Welcome to The Legal Truth, the podcast created to provide you general legal information about South Carolina law, lawyers, and the legal process, and hopefully prevent you from being surprised by the unexpected. We will answer many of the questions I've been asked during the past 35 years about South Carolina personal injury claims and workers' compensation claims. We'll also discuss existing laws and proposed changes in the law and how they affect you.

(00:30):

My name is Dirk Derrick. I'm the founder of the Derrick Law Firm, and I'm your host.

Voiceover (00:35):

Please see required ethics disclaimers in show notes.

Pearl Carey (00:42):

Hello, everyone. Welcome back to The Legal Truth Podcast. I'm your host, Pearl, and I'm so excited to be here today with one of Derrick Law Firm's attorneys, Brandon Hylton. Thank you so much for being here.

Brandon Hylton (00:42):

Happy to be here.

Pearl Carey (00:56):

And today we're going to be talking a little bit about workers' compensation claims in South Carolina. First question for you, Brandon. How would one go about filing a workers' compensation claim?

Brandon Hylton (01:08):

In South Carolina, if you have an admitted workers' compensation claim, first your employer will likely file the workers' compensation claim with their carrier, and the carrier will then file it with the commission.

(01:23):

If, however, your claim is denied, the best and most proper way is to file a Form 50, which is a form we use in workers' compensation called either a Notice of Claim or Request for Hearing. And there are several questions that you would answer to file that claim.

Pearl Carey (01:38):

And what kind of questions would I have to answer if I'm looking to file a claim?

Brandon Hylton (01:43):

You're going to have to state how your injury occurred. You're going to have to state whether it occurred in the course and scope of your employment, what your injuries are as a result of that, whether you had pre-existing injuries or disability as well. Those are some of the questions that you'd have to answer.

Pearl Carey (01:59):

I know that you referenced telling your employer about your workers' compensation claim before you file it. How does that reporting kind of go? Is there a certain time limit I need to be aware of before I report it to my employer? Or ...

Brandon Hylton (02:10):

Absolutely. The best practice is immediate notification to the employer. For a statutory bar, though, it is 90 days. You have to give notice to your employer. It does not have to be in writing, but you do have to give it 90 days' notice to the employer of the incident.

Pearl Carey (02:26):

If I didn't necessarily put it in writing, if I just told my employer, could they potentially come back, though, and say that they never heard anything about this? Or how would that work?

Brandon Hylton (02:35):

Certainly, documentation is the best practice. Emails. Text. Something that you can pull back and retrieve. Certainly, not everybody's honest, unfortunately. And it becomes a he-said-she-said battle in those instances, and it's up to the commission to see who they believe. Documentation helps you prove your notice.

Pearl Carey (02:53):

How would I know if I'm even eligible for workers' compensation? Is there a requirement in South Carolina for that?

Brandon Hylton (02:59):

If your employer has four or more employees, virtually all of those employers have to have workers' compensation insurance. If your employer does not have four or more employees, they're not required to have workers' compensation coverage, but they can elect to come under the act.

Pearl Carey (03:15):

What happens if I do work for a company that has less than four employees?

Brandon Hylton (03:19):

Under that scenario, if the employer was at fault, you may have a lawsuit type of a claim where you have to prove negligence and those types of issues. If they've elected to come under the act, then it would be handled just like a regular workers' compensation claim.

Pearl Carey (03:33):

Gotcha. And so, speaking of lawsuits, how would I know if I need to sue for a workers' compensation claim?

Brandon Hylton (03:38):

Well, again, if your employer's covered by workers' compensation, that is the exclusive remedy in South Carolina, you would not be able to sue the employer, and we call tort or liability, unless it was an intentional act by the employer. Very hard to prove. Most of them are going to be ... The exclusive remedy is going to be workers' compensation.

Pearl Carey (03:58):

And how would I prove if an employer maybe hurt me intentionally?

Brandon Hylton (04:02):

It would all be fact-specific driven where it's going to be up to a fact finder, such as a jury in that case, or the Workers' Compensation Commission to say whether this was an intentional act.

Pearl Carey (04:12):

Gotcha. Let's say we do have a pending workers' compensation claim, and we've walked out this whole process. What kind of benefits can I expect to get from my workers' compensation claim?

Brandon Hylton (04:22):

I always say you've got four benefits you're going to look at getting in workers' compensation. The first is your medical treatment. Under the act, the employer, their carrier, has to provide medical treatment at no cost to the employer. There's no copay. There's no deductibles, but they do have the right to direct your medical treatment. They can tell you where to go absent good calls.

(04:44):

The second thing you're going to get, potentially, is your temporary benefits. If an approved treating physician is taking you out of work past seven days, then you're entitled to what we call temporary total disability. Temporary benefits is your second.

(04:57):

Third is going to be your permanent disability. Under our act is, if you have any type of impairment rating or functional disability, the act prescribes different amounts of benefits for those types of injuries.

(05:10):

And then the final benefit you get in workers' compensation is future medical treatment. Even though you've reached maximum medical improvement, a doctor may say, "To maintain that level of improvement, you're going to need certain continued medical treatment." That can be ordered as well by the commission.

Pearl Carey (05:25):

And so, speaking of medical treatment, who would choose my doctor in one of these claims? Do I get to pick? Does my employer get to pick? Or how does that work?

Brandon Hylton (05:32):

Under the workers' compensation system, it's 42-15-60 states that the employer has the right, or their carrier has the right, to direct the medical treatment. They can tell you where to go.

(05:46):

If you choose not to go to their doctor ,and you treat on your own, you're liable to pay for that treatment.

Pearl Carey (05:52):

Wow. That's important to know. My employer would kind of tell me, "Hey, this is who you need to see,"?

Brandon Hylton (05:57):

Absolutely. If you get injured on the job, if it's an emergency treatment, of course that's covered under the Workers' Compensation Act. If somebody drops a cinder block on you, and you've got to go to the emergency room right then, that type of treatment is covered.

(06:12):

If you're then referred to an orthopedic, let's say, after that initial accident, they have the right then to select that orthopedic doctor for you to go to.

(06:21):

If you choose not to go to that orthopedic, and you went to someone else, again, that's when you would be liable for paying for that orthopedic doctor.

Pearl Carey (06:29):

Absolutely. And so, kind of turning back to the beginning of the whole workers' compensation process, when we're speaking about the initial incident, how severe must injuries be in order to file a workers' compensation claim?

Brandon Hylton (06:41):

There's no level of severity in filing a workers' compensation claim. It can be where simply I only need medical treatment, and I don't have permanent disability. That can still be a claim under the Workers' Compensation Act. I always tell people the goal of workers' compensation for everybody should be to get the medical treatment as soon as possible so that I can get back to work as soon as possible. That's the goal in workers' compensation.

Pearl Carey (07:06):

Throughout this workers' compensation claim process, are there any particular issues you or your clients run into routinely?

Brandon Hylton (07:13):

Absolutely. Unfortunately, in South Carolina, workers' compensation is not subject to bad faith laws. An employer, insurance company ... They can deny a claim for any reason, and the burden of proof is then on the injured employee to prove his case before the commission.

(07:29):

Also, even on accepted cases, there's often hurdles where temporary benefits aren't started timely. There's delays in medical treatment, or just sometimes it's not being treated fairly in the settlement process.

Pearl Carey (07:41):

Really? What are some things that a potential client can do to maybe mitigate some of those concerns? Or are they just kind of out of their control?

Brandon Hylton (07:49):

Certainly, I think having an attorney on your claim helps. It's not required in South Carolina to have an attorney, but to ensure that your rights are protected, it is important to have an attorney.

Pearl Carey (07:58):

When should I contact an attorney during my workers' compensation process?

Brandon Hylton (08:02):

I always say the sooner, the better. The front end, we can do more of the investigation. We can make sure the claim's filed correctly. We can make sure notice is provided in a documented form and then help ensure that medical treatment and those temporary benefits are started timely.

Pearl Carey (08:17):

Speaking of some issues a client might run into with their workers' compensation claim, does a worker kind of have to be worried about maybe getting fired for filing a claim such as this?

Brandon Hylton (08:26):

There is a retaliatory discharge statute in South Carolina that says they cannot punish you or fire you for filing a workers' compensation claim.

Pearl Carey (08:34):

And are there ways around that for employers, or no?

Brandon Hylton (08:37):

Certainly, there are instances. We are a right-to-work state in South Carolina. You're still subject to regular employment laws. If you're not showing up for work on time, or you're showing insubordination, those types of things, you're still subject to termination. But if they fire you for specifically for filing the workers' compensation claim, that is improper under South Carolina law.

Pearl Carey (08:59):

Can they fire you for missing work due to medical treatment?

Brandon Hylton (09:02):

No, that is not supposed to happen in South Carolina. Again, since they have the right to direct medical treatment, they're telling you where to go and when to be there. In fact, if you fail to go for medical treatment that's directed by the employer, that can be deemed non-compliance under the Workers' Compensation Act.

Pearl Carey (09:22):

Is there anything in terms of non-compliance with the employer that may be you, as an attorney, prove? Or ...

Brandon Hylton (09:27):

Since there's no bad faith in South Carolina, there's really no punishment against an employer for failing to pick up a workers' compensation claim or their carrier for failing to pick up a workers' compensation claim.

Pearl Carey (09:27):

Wow.

Brandon Hylton (09:39):

What can happen is, if their delay in providing treatment results in additional disability to the employer, they're responsible for that additional disability.

Pearl Carey (09:49):

And would you say there are any consequences for an employer for not picking up a workers' compensation claim?

Brandon Hylton (09:55):

In terms of bad faith, no. However, if an employer delays providing medical treatment, and that delay results in additional impairment or disability to the employee, they will be responsible for that additional impairment or disability.

Pearl Carey (10:11):

Well, that's really good to know, I'm sure, for potential clients. If my employer hasn't accepted my claim, what should I do from there?

Brandon Hylton (10:17):

That's when I would seek out an attorney to file a claim for benefits under the Workers' Compensation Act. Again, the only way to make an employer or a carrier do something that they're not doing is to get an order from the South Carolina Workers' Compensation Commission.

Pearl Carey (10:32):

Kind of turning back to our example of someone missing work for medical treatment, I know that you said that they can't be fired for that, but could they potentially miss out on wages due to that?

Brandon Hylton (10:42):

Well, the act says that, if you're out for seven days, the first seven days that you're out of work is considered a waiting period where you're not entitled to any type of temporary benefits.

(10:53):

After being taken out of work for seven days, they're supposed to start your temporary benefits. Your temporary benefits are based on two-thirds of your gross average weekly wage for the four quarters prior to the quarter of your accident.

(11:07):

After seven days, they're supposed to start those benefits. If you're only out of work three days, and then you're put back to work, there's no temporary benefits paid for that initial three days. Once you go past seven days, then you're entitled to your two-thirds of your average weekly wage.

Pearl Carey (11:24):

With that two-thirds, do you get the other third back if your claim goes through? Or is that just kind of a lost cause?

Brandon Hylton (11:29):

No, there's no taxes taken out on your workers' compensation benefits. Most of the time, but not always, it's pretty close to what your take-home was. There is a maximum compensation rate, though, in South Carolina each year. It changes yearly.

Pearl Carey (11:44):

Per job or just overall?

Brandon Hylton (11:46):

Overall. I think right now in 2023 it's a little over $1,000. Even if you're making $10,000 a week, you're going to be stuck at $1,000, around there, for the maximum comp rate.

Pearl Carey (12:00):

Wow. Kind of turning to benefits then, how are benefits kind of calculated for a workers' compensation claim?

Brandon Hylton (12:08):

It depends on the injury that you've sustained. The first set of benefits under the act is under 42-9-10. It states that, if you have, first, two or more body parts injured, you can go under what we call permanent and total disability. That is a maximum of 500 weeks in South Carolina. It's 500 weeks times your compensation rate.

Pearl Carey (12:28):

Gotcha.

Brandon Hylton (12:28):

The only time you are not under that 500-week maximum is if you have either a permanent and severe brain injury, quadriplegia, or paraplegia. Under those types of injuries, you have lifetime benefits.

(12:41):

If your injury is to an individual body part, though, then you're under 42-9-30, which is what we call our scheduled member statute. Take, for example, you injure your arm. Under 42-9-30, your arm is worth a maximum of 220 weeks of benefits.

Pearl Carey (13:00):

Wow.

Brandon Hylton (13:02):

Say you end up with a 10% disability to that arm. How your disability benefits would work out is you take 10% of the 220 weeks, which would give you 22 weeks. You then take that 22 weeks, and you multiply it by your compensation rate and two-thirds of your average weekly wage to come up with your disability award.

Pearl Carey (13:27):

Gotcha. And speaking of injuries, what happens if I'm injured by a third party for my workers' compensation claim?

Brandon Hylton (13:33):

Under those types of injuries, you could potentially have two claims. It's called a dual claim in South Carolina.

(13:40):

The first claim you'll have is your workers' compensation claim with your employer, and the second claim you'll have is against the at-fault or negligent third party. This usually comes up in South Carolina around, let's say, an automobile case. You're driving for your employer, and a negligent third party driver, someone not associated with your employer, hits you while you're working. Under that claim, you're going to have the workers' compensation claim. Then you're going to have a separate lawsuit against the at-fault driver.

Pearl Carey (14:12):

Gotcha.

Brandon Hylton (14:12):

Now, it's very important with those claims that they're handled the right way. If you settle that automobile claim without notice and permission of the workers' compensation carrier, it can result in what we call an election of remedies where you lose your workers' compensation claim.

Pearl Carey (14:28):

You're kidding.

Brandon Hylton (14:29):

They've got to be handled the right way. Again, important to have an attorney on those types of claims so that your rights are protected.

Pearl Carey (14:36):

When you have a claim that's both the at-fault or negligent party claim, and then you have your workers' compensation claim, can that kind of drag on the process? Or how does that work?

Brandon Hylton (14:44):

Usually does not drag on the workers' compensation process because it's going to be handled like any other workers' compensation claim. Can potentially drag on the third-party claim to a degree because you need to get the workers' compensation claim completed, ideally, before then pursuing that third-party claim.

(15:05):

In those third-party claims, you also have to realize that workers' compensation ... That carrier has a lien on any award settlement or any other proceeds you get from that third-party claim.

(15:17):

Typically, they're not paid back dollar for dollar as long as those claims are handled the right way.

Pearl Carey (15:23):

I know that you mentioned that you would need an attorney, or at least it's recommended that you have an attorney for the at-fault or third-party claim and then the workers' compensation claim. Is it still highly recommended that you have an attorney for just the workers' compensation claim? Or what is the likelihood of someone being able to work that out themselves?

Brandon Hylton (15:41):

Certainly, not all claims require an attorney on them. But if your claim is resulting in delays, it's not accepted, or if it's a major claim where you're going to be likely out of work for a long time or potentially out of work indefinitely, I would definitely recommend having an attorney.

(15:59):

Also, if you are on Medicare or filing for Social Security disability, there are special laws related to those claims and how you handle them. Very important that I would think that you'd want to have an attorney help you through that process as well.

Pearl Carey (16:14):

Absolutely. And so, what are some examples of a delay someone might face while they're handling their workers' compensation claim maybe on their own?

Brandon Hylton (16:21):

The first delay that usually occurs is not authorizing the medical treatment timely. They're not directing like they're supposed to under the act. The second is, again, you're out of work more than seven days, and they're not starting your temporary benefits. That's a big deal.

Pearl Carey (16:35):

Absolutely.

Brandon Hylton (16:36):

You need money coming in. Those are two of the most often delays that we see. The next is the delay once the claim is accepted. Again, either you fall off of those repetitive pays. Those payments. That happens quite often as well.

Pearl Carey (16:53):

And so, how long does it typically take to receive those benefits?

Brandon Hylton (16:57):

If they start them immediately, there's usually no delay to get those immediately.

(17:02):

If they're not doing, again, something they're supposed to be doing under the Workers' Compensation Act, our only remedy is to request a hearing under the Workers' Compensation Act. That does take a little bit of time. It's faster than what we see in trial court, but it's not as fast as you would want it to be because, one, we file our Form 50. That's our request for hearing, our complaint, in South Carolina in workers' compensation.

(17:26):

From there, the defendants have 30 days to answer on a Form 51 is what they use. Then under our statute, the Workers' Compensation Commission has to give all parties 30 days' notice of a hearing. The fastest you could ever be before a commissioner is 60 days.

(17:44):

Often with-

Pearl Carey (17:46):

That's a lot.

Brandon Hylton (17:47):

... scheduling, it's going to be probably 90 to 120 days with docketing.

Pearl Carey (17:50):

Under the claim, are there any specific ways an attorney might be able to help with those delays or remedy them quicker?

Brandon Hylton (17:56):

Certainly, we're used to working with adjusters and opposing counsel. While it's not right, oftentimes a letter from an attorney or a call from an attorney carries more weight than just the claimant calling. From my previous experience of working for the defense companies, most adjusters have way too many claims on their desk. They're carrying a lot of claims, and they're putting out fires. And having an attorney on your claim helps put your claim on fire and pay attention to it more. Not right. But again, it's just real-world practicality.

Pearl Carey (18:29):

If I do have a workers' compensation claim, and I have an attorney, how long can I kind of expect to hear back from my attorney regarding my claim?

Brandon Hylton (18:37):

Our office practice is that somebody is going to reach out to you at least monthly from our office to keep you up to date on the claim.

Pearl Carey (18:44):

We talked about filing a workers' compensation claim in South Carolina, but are there any things that I need to be aware of before I do so?

Brandon Hylton (18:51):

Yes. You need to make sure that you have jurisdiction in South Carolina to file the claim.

Pearl Carey (18:55):

And what does that mean?

Brandon Hylton (18:56):

Jurisdiction means that it is the proper venue or the state to file your claim. Certainly, if your accident happened in North Carolina, per se, that's a different Workers' Compensation Act than South Carolina, and you may need to file your claim in North Carolina.

(19:10):

To file your claim In South Carolina, the injury has to occur in South Carolina. The principal place of employment has to be in South Carolina where the claimant was or employee was hired in South Carolina.

Pearl Carey (19:22):

What if there's kind of differing states? Maybe I was driving a work truck or something like that in another state, but my office is in South Carolina. How might that work?

Brandon Hylton (19:30):

You can actually have what we call a concurrent claim. Let's say you were hired in South Carolina, but you're making a delivery in North Carolina, and you get in a wreck in North Carolina. In that type of claim, you would have a concurrent jurisdiction claim. You can bring the claim in both states. Now, you don't get a windfall where you get benefits-

Pearl Carey (19:48):

Both.

Brandon Hylton (19:48):

... from North Carolina and South Carolina, but anything you would've gotten, say, in North Carolina that you didn't get in South Carolina, you get the extra.

Pearl Carey (19:57):

Well, that's really good to know. And so, regarding the hearing that you've talked about, I know in past podcasts I've heard Dirk kind of talk about trials and specifics.

(20:03):

What's the difference between a workers' compensation hearing and a regular trial?

Brandon Hylton (20:09):

The hearing in workers' compensation in South Carolina is basically our trial. That's where we're proving our case. The difference is we don't have a jury in workers' compensation. Obviously, our commissioner is our judge and a jury. There are seven commissioners in South Carolina. They're appointed by our governor and approved by our state Senate. And so, they hear a case first at the single commissioner level. Again, it looks like a trial. We're going to put evidence up. There's going to be testimony taken from witnesses. But in the end, the commissioner's going to make the decision entirely.

(20:44):

Now, if we don't agree with that decision, either party can then appeal to what we call the full commission. It would be heard by a panel of three other commissioners basically de novo, and de novo means that they have complete authority to change the ruling on the facts or the law.

(21:02):

And then if you don't agree with that decision, the next step is to the appellate courts of South Carolina. First, the Court of Appeals and then the South Carolina Supreme Court. They're supposed to only deal with errors of law.

Pearl Carey (21:13):

And so kind of just for clarification, how long does it typically take to get a hearing in the first place?

Brandon Hylton (21:18):

From the time you file your workers' compensation claim, again, if it's for a hearing, again, that's the 30 days that the defendants have to answer and then the 30 days notice. If you're just filing a claim and getting benefits started, that can start very fast depending on the insurance carrier and the adjuster. But again, if they don't, the only remedy is to go to that hearing, which is, again ... You're looking at probably about 90 to 120 days to get before a commissioner.

Pearl Carey (21:46):

Walk me through the complete process of the time from when I sustained my injury and through the workers' compensation claim process.

Brandon Hylton (21:52):

All right. Again, from the time you sustain your injury, again, it's a no-fault system. Again, as long as your injury arose out of and in the course of your employment, you have a compensable workers' compensation claim in South Carolina, again, assuming your employer is subject to the act, likely having four or more employees.

(22:09):

From that point, best practice is to give immediate notice to your employer. From there, you got to make sure you do give it within 90 days. Again, documentation is better.

(22:18):

From there, the defendant, or here, the employer, should direct your medical treatment and provide medical treatment timely to you. Likely it's going to be actually their workers' compensation insurance carrier and the adjuster directing that treatment. You need to attend the treatment. Again, if you fail to attend the medical treatment, it can be deemed non-compliant.

(22:39):

Now, after that first visit, let's say you're taken out of work. From that first seven days of being taken out of work, you're not entitled to any what we call temporary benefits.

(22:50):

After being taken out of work seven days, your temporary benefits should start. Again, it's based on your average weekly wage, and we use two-thirds of that number for the compensation rate. That's what you'll be paid at with no taxes taken out. Those temporary benefits would continue until one of a few things happened. Either you're released to light-duty work, and your employer offers you light-duty work, you're released to full duty, and your employer offers you full-duty work, or you reach maximum medical improvement. That's going to be determined by the treating physician. Once you plateau in treatment, the doctor says ... The standard is it's not going to tend to lessen the period of disability. That's when the doctor's going to place you at maximum medical improvement. At that time, he's going to answer several questions, and there's, again, a specific form in workers' compensation that we use. It's a 14B that the doctor fills out. It's called a physician statement.

Pearl Carey (23:41):

Gotcha.

Brandon Hylton (23:42):

On that statement, he's going to note your date of MMI, maximum medical improvement. We use a lot of acronyms in workers' comp too. Your date of maximum medical improvement. He's going to note your impairment rating to the body part. Then he's going to note if you have any hardware. If you've had surgery and have screws placed, he's going to note that, and then he's going to note future medical treatment that you need to maintain your level of improvement.

(24:06):

Now, you heard me just use impairment. We've been talking about disability. What's the difference between impairment and disability under the act? Impairment, again, is assigned by the doctor. It represents a loss of functioning, and they use the AMA Guides to Permanent Impairment to come up with that number.

(24:23):

In the commission world, we use disability, which is, how does that impairment impact the employee's ability to work and earn money? All right? I always use the example of me as a right-handed attorney. Let's say I injure my left pinky finger. And there's a guy that plays the piano for a living, and he injures his left pinky finger.

Pearl Carey (24:46):

The disability might be different, but the impairment ...

Brandon Hylton (24:48):

Exactly.

Pearl Carey (24:49):

The same.

Brandon Hylton (24:50):

We could have the same injury treated by the doctor, get the same impairment rating, but when the commission looks at it, the piano player's going to likely have a higher disability than I am because he uses his finger more in his work than I do.

[NEW_PARAGRAPH]Then we look at that time of what's the best way to resolve a claim in South Carolina. To resolve a claim, there's basically three different ways. First is a clincher settlement. It means it's a total resolution of your workers' compensation claim. I always say, when resolving your claim, you're looking at two different benefits that you get. You're looking at that permanent disability. You're also looking at the future medical treatment. A clincher settlement is where you're both of those. You're closing out the claim completely-

Pearl Carey (24:50):

The whole thing.

Brandon Hylton (25:32):

The second way to resolve the claim is what we call a Form 16A. Again, another form in workers' compensation. Under that type of settlement, you're selling only your permanent disability. Your future medical treatment, as recommended by the doctor, is left open. It's not complete open medical treatment. It's just what's left open by the doctor.

Pearl Carey (25:50):

And that's if you have an ongoing injury?

Brandon Hylton (25:52):

That future medical treatment to maintain your level of improvement. Again, you might've gotten a back injury, had surgery, and the doctor's going to say, "Well, you're going to need pain medication to maintain your level of improvement that you suffered." Again, you would get that as because it's recommended by the doctor.

[NEW_PARAGRAPH]And that 16A ... It's also special because you get one extra benefit, is a year for a change of condition claim. From the date you receive that money for that 16A settlement, the clock starts to run, and it runs for one year. And if during that one year your injury has a change of condition for the worse, and a doctor states that, then you can file to reopen your claim for additional temporary benefits, additional medical benefits, and potentially additional permanent disability benefits as well, but it only runs for one year. After a year-

Pearl Carey (25:52):

That's it.

Brandon Hylton (26:44):

... then it closes out, and you only get what was previously recommended by the doctor in your previous permanent disability award.

(26:51):

And then the third and final way to resolve a claim in South Carolina is, if you just can't reach an agreement with the workers' compensation carrier, your only option is to go to a hearing.

Pearl Carey (26:59):

And then that could continue on with the appellate court and so on and so forth.

Brandon Hylton (27:02):

Yes. If you have to go to the appellate courts in South Carolina, most claims settle in South Carolina. The next is most resolved at a single commissioner hearing. If it requires beyond the single commissioner hearing, you're looking at probably six months to a year to get before an appellate panel. And then to go up to the Court of Appeals, you're probably looking, and Supreme Court, anywhere two to five years-

Pearl Carey (27:02):

Could be a while.

Brandon Hylton (27:26):

It could be a while.

Pearl Carey (27:28):

As a workers' compensation attorney here at Derrick Law Firm, do you only handle workers' compensation cases? Or does that vary by law firm?

Brandon Hylton (27:35):

That's all I've handled is workers' compensation. We certainly have different attorneys that handle what we call those third-party claims or automobile claims, but I focus only on workers' compensation claims. That's all I've done for my 20-plus years. Majority of those 20-plus years were spent on the defense side where I represented insurance companies and employers.

Pearl Carey (27:55):

A little different.

Brandon Hylton (27:56):

Absolutely. But since coming over to the Derrick Law Firm, that's all I do. That's all I know.

Pearl Carey (28:03):

I know that you mentioned that you worked on the defense side of workers' compensation for quite a while. What kind of inspired you to make that switch?

Brandon Hylton (28:10):

Well, at the time in my career, I was kind of looking for a change. Just needed a change of pace. I've known Dirk and the Derrick Law Firm for a long time. Respected the way they aggressively represented their clients. They ethically represented their clients. And so, Dirk and I began to talk, and it just became a natural fit for me and what I was looking for.

(28:32):

Again, I'd only helped insurance companies and businesses, so it was a really nice change of pace to be able to help injured individuals get protected under the act as well and use that knowledge that I had of the insurance industry to now put forth in helping injured workers.

Pearl Carey (28:48):

Absolutely. Well, I love that you're so passionate about helping your clients, and I'd really like to thank you for coming onto our podcast today. It's been really great hearing about your experience in workers' compensation and giving some info to our listeners, for sure. Thank you.

Brandon Hylton (29:03):

Thank you.

Pearl Carey (29:03):

Thank you all so much for listening. I learned a lot about workers' compensation, and I really hope that you did as well, and we really look forward to seeing you on the next episode.

Voiceover (29:11):

Thank you for joining us on The Legal Truth Podcast. If you have questions that you would like answered on a future episode, please send them to [email protected].

(29:21):

If you would like to speak to us directly, call us at (843) 248-7486.

(29:27):

If you find the podcast valuable, please leave us a five-star review, and share The Legal Truth with your neighbor, friend, or family member who is seeking reliable information about a South Carolina personal injury or workers' compensation claim.

(29:41):

Dirk J. Derrick of the Derrick Law Firm Injury Lawyers is responsible for the production of this podcast located at 901 North Main Street, Conway, South Carolina.

(29:52):

Derrick Law Firm Injury Lawyers has included the information on this podcast as a service to the general public. Use of this podcast and any related materials does not in any manner constitute an attorney-client relationship between Derrick Law Firm Injury Lawyers and the user. While the information on this podcast is about legal issues, it is not intended as legal advice and should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed professional attorney in your particular state. Anyone seeking specific legal advice or assistance should retain an attorney. Any prior results mentioned do not guarantee a similar outcome. The content reflects the personal views and opinions of the participants in the podcast and are not intended as endorsements of any views or products.

(30:26):

This podcast could contain inaccuracies. The information contained in this podcast does not constitute legal advice and is not guaranteed to be correct, complete, or up to date, as laws continue to change. In this podcast, you'll hear information about focus groups. Please note that not all of the firm's cases are presented to a focus group. Additionally, when speaking about juries or jurors in relation to a focus group, we are speaking of focus group participants and not actual trial juries or jurors.