If you are injured at work and have to take time off to recover, you are entitled to receive compensation for your lost wages through the laws enforced by the South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Commission.1 If you qualify, you can receive weekly checks for partial wage loss, which can help cover your expenses and bills until you are able to return to work. While these checks can be helpful, it may often still be difficult to keep up with your bills and stay within your budget on the weekly benefit checks. For this reason, if the workers’ compensation company offers you a lump-sum payment, you may be tempted to accept it right away.
There are a few things you should know before accepting a settlement, however. First, your weekly benefits will end once you receive the lump-sum payment. This is true even if you have a later flare-up or complication from your injury. You will be unlikely to receive benefit checks for this injury in the future. While a lump-sum payment may seem like a lot of money at the time, companies often try to offer less than the full value of your case. If you do not know how to accurately value your case, you could miss out on many benefits to which you are actually entitled. An experienced attorney can help you value your case to decide whether a settlement offer is sufficient or if you should negotiate for a higher amount or continue with weekly benefits.
Discuss your situation with a dedicated workers’ compensation attorney as soon as possible
While you would like to think that your employer and workers’ compensation insurance company are on your side and looking out for your best interests, a settlement offer is not always enough to cover all of your treatment and lost income. Once you accept a settlement offer, however, you cannot go back and return to weekly payments or make any claims in the future for that same injury. For this reason, it is extremely important that you have an experienced Charleston, SC workers’ compensation lawyer review your offer before accepting it. At the Law Office of Walter Hundley, we will review your case to make sure you are receiving the full amount the law allows, so please call today at 843-723-1995 or 866-723-1995 for help.
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