EE clocked out and tripped

rrhammett

I have a subsidiary plant in the state of South Carolina. I am not as versed in South Carolina workers comp laws as I would like to be so I am uncertain of how to proceed. I would like to receive advise regarding following:

July 1, 2002, ee clocked out, and on his way out of the plant, he slipped down the steps leading to the parking lot. The next morning he reported to the plant manager that he had twisted his knee during the fall. Employee excercised his right to file a wc claim and was allowed to visit the physician. Physician told ee to continue to take muscle relaxers that had been prescribed for him by another doc for a different medical condition. No other follow up visits were required. Claim was paid by carrier. Case closed by carrier.

December 16, 2002, ee reports that his knee is not any better and wants to see doc again and believes that knee surgery is going to be the only recovery method.

How should this be handled? Is this a comp claim? Where can I find workers compensation "going and coming rule" for the state of South Carolina?

Note: The original carrier has since gone out of business, and we now have another carrier with no knowledge of this incidence.

Thanks

WOCO Frank

Unless S.C.'s work comp laws are very unusual, this is still work comp. It's not a new injury, it's a continuation or reoccurrance of the previous injury. Unfortunately, the change in carrier makes it a new case for them, and it will probably adversely affect your claim frequency with that new carrier.

Nick Ogden

Only thing I can ask is: Does the company own the land where the parking lot is located? If the land is leased/rented, then there is no liability for WC. The accident did not happen on company owned land. I saved the exact situation and around $5,000 direct cost. The employee went off-work for 4 months, but we paid nothing for the accident. Also, remember to get a full medical release for regular work before letting him back. Same ol' thing--------.

Don D

My vote is that this will be a reopened, continued comp claim, regardless of who owns the land where the plant sits. Without knowing the lay of the land, I understand the fall occurred going down some steps from the plant to the parking area, all on company premises whether leased or not. I assume this is a restricted area not available to the general public and this worker was leaving the plant after clocking out. Also, the prior carrier accepted and filed this as a comp related accident, so, I feel it would continue as that when reopened for the same injury. His lawyer will love this one if your new carrier tries to controvert or outright deny. It will cost you more in legal fees than knee surgery would.

Reggie Belcher

This scenario would fall within the workers' compensation statute, and the employee would be entitled to workers' compensation coverage. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.


Reginald W. Belcher
Editor in Chief
South Carolina Employment Law Letter
McNair Law Firm, P.A.
1301 Gervais Street
Columbia, South Carolina 29201
(803) 799-9800.