When you are out of work because of an injury occurring at work you are entitled to pay after the seventh day you miss. Your compensation is determined by a formula in the South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Act. Your compensation is calculated at the rate of 66 2/3 percent of your average weekly wage based on the four quarters prior to your injury, not including the quarter in which you were injured, but no more than the maximum average weekly wage determined each year by the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce. What does this mean?
First, we determine your average weekly wage is. This is determined by averaging what you made per week over the last four quarters, not including the quarter in which you were injured. So if you were injured on July 7, 2015, we would look at your pay from July 1, 2014 until June 30, 2015 and find the average per week. This amount will then be multiplied by .6667 to find your compensation rate.
Finding your average weekly wage can be difficult if you do not have enough time on the job to determine an average wage. Sometimes, depending on the case, we might need to get information on a “similar of like employee.”
If you are working two or more jobs at the time of accident, those wages may be included as part of the average weekly wage and compensation rate. Many times the insurance company will require that you provide the wage information from your second employer. Usually, the insurance company does not try to compensate you for these lost wages from the second employer and will take advantage of the employee not knowing they are entitled to these missed wages as well.
It is important that you speak with an attorney if you believe that you are not getting paid all that you are entitled to under the South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Act. Having the proper compensation rate is extremely important not only to making sure you are getting proper weekly checks, but also affects the amount you are paid for your permanent disability. If you have questions, please contact Venus Poe at (864) 963-0310 or fill out our online form and we will contact you. Our consultation on your workers’ compensation claim are always free and confidential.
The information you obtain in this article is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice.You should not read this article to propose specific action or address specific circumstances, but only to give you a sense of general principles of law. Application of these general principles to particular circumstances must be done by a lawyer who has spoken with you in confidence, learned all relevant information, and explored various options. Before acting on these general principles, you should hire a lawyer licensed to practice law in the jurisdiction in which you may have a case.