Wrongful Death or Workers’ Comp During COVID-19?

What S.C. Families Need to Know

The coronavirus pandemic has already claimed the lives of essential workers nationwide. That’s a tragedy, especially because many have died providing services to those of us who are able to stay home to work. These losses have also led to valid legal questions: Do the surviving family members have any legal options after a work-related COVID-19 death? The attorneys at Stewart Law Offices can provide the answers you need during this painful time.

Can Families Obtain Workers’ Compensation Benefits for Their Loss?

In South Carolina, the vast majority of employees are covered under South Carolina workers’ compensation laws. Those laws include provisions if a worker dies from an injury or occupational illness that arises out of or during the course of employment.

Under the workers’ comp law, family members can receive death benefits through the deceased employee’s employer. These benefits include:

• Providing two-thirds of the worker’s annual weekly wages to eligible family members for a period of 500 weeks
• Payment of funeral and burial expenses of up to $2,500

There are some challenges that can make it difficult for deserving family members to receive death benefits. The first is that they must satisfactorily prove the death was work-related. With COVID-19 so widespread, employers may argue that there is no way to prove that the employee’s exposure (and resulting death) occurred on the job.

Another potential argument could be that the essential worker exposed himself or herself to the coronavirus by not following employer-provided sanitization procedures or wearing protective gear. These possible obstacles make it critical for family members to consult with a COVID-19 workers’ compensation lawyer as soon as possible. The coronavirus has raised questions about how occupational illness cases will be decided in South Carolina. You’ll want someone with experience and knowledge to guide you in these uncharted waters.

Who Can Obtain Death Benefits When an Essential Worker Dies from COVID-19?

Workers’ compensation benefits are payable to dependent family members of the deceased. Typically, this includes the employee’s:

• Spouse
• Minor children
• Adult children who are physically or mentally incapable of self-care
• Adult children (under age 23) who are enrolled full time at an accredited educational institution

The laws regarding eligibility can get more convoluted in complex family situations or if there are no eligible survivors. If you are wondering whether you may receive South Carolina death benefits, a lawyer from Stewart Law Offices can help determine whether you qualify.

Can I Sue for Wrongful Death Due to Coronavirus?

With rare exceptions, South Carolina employers are immune from negligence lawsuits as long as they carry workers’ comp insurance. That’s because worker’s comp benefits require no proof of fault. In other words, they are available to workers and surviving family members regardless of who is responsible for the work injury or illness.

However, it could be possible to file a wrongful death lawsuit if surviving family members believe that a third party’s negligence led to an essential worker’s COVID-19 death. A variety of parties could be held liable. Determining who the defendants should be will depend on the circumstances surrounding the worker’s infection and death.

The advantage of a South Carolina wrongful death lawsuit compared to a workers’ comp claim is that families could have access to a wider range of damages. A successful wrongful death claim could result in compensation for losses such as:

• Medical expenses for the deceased
• Lost income
• Pain and suffering
• Loss of companionship
• Loss of household services
• Pain and suffering

If you believe that your family member died as a result of negligence by a third party at work, a proven personal injury attorney can help you pursue a wrongful death claim in court. Family members will have the burden of proof to show that the third party was negligent — an undertaking that can be intense even without a pandemic to complicate matters.

Stewart Law Offices Will Demand Maximum Compensation for You

If your relative was an essential worker who died from COVID-19 complications, Stewart Law Offices extends its deepest sympathies to you.

As you grieve, please remember that your family could be entitled to South Carolina workers’ compensation death benefits or compensation from a wrongful death lawsuit. Our experienced attorneys can handle either type of claim and are available for private and free consultations right away.

Call 1-866-STEWART or contact us online to arrange your free consultation now.

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Top 10 Key Facts About Workers’ Comp and COVID-19

Like the rest of the world, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has thrust the United States into an unprecedented public health crisis. Companies and government agencies have sent countless numbers of personnel to work from home — or not at all — to reduce the risk of spreading infection. The exceptions have been the essential employees — those who work in jobs that provide critical services to the public. So, the question looms: Are workers’ compensation benefits possible if you develop COVID-19 on the job?

Here are 10 key facts that all South Carolinians should know about workers’ compensation and the coronavirus.

Most South Carolina employees are entitled to workers’ compensation.

Businesses with four or more regular or full-time employees are required to carry workers’ compensation insurance in South Carolina. Certain categories of workers are not covered under the state Workers’ Compensation Act, including railroad workers, federal employees, agricultural workers, and casual employees.

Obtaining workers’ compensation benefits depends upon proving that an injury or illness is job-related.

South Carolina law defines an occupational disease as one that arises out of and during the course of employment due to hazards specific to the job in which the employee works. Contagious diseases that happen in ordinary life (e.g., the flu) are excluded. With COVID-19, employees will need to prove that the likelihood of their exposure to the coronavirus at work was greater compared to the unknown amount of exposures they may have had outside of the job.

Getting workers’ compensation does not require you to prove someone is at fault.

The South Carolina workers’ compensation system is not fault-based. Medical care, partial wage replacement, and other benefits are available as long as employees can show they were performing job duties that would more likely than not have exposed them to the coronavirus. However, in exchange for these no-fault benefits, employees generally lose the right to file a lawsuit against the employer for negligence.

There may still be instances when it’s possible to file a lawsuit on top of a COVID-19 workers’ compensation claim.

Even though employers who carry workers’ compensation insurance are typically immune from lawsuits, you could still file suit if your employer engaged in grossly negligent conduct. For example, if your employer failed to sanitize regularly to protect its workers from COVID-19, you may have grounds to sue if you later developed the coronavirus.
You might also be able to sue negligent third parties who exposed you to the coronavirus. For example, if you delivered essential supplies to a facility that did not follow mandatory disinfecting protocols, you may have a valid COVID-19 lawsuit.

Compensation from a lawsuit can include money for pain and suffering and other noneconomic losses that cannot be obtained through workers’ comp alone. Consulting with a knowledgeable workers’ compensation lawyer is vital to maximize the amount of money you could potentially recover.

Independent contractors cannot obtain workers’ comp for COVID-19, but they may have other legal options.

Independent contractors are not considered employees and as such, are not entitled to workers’ compensation benefits. However, there are times when employers misclassify employees as independent contractors. Defining an independent contractor is set by law, not at an employer’s discretion. If you were diagnosed with coronavirus and are truly an employee — not an independent contractor — then you could be entitled to workers’ comp benefits.

Even when properly classified, an independent contractor may be able to file a lawsuit against an employer if he or she was exposed to the coronavirus due to negligence.

You must follow South Carolina rules for reporting and filing workers’ compensation claims.

In South Carolina, you must provide notice to your employer of a job-related illness or injury within 90 days. Fail to do so, and you could risk losing the ability to collect workers’ compensation benefits for COVID-19.

Family members can seek death benefits for a loved one who died from work-related coronavirus exposure.

One of the biggest tragedies about the coronavirus crisis is how many people — both young and old — have died. If you lost a loved one to COVID-19 from a job exposure, a caring and trusted attorney at Stewart Law Offices can walk you through the process of pursuing workers’ compensation benefits.

Essential employees who were infected with COVID-19 should speak with a workers’ compensation attorney right away.

Some workers are unable to stay at home no matter how much they would like to. Essential employees such as law enforcement officers, healthcare workers, emergency medical technicians, paramedics, utility workers, grocery/pharmacy workers, bank employees, postal workers, waste collectors, and others are at a greater risk of developing the coronavirus than others. The state is currently considering legislation that would presume that any first responders who develop COVID-19 were exposed at work, thus entitling them to benefits with a lower burden of proof.

Early workers’ compensation rulings will be important as more coronavirus claims emerge.

Right now, South Carolina doesn’t have previous case law that attorneys can turn to for guidance on handling COVID-19 workers’ compensation claims. However, as more claims are filed — and they will be — lawyers will begin to see how the S.C. Workers’ Compensation Commission decides these cases and will tailor their clients’ coronavirus claims taking these prior decisions into account.

If there is any question of whether your COVID-19 case is work-related, you should talk to a workers’ comp lawyer.

Models suggest that it could be several months or more before the U.S. sees the end of the coronavirus pandemic. If you have any legal questions about whether your coronavirus diagnosis was work-related, an attorney at Stewart Law Offices can analyze your case and discuss your legal options.

Can You Get Workers’ Comp for COVID-19 in South Carolina? Ask Us Now

If you were infected with the coronavirus on the job in South Carolina, the attorneys at Stewart Law Offices can discuss your rights to workers’ compensation benefits in a free case review.

Don’t wait — call or contact us to schedule your free consultation now.

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S.C. Considering Workers’ Comp for COVID First Responders

South Carolina’s first responders are on the frontlines battling the coronavirus (COVID-19) every day. Now, a state representative is pushing for legislation that would provide them with workers’ compensation benefits if they test positive for the illness.

Workers’ compensation pays for medical care and provides partial-wage reimbursement for employees who become injured or ill while performing duties within the scope of their employment. Typically, benefits can only be paid if a worker can prove that the illness is work-related.

Under the new bill, backed by Rep. Russell Fry, South Carolina’s first responders who test positive for the coronavirus would be entitled to the presumption that their COVID-19 diagnosis is job-related. As such, they would be entitled to total-temporary-disability benefits from the time of their isolation until they are cleared by a physician to return to work.

First responders include:

• Law enforcement officers
• Firefighters
• Emergency medical technicians (EMTs)
• Paramedics
• Volunteer law enforcement officers, firefighters, EMTs, and paramedics
• Healthcare providers
• Members of the National Guard or South Carolina State Guard called to active duty in response to the pandemic
• Correctional officers

Workers’ Comp is Essential for These Essential Workers

At Stewart Law Offices, our team of workers’ compensation attorneys applaud this effort to support frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this unprecedented time where people are dying in exponential numbers, first responders who have dedicated their careers to service during a national emergency deserve to know that their personal finances will not be wiped out if they fall ill while they try stop the disease from spreading to others.

The key challenge in any workers’ compensation case is proving that an occupational illness is directly tied to the workplace. What makes this legislation so important is that it asks for “the presumption” that first responders who test positive for COVID-19 were exposed and became ill directly as a result of their work. In other words, we know that first responders have a higher likelihood of being exposed to the coronavirus due to the nature of their jobs. Under this rule, we’re going to assume that their COVID-19 diagnosis is the result of a work-related exposure even though officials can no longer definitively track down the source of exposure the way they could in the early days of the outbreak.

What S.C. Workers’ Compensation Covers

Most South Carolina employees are entitled to workers’ comp benefits. In addition to payment of medical expenses, workers’ compensation benefits also pay a portion of an employee’s lost wages while they are unable to work. Workers’ compensation also extends death benefits to family members who have lost a loved one due to a work injury or illness.

Applying for workers’ comp can be complicated under normal circumstances. With COVID-19, we have entered the realm of extraordinary circumstances. Workers’ compensation laws were not written with pandemics of this magnitude in mind, so employers and workers may find themselves in a gray area when it comes to what gets covered and what doesn’t.

How Stewart Law Offices Can Help

During these uncertain times, you need experienced and proven South Carolina workers’ compensation attorneys by your side. The legal team at Stewart Law Offices has represented clients in complex work injury and occupational illness claims for decades. If you are an essential worker who became infected with coronavirus, our attorneys can help with every aspect of your COVID-19 claim.

Call 1-866-STEWART or contact us today for a free consultation.

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COVID-19 Relaxes Federal Truck Regulations

For the first time in history, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has loosened its restrictions on how long truck drivers can remain behind the wheel without resting.

The agency has temporarily lifted its hours-of-service regulations for truckers who carry emergency goods such as medical supplies, sanitizers, and food. The move is in direct response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has caused critical shortages over much of the country.

Normally, truckers are limited to 11 hours of driving time within a 14-hour day to reduce the risk of accidents caused by drowsy driving. Fatigue is a noted problem within the industry. Around 13 percent of truckers involved in accidents are considered fatigued at the time of the wreck, according to FMCSA’s Large Truck Crash Causation Study.

For now, certain drivers are allowed to extend their trips to deliver loads as quickly as possible to hospitals, stores, and other essential businesses. Drivers of mixed loads or non-essential goods are still subject to normal hours-of-service restrictions.

Making unprecedented decisions often comes in times of crisis. The response to the coronavirus has proved no different. While the swift shipment of goods is vital to first responders and communities, FMCSA’s decision also has the potential to negatively affect road safety.

With fewer restrictions on commercial drivers, how can the public feel assured that they will make safe choices and rest when necessary? Furthermore, how will these temporary new rules apply if you or a loved one is injured in a truck accident during the pandemic? These are the types of questions that the South Carolina truck accident attorneys at Stewart Law Offices are examining now. Just as the trucking industry is changing due to COVID-19, so is the legal landscape. You can count on us to stay on top of all of these changes and advise clients of what they might mean for a legal claim.

At Stewart Law Offices, our team of accomplished injury attorneys can provide solid legal advice when you need it most. Call or contact us for a free consultation today.

Your Legal Rights After a Truck Accident Injury

People who are injured in tractor-trailer accidents caused by another party have the right to seek compensation for their losses. You aren’t stripped of those legal rights during a national emergency. Having a lawyer who can help you navigate the complicated state and federal liability laws during this unparalleled period of chaos can help ensure that your rights are protected and enforced appropriately.

At Stewart Law Offices, we can stay socially distant and still provide you with the free legal advice you need and deserve. If you’ve been in a South Carolina truck accident, call or contact us online to arrange a no-cost consultation.

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FDA Pulls Zantac Off Shelves for Possible Cancer Link

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has ordered for the popular heartburn medication ranitidine (brand name Zantac) to be taken off the market immediately. The decision was made due to the discovery that ranitidine drugs may contain dangerous levels of N-Nitrosodimethlyamine (NDMA), a probable human carcinogen.

The recall affects both prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) ranitidine medications. Hundreds of Zantac lawsuits are already pending throughout the United States, alleging that the drugmakers failed to warn the public of the dangers of NDMA and that their inaction led to diagnoses of cancer in some consumers.

If you or a family member took Zantac or a generic ranitidine product, you may have a case for compensation. The experienced personal injury attorneys at Stewart Law Offices can evaluate your case in a free consultation.

With five locations in South Carolina and North Carolina, our lawyers can meet with you wherever you are most comfortable.

Call or contact us today to schedule a free consultation.

What Makes Zantac Dangerous?

According to a press release, the FDA’s decision was based on testing that showed NDMA levels in some ranitidine medications increased to unacceptable levels over time, particularly when stored at higher than room temperatures. However, increases in NDMA levels were also observed when the drugs were stored at normal temperatures as well.

NDMA has been linked to primary cancers of the:

• Stomach
• Bladder
• Small intestine
• Colon/rectum
• Esophagus
• Liver

On a lesser level, NDMA has possible associations with:

• Early-onset prostate cancer
• Pancreatic cancer
• Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
• Multiple myeloma

No one should have to live with a life-threatening disease caused by someone else’s negligence — particularly a pharmaceutical company’s, whose main job is to make drugs to improve public health.

Can I Sue for Damages?

Zantac lawsuits are already underway. To determine if you have a case, you will need to meet with a knowledgeable attorney with experience handling defective drug claims.

Several steps must be taken to decide if you may be entitled to compensation:

• Did you take Zantac or ranitidine? This can be established through medical records,
  prescription receipts, or statements from a doctor, even if you only took the OTC
  version of the drug.
• How long did you take the drug? If you only took the medication for a short period, it
  will be more difficult to prove a connection between Zantac use and your cancer
  diagnosis.
• Do you have cancer? Proof of diagnosis can be confirmed through medical records.
• Did Zantac cause your cancer? Here is the trickiest part of your case. Your attorney will
  need to provide compelling evidence to show that your Zantac use and cancer diagnosis
  are closely connected. For example, if you took Zantac for three years for acid reflux,
  you will likely have a stronger case than someone who used it for six months. There is
  also a latency period (the time between exposure to a cancer-causing substance and the
  development of the disease) to consider. If you took Zantac for six months and were
  diagnosed with cancer a month later, it will be more difficult to convince a judge or jury
  that ranitidine caused the disease.

Compensation in dangerous drug cases can help cover medical costs, lost income, lost earning potential, pain and suffering, and other losses stemming from the diagnosis. This money can be vitally important to keep families afloat during a cancer battle.

Diagnosed with Cancer After Taking Zantac? Learn Your Legal Rights Now

For more information about Zantac lawsuits, call or contact Stewart Law Offices today. Our North Carolina and South Carolina injury lawyers are standing by to help.

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Car Accidents and Health Insurance in South Carolina

Getting your medical bills paid is a priority after a car accident in South Carolina. But if you’re like most people, you are unsure of who pays first — the auto insurance company, or your health insurance provider.

It’s a good question that can have somewhat different answers, depending on your own insurance coverage and whether the at-fault driver has insurance. The experienced South Carolina car accident attorneys at Stewart Law Offices can determine the best way for your claim to proceed in a free consultation.

Call or contact us today to get started.

Will Health Insurance Cover My Injuries After an Accident?

Your health insurance coverage can pay for your car accident injuries, regardless of how they happened. What typically happens is your health insurance company will first ask you to pay the usual co-payments and deductible, and then they’ll pay their portion according to the terms of your policy.

You should turn to your health insurance first to pay your car accident expenses. Obtaining a settlement through the at-fault driver’s insurance company takes time, and getting the necessary treatment when you need it should always be the priority. Keeping all receipts and medical records can show the auto insurance company what was paid during this time. The health insurance provider may be allowed to recover any payments they made through a process called subrogation later.

Health Insurance vs. Auto Insurance

Your health insurance policy will pay for your medical expenses after a crash, but those are not the only types of losses that you can be compensated for after a car accident. Beyond medical expenses, car insurance companies provide crash victims with compensation for:

• Lost wages
• Lost earning capacity
• Long-term care needs, such as full-time nurses or home health aides
• Mental anguish
• Pain and suffering
• Permanent disability
• Lost enjoyment of life

An adjuster from the at-fault driver’s company will investigate the accident and make a settlement offer taking these factors, along with your medical expenses, into account. Usually, this offer is far below what you deserve. An accomplished lawyer from Stewart Law Offices can represent you during these negotiations so that you are not shortchanged.

If you were struck by an uninsured motorist, you may be required to turn to your own auto insurance coverage to cover your losses. Purchasing uninsured motorist coverage is required in South Carolina. Underinsured motorist coverage (to protect you if the at-fault driver did not have enough insurance to cover your injuries) is not mandatory, but highly recommended.

Medicare and Medicaid After an Accident

After a car accident, Medicare and Medicaid coverage can be used to pay your medical bills. However, you must report the accident to The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The attorneys at Stewart Law Offices can take care of this for you.

Medicare or Medicaid will then place a lien on the amount they paid. This lien will ensure the government can be reimbursed for the money they spent to cover your medical treatment after the car accident. An advantage of having your car accident lawyer file the report for you is that he or she may be able to get the costs reduced by negotiating the amount of the lien.

How Can Stewart Law Offices Help Me?

At Stewart Law Offices, we know how high the cost of medical bills can be after a car accident. Our skilled attorneys strive to recoup those losses and restore your sense of financial security again.

With five offices across South Carolina and North Carolina, our law firm provides comprehensive legal services that puts your needs first. To learn more about how we can help, call or contact us today to schedule a free consultation.

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