denied or contested the severity of your injuries, having an experienced and knowledgeable Columbia, SC workers’ compensation lawyer on your side could mean the difference between a win and a denial.

If any of the following circumstances apply to you, it may be in your best interest to have a Columbia Workers’ Compensation attorney manage your workplace injury claim:

  • You have a preexisting condition or illness, such as a chronic back condition.  
  • Your employer or their insurance company has denied your claim.
  • Your employer or their insurance company is contesting or disputing the severity of your disability.
  • Your employer or their insurance company will not approve treatment you believe to be necessary.
  • You are receiving other government benefits such as short-term disability.

Injured employees who hire lawyers to represent them on their workers’ comp claim often receive a higher initial settlement offer because of the lawyer’s knowledge, skill, and experience.

Construction supervisors or engineers help construction workers who have knee and leg injuries, caused by accidents at the construction site. workers compensation theme

What Is the Average Settlement for a Workers’ Comp Case in Columbia?

Each workers’ compensation case is unique, and many factors determine case values. To determine an appropriate settlement, your attorney must consider the severity of your injuries, lost wages, disfigurement and disability, medical expenses, and many other factors.

What Does a Columbia Workers’ Comp Lawyer Do?

The primary goal of a Columbia workers’ compensation attorney is to represent your best interests at all stages of the claims process and recover adequate compensation for your on-the-job injuries.

When you have retained a workers’ comp lawyer, they will typically perform the following tasks:

  • Answer your questions and help you navigate the workers’ comp process.
  • Represent you at any workers’ comp proceedings, including hearings, trials, depositions, mediations, and negotiations.
  • Drafting the necessary legal documents, including pleadings and motions.
  • Gathering medical evidence and medical records, including contacting medical providers and completing paperwork relating to the claim.
  • Taking depositions of the claimant, physicians, medical experts, and other parties.
  • Communicate with third parties such as your employer and their insurance company.

Can I Make a Claim for Pain and Suffering Under Workers’ Comp in Columbia?

No. South Carolina workers’ compensation laws are designed to compensate you for any injuries you receive on the job. It is a “no-fault” system, which means regardless of who is at fault for your work-related injury or illness, your employer is obligated to compensate you for your injuries based on a clearly defined formula. In exchange for these benefits, you give up your right to file a personal injury claim against your employer for your injuries.

Additionally, the South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Commission does not take pain or suffering into account when determining how much money you receive after your claim. However, if a person other than your employer was at fault for your injuries, you may have a claim against that third party. For example, if you were injured in a car accident while on the job, the other driver may be liable for your injuries, including pain and suffering.

What Are My Rights if I Get Hurt on the Job in Columbia, South Carolina?

The Workers’ Compensation Act of South Carolina provides that if an employee suffers injury by accident arising out of and in the course of employment, that individual is entitled to recover medical expenses, temporary total compensation for lost time, and permanent disability benefits if he/she suffered any permanent injury as a result of the work accident.

In order to have your medical costs covered by workers’ compensation, you are required to receive medical care from a provider chosen by your employer or their insurance company, unless you are seeking emergency care. You do have the right to choose a physician to evaluate you for a specific disability,  but those costs are not covered by workers’ compensation benefits.

You are also protected against retaliation for filing a workers’ compensation claim. The law prohibits your employer from firing you simply for filing the claim.

What Should You Not Say to a Workers’ Comp Claims Adjuster?

To maximize your compensation, it is just as important to consider what you shouldn’t say to a workers’ compensation adjuster. The following are things you should not say when speaking with a workers’ comp adjuster:

  • Do not agree to be recorded. Although the workers’ compensation process is an administrative process, it is not legally necessary to record interviews with the adjuster.
  • Do not provide information about your family situation or financial circumstances. Only provide information relating to your injuries and the accident.
  • Do not exaggerate your accident or injuries. Provide the adjuster with as much factual information as possible regarding your accident and injuries, but do not exaggerate.
  • Do not downplay the severity of your injuries either. To receive adequate compensation for your injuries, you should be honest about your pain, limitations, and how the injury has affected your daily living.
  • Do not admit any fault in your injuries. Even though South Carolina workers’ compensation laws are no-fault, insurance companies may use any admission you make to reduce your compensation.

Do not agree to any settlement or sign any documents. Even if the settlement seems generous, you may be entitled to more. Before agreeing with any settlement, have a workers’ compensation attorney review any documents and offers.

Do You Get a Lump Sum From Workers’ Comp?

Getting your workers’ compensation benefits as a lump sum is possible. However, benefits are typically paid weekly. If your benefits have been continued for at least six weeks, you may request that the payments be made by lump sum. When you request a lump sum payment, the Commission will review the request to ensure it is within your best interest and or has been requested by your employer to prevent undue hardship.

How Long Do Workers’ Comp Settlement Negotiations Take in Columbia, SC?

Workers’ Compensation settlement negotiations typically occur months after your initial filing. Depending on your injuries, current and future medical costs, and other factors, settlement discussion can range anywhere from six weeks to six months.

How Is a Workers’ Comp Settlement Calculated?

South Carolina Workers’ Compensation benefits cover three types of costs:

  • Medical benefits. These benefits cover the costs of any necessary medical care to treat your injury, including surgery, hospitalization, medical supplies, prosthetic devices, and prescriptions.
  • Wage replacement benefits. These are payments for lost wages if you are unable to work for at least a week due to your work-related injuries. South Carolina wage replacement is based on a formula that pays a rate of 66.6% of your average weekly wage.
  • Payments for the level of disability your injuries have caused. There are two types of disability: permanent partial disability (PPD) and permanent total disability (PTD), which compensates for injuries based on the severity of the loss of use of specific body parts. Permanent and total disabilities are assigned a fixed amount, based on a schedule of benefits (South Carolina Code of Law, Section 42-9-30).

Contact our Workers’ Compensation Attorneys in Columbia, SC

The Law Offices of Jason E. Taylor, P.C. have dedicated workers’ compensation attorneys, case managers, claims managers, and investigators who work together on each case as a team. We are down-to-earth people who care about our clients and want to see them on the road to recovery. If you are unable to come to one of our offices, we will come to you.

120 3rd St NE
Hickory, NC 28601

Phone: (828) 327-9004
Toll Free: (800) 351-3008

130 Church St NE
Concord, NC 28025

Phone: (704) 787-9419
Toll Free: (800) 351-3008

301 S McDowell St #1016
Charlotte, NC 28204

Phone: (704) 676-1093
Toll Free: (800) 351-3008

1348 Ebenezer Rd #103
Rock Hill, SC 29732

Phone: (803) 980-5300
Toll Free: (800) 351-3008

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Notice of Data Security Event
Updated March 28, 2025

The Law Offices of Jason E. Taylor is providing notice of an event that may affect certain individuals’ information. Although we have no indication of identity theft or fraud in relation to this event, we are providing information about the event, our response, and additional measures individuals can take to help protect their information, should they feel it appropriate to do so.

What Happened? On October 28, 2024, The Law Offices of Jason E. Taylor identified suspicious activity related to our email system. We quickly took steps to investigate and determined that an unknown actor may have accessed certain emails within our email system between August 7 and November 7, 2024. We then conducted a comprehensive review of the potentially affected emails and attachments to determine what information was contained therein and to whom the information related, which was completed on February 25, 2025. Unfortunately, we were unable to verify the addresses of certain affected individuals, so we are providing this notice to ensure potentially affected individuals receive information about the event.

What Information Was Involved? The information affected may include individuals’ Social Security number, driver’s license and state ID information, financial account number, and health information.

What We Are Doing. We are notifying individuals about this matter and providing guidance about free resources that are available to assist with monitoring relevant accounts, credit reports, and how to place a fraud alert or security freeze on one’s credit file. Further, as with our typical security practices, we will continue to evaluate our policies, procedures, staff training, and technical security measures to reduce the likelihood of an event like this reoccurring.

What Individuals Can Do. We encourage you to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft and fraud by reviewing your account statements and monitoring your free credit reports for suspicious activity and to detect errors. We also recommend you review the below “Steps Individuals Can Take To Help Protect Personal Information”.

For More Information. If individuals have questions about this matter, we have a dedicated assistance line with agents ready to answer their questions. Please contact our toll-free dedicated assistance line at 1-800-939-4170, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. through 9 p.m., excluding holidays. You may also write to us at The Law Offices of Jason E. Taylor, Attn: Compliance, P.O. Box 2688, Hickory, NC 28603.

Sincerely,

The Law Offices of Jason E. Taylor

STEPS INDIVIDUALS CAN TAKE TO HELP PROTECT PERSONAL INFORMATION

Monitor Your Accounts

Under U.S. law, a consumer is entitled to one free credit report annually from each of the three major credit reporting bureaus, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. To order a free credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call, toll-free, 1-877-322-8228. Consumers may also directly contact the three major credit reporting bureaus listed below to request a free copy of their credit report.

Consumers have the right to place an initial or extended “fraud alert” on a credit file at no cost. An initial fraud alert is a 1-year alert that is placed on a consumer’s credit file. Upon seeing a fraud alert display on a consumer’s credit file, a business is required to take steps to verify the consumer’s identity before extending new credit. If consumers are the victim of identity theft, they are entitled to an extended fraud alert, which is a fraud alert lasting seven years. Should consumers wish to place a fraud alert, please contact any of the three major credit reporting bureaus listed below.

As an alternative to a fraud alert, consumers have the right to place a “credit freeze” on a credit report, which will prohibit a credit bureau from releasing information in the credit report without the consumer’s express authorization. The credit freeze is designed to prevent credit, loans, and services from being approved in a consumer’s name without consent. However, consumers should be aware that using a credit freeze to take control over who gets access to the personal and financial information in their credit report may delay, interfere with, or prohibit the timely approval of any subsequent request or application they make regarding a new loan, credit, mortgage, or any other account involving the extension of credit. Pursuant to federal law, consumers cannot be charged to place or lift a credit freeze on their credit report. To request a credit freeze, individuals may need to provide some or all of the following information:

1. Full name (including middle initial as well as Jr., Sr., II, III, etc.);
2. Social Security number;
3. Date of birth;
4. Addresses for the prior two to five years;
5. Proof of current address, such as a current utility bill or telephone bill;
6. A legible photocopy of a government-issued identification card (state driver’s license or ID card, etc.); and
7. A copy of either the police report, investigative report, or complaint to a law enforcement agency concerning identity theft if they are a victim of identity theft.

Should consumers wish to place a credit freeze or fraud alert, please contact the three major credit reporting bureaus listed below:

Equifax Experian TransUnion
https://www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services/ https://www.experian.com/help/

https://www.transunion.com/credit-help
1-888-298-0045 1-888-397-3742 1-800-916-8800
Equifax Fraud Alert, P.O. Box 105069 Atlanta, GA 30348-5069 Experian Fraud Alert, P.O. Box 9554, Allen, TX 75013 TransUnion Fraud Alert, P.O. Box 2000, Chester, PA 19016
Equifax Credit Freeze, P.O. Box 105788 Atlanta, GA 30348-5788 Experian Credit Freeze, P.O. Box 9554, Allen, TX 75013 TransUnion Credit Freeze, P.O. Box 160, Woodlyn, PA 19094

Additional Information

Consumers may further educate themselves regarding identity theft, fraud alerts, credit freezes, and the steps they can take to protect their personal information by contacting the consumer reporting bureaus, the Federal Trade Commission, or their state attorney general. The Federal Trade Commission may be reached at: 600 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20580; www.identitytheft.gov; 1-877-ID-THEFT (1-877-438-4338); and TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The Federal Trade Commission also encourages those who discover that their information has been misused to file a complaint with them. Consumers can obtain further information on how to file such a complaint by way of the contact information listed above. Consumers have the right to file a police report if they ever experience identity theft or fraud. Please note that in order to file a report with law enforcement for identity theft, consumers will likely need to provide some proof that they have been a victim. Instances of known or suspected identity theft should also be reported to law enforcement and the relevant state attorney general. This notice has not been delayed by law enforcement.

For District of Columbia residents, the District of Columbia Attorney General may be contacted at: 400 6th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001; 1-202-442-9828; and oag.dc.gov.

For Maryland residents, the Maryland Attorney General may be contacted at: 200 St. Paul Place, 16th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202; 1-410-576-6300 or 1-888-743-0023; and https://www.marylandattorneygeneral.gov/.

For New Mexico residents, consumers have rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, such as the right to be told if information in their credit file has been used against them, the right to know what is in their credit file, the right to ask for their credit score, and the right to dispute incomplete or inaccurate information. Further, pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the consumer reporting bureaus must correct or delete inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable information; consumer reporting agencies may not report outdated negative information; access to consumers’ files is limited; consumers must give consent for credit reports to be provided to employers; consumers may limit “prescreened” offers of credit and insurance based on information in their credit report; and consumers may seek damages from violators. Consumers may have additional rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act not summarized here. Identity theft victims and active-duty military personnel have specific additional rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act. We encourage consumers to review their rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act by visiting www.consumerfinance.gov/f/201504_cfpb_summary_your-rights-under-fcra.pdf, or by writing Consumer Response Center, Room 130-A, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20580.

For New York residents, the New York Attorney General may be contacted at: Office of the Attorney General, The Capitol, Albany, NY 12224-0341; 1-800-771-7755; or https://ag.ny.gov.

For North Carolina residents, the North Carolina Attorney General may be contacted at: 9001 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-9001; 1-877-566-7226 or 1-919-716-6000; and www.ncdoj.gov.

For Rhode Island residents, the Rhode Island Attorney General may be reached at: 150 South Main Street, Providence, RI 02903; 1-401-274-4400; and www.riag.ri.gov. Under Rhode Island law, individuals have the right to obtain any police report filed in regard to this event.
STEPS INDIVIDUALS CAN TAKE TO HELP PROTECT A MINOR DEPENDENT’S PERSONAL INFORMATION

Typically, credit reporting agencies do not have a credit report in a minor’s name. To find out if a minor has a credit report or to request a manual search for a minor’s Social Security number each credit bureau has its own process. To learn more about these processes or request these services, consumers may contact the credit bureaus by phone, writing, or online:
Equifax Experian TransUnion
https://www.equifax.com/personal/help/article-list/-/h/a/request-child-credit-report/
https://www.experian.com/help/minor-request.html
https://www.transunion.com/fraud-victim-resources/child-identity-theft

1-800-685-1111 1-888-397-3742 1-800-916-8800
P.O. Box 105788
Atlanta, GA 30348-5788 P.O. Box 9554
Allen, TX 75013 P.O. Box 2000
Chester, PA 19016

To request information about the existence of a credit file in a minor’s name, search for a minor’s Social Security number, place a security freeze or fraud alert on a minor’s credit report (if one exists), or request a copy of a minor’s credit report consumers may be required to provide the following information:
● A copy of their driver’s license or another government issued identification card, such as a state identification card, etc.;
● Proof of address, such as a copy of a bank statement, utility bill, insurance statement, etc.;
● A copy of the minor’s birth certificate;
● A copy of the minor’s Social Security card;
● The minor’s full name, including middle initial and generation, such as JR, SR, II, III, etc.;
● The minor’s date of birth; and
● The minor’s previous addresses for the past two years.

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