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Moncks Corner Legal Issues Blog

South Carolina debates workers’ compensation for first responders

There is a lot of hard work keeping communities in South Carolina moving the right direction. Factory workers, mechanics and others in high-risk jobs may know the price as well. This is why the Palmetto State has a series of laws and a state agency that guarantee injured workers rights to compensation for their medical expenses.

Many of the most dangerous jobs out there are in the field of emergency services, where people can spend years never knowing what sort of issues will come up that day. These men and women also handle a lot of traumatic situations, such as gunshot wounds and motor vehicle accidents.

South Carolina is one of several states, including North Carolina, that is seeing a debate on first responders’ claim to mental illness as a cause for workers’ compensation. A recent study by a Charleston news station found that emergency service workers like police officers, firefighters and paramedics are five times more likely to experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than others.

“There are first responders who have no idea that they’re not covered until something happens,” said a former sheriff’s deputy in Charleston. “That’s how I learned.”

Changes in workers’ compensation laws should always be noted by the people they affect. But who spends that much time looking into legal updates when you have a demanding job?

Lawyers do! An attorney is often the best person to ask about your eligibility for workers’ compensation. Legal representation can also help if the right choice after an injury is to contest a rejected claim or take employers to task for approvals.