Cayce, SC Workplace Injury Lawyer
Injuries in a workplace accident can leave victims with time off work and lost pay. All the while, you could face more expenses at home, from your new medical bills to your normal food, gas, and rent/mortgage payments. If your income has been jeopardized because of unsafe working conditions, you should be entitled to financial compensation.
Our lawyers help work injury victims fight their employers and other parties for financial damages. Often, lawsuits against an employer are barred without intentional injuries, but you might still be entitled to a lawsuit against certain third-party defendants.
For a free case review, call our workplace injury lawyers today at Burriss Ridgeway Injury Lawyers by dialing (803) 451-4000.
Can You Sue for a Workplace Injury in Cayce, SC?
Generally, workplace accidents are filed through Workers’ Compensation. Under this system, victims do not need to prove fault before insurance pays them for their injuries, and damages can be paid for any accident as long as it is “work-related.” However, damages are only paid for medical expenses and a portion of your lost wages – no money is issued for pain and suffering or the rest of your lost wage damages. To get complete compensation, you often need to consider an injury lawsuit.
Our workplace injury lawyers can assist you in filing injury lawsuits – but not against your employer in most cases. Injury lawsuits against an employer are barred under this insurance scheme unless you can show the employer injured you intentionally. In most other cases, you will sue another party instead, as there is no restriction on lawsuits against third parties.
This means you can typically sue if you were injured by a customer, hit by a car while working, injured by defective safety gear, hurt by a dangerous appliance or piece of machinery used at work, or otherwise injured by some other party outside the business you work for. Lawsuits against contractors, vendors, and manufacturers are some of the most common claims injured workers file.
Damages for Injured Workers in Cayce, SC
As mentioned, you can only get limited damages if you pursue your case through your employer’s insurance. However, you could be left with many other damages for economic and non-economic harms, for which you should be entitled to compensation.
The full cost of any and all wages lost because of the accident can be claimed in an injury lawsuit. This can include the wages you missed while recovering from your injury and any impact on your wages going forward. Many workers cannot return to their previous positions after a work injury because the resulting conditions or disabilities keep them from doing so. Reduced hours, light-duty work, or even a career change are often necessary. This could set you back months or even years when it comes to your income level, career development, and path toward promotions, resulting in future lost income and earnings.
In many cases, a total disability will result in so much money in lost future wages that it would be a shame to leave a large portion of those damages on the table in an insurance settlement. Getting full compensation often requires a lawsuit, as these wages simply cannot be claimed in full through an insurance settlement.
In addition, insurance will pay no damages whatsoever for pain and suffering. A lawsuit is the only way to claim damages for your emotional distress, mental anguish, suffering, lost enjoyment, fear, embarrassment, and physical pain. Our lawyers can help you understand what these damages could be worth and how big a part of your case they might be.
When to Contact a Lawyer for a Work Injury in Cayce, SC
Certain laws usually require injured workers to report what happened to their employer quite quickly. However, you should always be careful when talking to your employer or their insurance representative about what happened. They will look for any semblance of an admission that you were at fault to hold you responsible for your injury and avoid payouts. They might also try to pressure you into taking insurance payments and avoiding any further litigation, even if it would be filed against another party entirely.
It could be “bad for business” if a vendor or manufacturer the company usually works with were to be sued by their employee, so your bosses might try to keep you in the dark about your options and hope that you rely solely on their insurance payout. They might also try to block you from getting insurance by claiming that you intentionally caused your accident or that your injury was related to something outside of work instead of working conditions.
In any case, navigating this reporting and filing process without a lawyer is not advisable. Call our lawyers as soon as you can, and we can help you speak with your employer and begin investigating any potential lawsuit options you have before you get payments from insurance. In many cases, insurance companies will try to drain any settlement you do get through “subrogation” claims, and you should have a lawyer represent you to protect your right to file a lawsuit and reap the full benefit of that claim.
Common Types of Workplace Accident Lawsuits in Cayce, SC
You can often sue for injuries at work related to car crashes, slip and falls, falls from heights, defective product injuries, and many more types of cases. No matter what type of claim you file, there might actually be other insurance companies – such as the auto insurance provider for the car that hit you – who can also pay your claims. When filing claims with these insurance companies, keep in mind that their payments might function as a settlement that ends your claim, so never accept damages from insurance without consulting a lawyer about the effects of that acceptance.
Call Our Cayce, SC Workplace Injury Attorneys Today
For a free review of your potential case, call our workplace injury lawyers at Burriss Ridgeway Injury Lawyers today at (803) 451-4000.
