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Injured at work in Mount Pleasant? We fight for your medical care, lost wages, and disability benefits. No upfront fees. We only get paid if you win.
You got hurt at work. Maybe it was a fall, a lifting injury, or something that built up over months of doing the same thing every day. Now you are stuck dealing with doctor visits, missed shifts, and bills piling up.
Workers' comp is supposed to cover this. That is literally what it is for, medical care and part of your wages while you heal. But here is the thing: insurance companies do not just hand over money. They find reasons to deny claims, drag their feet, or lowball you.
We have seen it happen to workers all over Mount Pleasant, and we have spent years pushing back. The Wilson PC is the workers' compensation law firm that fights for people who got hurt on the job. We deal with the insurance company so you do not have to. If you have been searching for a workers' comp lawyer near you, you are in the right place.
In South Carolina, most employers with four or more employees are required to carry workers' compensation insurance under S.C. Code Ann. § 42-1-360. That includes part-time workers. If you get hurt on the job, you can file a claim and get benefits, and it does not matter whether the accident was your fault. Workers' comp is a no-fault system.
Sounds simple enough, right? It is not.
Insurance companies make money by paying out as little as possible, so they will delay your claim, question whether you were really injured at work, and say your treatment is not necessary. Some employers try to talk you out of filing at all. People do not call a workman's comp lawyer because they want to. They call because they have to.
What kind of injury you get depends on what you do all day. Warehouse workers blow out their backs, nurses wreck their shoulders moving patients, office workers get carpal tunnel from typing, and construction workers fall off ladders.
Some injuries happen in a second when you slip on a wet floor or get hit by something falling. Others creep up on you, until one day your back hurts so much you can barely move. Both are covered.
Falls are everywhere, in restaurant kitchens, on warehouse floors, at construction sites, and in parking lots. People break bones, mess up their backs, and hit their heads. These are not minor injuries.
Back and neck problems might be the most common thing we see. Years of lifting, bending, or even sitting wrong at a desk can lead to herniated discs and pinched nerves. This is the kind of pain that does not go away with rest, and a serious back injury can affect your whole body, not just one part.
Lifting, reaching overhead, and moving patients or heavy loads wear out shoulders. A torn rotator cuff often needs surgery, and recovery is slow. These injuries can keep you off the job for months.
Head injuries are tricky because you might feel fine at first, but a week later you are getting headaches, you cannot concentrate, and you feel dizzy. That minor bump on a job site can turn into something serious.
Repetitive stress injuries sneak up on you. Carpal tunnel, tendonitis, and bursitis start with your wrist aching, then your whole arm hurts. Yes, carpal tunnel and bursitis can both be covered by workers' compensation when the cause is your job. By the time most people see a doctor, they already have real damage.
Machine accidents are brutal, causing amputations, crush injuries, and bad burns. Manufacturing and industrial workers deal with this risk every shift.
Construction injuries cover a lot of ground, including falls from heights, objects dropping on you, electrocution, and trench collapses, which is why it is one of the deadliest industries.
Driving injuries hit anyone who is on the road for work, including truck drivers, delivery people, and anyone with a company vehicle.
All of this is covered by workers' comp, whether it happened in one second or built up over ten years.
Senior Workers' Compensation Attorney
Dylan Bess grew up in Florence County, South Carolina, and now resides in East Cobb, Georgia. He finds great fulfillment in his work in workers’ compensation, particularly because he is able to help those who are injured or out of work navigate a system that can be very tricky and is full of potential pitfalls. Dylan takes great pride in guiding clients through complex legal processes and ensuring they receive the support and benefits they deserve during difficult times.
Dylan previously worked in staffing and human resources before transitioning to the legal field. His background in HR gives him unique insight into workplace dynamics and employee rights, allowing him to approach workers’ compensation cases with both legal precision and practical understanding.
Dylan previously worked in staffing and human resources before transitioning to the legal field. His background in HR gives him unique insight into workplace dynamics and employee rights, allowing him to approach workers’ compensation cases with both legal precision and practical understanding.
Gate City Bar Association
Traveling and cheering on the South Carolina Gamecocks women’s basketball team. Dylan has a deep love for his home state and enjoys following the team’s success.
Dylan has served on the boards of directors of the Georgia Legal Foundation and the Joanne W. Charles Memorial Foundation, where the focus is on raising ovarian cancer awareness and funding research, especially in rural areas.
Dylan and his wife, Nikki, are the proud parents of Zoe and Ivy. Family is at the heart of everything he does.
Mount Pleasant has grown fast. More people means more construction, more services, and more workers getting hurt on the job.
East Cooper Medical Center and the many medical offices around town employ nurses and support staff who face patient-handling injuries, needle sticks, and slips on wet floors.
Rapid residential and commercial growth means construction workers face falls, equipment accidents, and physical strain every day.
Towne Centre and the local restaurant scene employ workers dealing with slip hazards, burns, and repetitive stress.
Marinas and boat services employ workers who face dock accidents, equipment injuries, and weather exposure.
Office workers deal with repetitive stress injuries from computer work and other ergonomic problems.
Local schools employ maintenance workers, cafeteria staff, and custodians who face real physical job demands.
We have represented workers from just about every industry around here. If you got hurt at work, you have the right to file a claim, no matter what job you have.
Here is what you need to do after getting hurt at work. Get this wrong and you will make life harder for yourself later.
Do it the same day if you can, put it in writing, and keep a copy. Yes, you technically have 90 days in South Carolina, but if you wait three weeks, the insurance company will ask why you waited if you were really hurt.
Your employer usually has a list of approved doctors, so try to use one. If you need emergency care, go to the ER and do not worry about the list. Tell them exactly how you got hurt, and save every piece of paperwork.
Show up to appointments, take the meds, and do the physical therapy. Insurance adjusters go through your records looking for missed visits so they can argue you must not be that hurt.
Every day you miss work, how bad the pain is, what you cannot do anymore. It feels tedious, but it matters if the claim goes sideways.
Your employer should give you the forms, but if they do not, you file a Form 50 with the South Carolina Workers' Compensation Commission to start your claim. Do not wait around for someone else to handle it.
Claim denied, benefits delayed, employer acting strange? That is when you need help. The Wilson PC handles these cases for workers throughout the Mount Pleasant area.
So what can you actually get from a workers' comp claim in South Carolina? Here is the breakdown.
This is the big one. Doctor visits, surgery, hospital stays, prescriptions, physical therapy. If it is authorized treatment for your work injury, it should be covered. There is no dollar cap on medical care as long as the treatment is authorized and related to what happened.
If you cannot work, you get paid part of your wages. In South Carolina, that is two-thirds (66 and two-thirds percent) of your average weekly wage, the benefit the law calls temporary total disability under S.C. Code Ann. § 42-9-10. There is a ceiling: for injuries in 2026, the most workers' comp will be $1,178.30 per week, no matter how much you earned. The Commission resets that maximum every year (it was $1,134.43 in 2025).
Some injuries do not fully heal. If you are left with permanent damage, a doctor assigns an impairment rating, a percentage that measures how much function you lost. South Carolina pays for some injuries using a schedule that assigns a set number of weeks to each body part. Others, the ones that affect your whole body, like a serious back or spine injury, are paid based on how much they limit your ability to earn a living. This is where the numbers get big, and where insurance companies fight hardest.
Cannot go back to your old job because of your injury? Vocational rehab may help you learn something new or find work that fits your limitations.
If someone dies from a work injury, their family can receive benefits, including funeral costs plus ongoing support for dependents.
Workers' comp should also cover the cost of getting to treatment. Under South Carolina Regulation 67-1601, if your authorized doctor or pharmacy is more than five miles from your home (more than ten miles round trip), the insurer must reimburse your travel at the state mileage rate. Keep a mileage log. It adds up faster than you would think.
It helps to know what you are dealing with. Here is the path a South Carolina claim usually follows.
You tell your employer, who is supposed to report it to the Commission on a Form 12-A and notify their insurer.
The insurer reviews your claim, which mostly means looking for reasons to deny it or pay less.
You treat with the authorized physician your employer selects. You cannot freely pick your own doctor.
You can take your case to a Commissioner, present your evidence, and make your argument.
Sometimes the insurer offers a lump sum to close the case. Once you take it, that injury is closed for good.
Keep one thing in mind through all of it: the insurance company is not on your side. It is a business trying to reduce costs, and your benefits are the cost it is trying to cut.
Insurance companies deny claims all the time. Here is what they usually hang their hat on.
You have 90 days, but report two weeks late and watch them argue you must have been hurt somewhere else. Report it immediately.
This comes up with injuries that build up over time, like bad backs and repetitive stress. There is no single accident to point to, so they claim you did it on your own time.
If your doctor's notes are vague about the cause, the insurer will use that. Make sure your doctor knows exactly how you got hurt and writes it down.
Got an old back injury? They will say your current problem is just that flaring up. Here is what they do not always tell you: if work makes an existing condition worse, you can still get benefits.
Missed appointments, skipped therapy, did not take your meds? They will use it to argue you are not really hurt.
This is why people end up needing a workers' compensation lawyer. Insurance companies have entire teams whose job is finding reasons to say no. You probably should not fight that alone.
Look, you have enough going on. You are hurt, you are worried about bills, you are trying to get better. Fighting with an insurance company should not be your job right now.
We fill it out right the first time. You would be surprised how many claims get delayed over paperwork mistakes.
The insurer said no? We push back, gather more evidence, build a stronger case, and take it to the Commission if we have to.
That adjuster who keeps calling is not trying to help you. We handle those conversations so you do not say something that gets used against you.
Medical bills, lost wages, disability benefits, mileage. Whatever the law says you should get, we work to make sure you actually get it.
Your job is to heal. Ours is to deal with the rest of this mess.
There is no shortage of workers' compensation lawyers out there. So why us?
South Carolina workers' comp has its own quirks, deadlines, procedures, and rules about which doctors you can see. We have been doing this for years.
Nothing is worse than hiring a lawyer and never hearing from them. We keep you in the loop so you know what is happening with your case.
We have gotten medical bills covered, recovered lost wages, and won disability benefits. Our clients send us their friends because we came through for them.
We do not charge you anything unless we win. No retainer, no hourly fees. If we do not get you benefits, you do not owe us a dime.
In our experience handling South Carolina workers' compensation claims before the Commission, the workers who do best are the ones who get help early. A case review with The Wilson PC is free, confidential, and carries no obligation. You talk to us, you learn where you stand, and you decide what to do next. There is no risk in asking.
If you have been looking for workers' compensation lawyers in your area, local knowledge is half the battle. We work with people all over Mount Pleasant and nearby, including Charleston, Isle of Palms, Sullivan's Island, and beyond. It does not matter whether you work downtown or out in the suburbs. We know the employers in this area, which insurance companies they use, and what those insurers try to pull.
Do three things. Report the injury to your employer in writing the same day, see a doctor and tell them exactly how it happened, and write down what you cannot do. Those first steps protect your claim more than anything else. Then, if the insurance company gives you trouble, call a workers' compensation lawyer.
No. Your employer cannot lawfully talk you out of, or punish you for, filing a workers' comp claim. If you are being pressured, document who said what and when, report your injury anyway, and speak with a lawyer. This is one of the clearest signs you need outside help.
Probably not. South Carolina created the Workers' Compensation Uninsured Employers' Fund under S.C. Code Ann. § 42-7-200 to pay benefits when an employer that was required to have coverage failed to get it. You may also be able to sue an uninsured employer directly, and that employer can face penalties under § 42-5-280. Do not assume you have no path to benefits.
Not necessarily. The 90-day notice rule under § 42-15-20 has exceptions, and for an injury that built up over time the clock may start later, when you knew or should have known it was work-related. The separate two-year deadline to file your claim under § 42-15-40 may also still be open. Talk to a lawyer before you give up.
Your employer's workers' comp insurance does, not your health insurance and not you, as long as you treat with the authorized doctor and the care is related to your work injury. Get the injury reported first so your treatment is covered from the start.
This is common, and you have options. You can ask the Commission to approve a second opinion or a change of physician, and a lawyer can request an independent medical exam. Do not just push through work you cannot safely do, but do not ignore the doctor's orders either. Get advice before your benefits get cut off.
It pays about two-thirds of your average weekly wage while you cannot work, up to a state maximum of $1,178.30 per week for 2026. So if you earned $900 a week, you would receive roughly $600. The exact figure depends on your wage history, and the maximum changes each year.
Insurers usually stop checks when they claim you can return to work or have reached maximum medical improvement (MMI), the point where your condition is stable. Sometimes it is a pressure tactic to push a cheap settlement. You can request a hearing before a Commissioner to get benefits reinstated, and you should not wait, because the bills do not stop.
A denial is not the end. You can request a hearing before a Workers' Compensation Commissioner, present medical evidence, and make your case, with the right to appeal further if needed. Most of what we do is turn a no into a yes by building stronger documentation.
South Carolina is an at-will employment state, so an employer can let workers go for many reasons. But firing you specifically because you filed a workers' comp claim can cross into unlawful retaliation, and the timing matters. Document everything and talk to a lawyer. Losing your job does not automatically end your right to benefits.
Yes, within limits. Under South Carolina Regulation 67-1601, if your authorized medical provider or pharmacy is more than five miles from your home (more than ten miles round trip), the insurer must reimburse your mileage at the state rate. Keep a log of every trip and turn it in regularly.
If your claim is accepted and your benefits are flowing, you may not. But if your claim is denied, your checks stopped, your employer is fighting you, or you have a permanent injury, a lawyer usually pays for themselves by recovering more than you would alone. A free case review costs you nothing and tells you which situation you are in.
Nothing upfront. We work on a contingency fee, which means we only get paid if we recover benefits for you, and in South Carolina that fee must be approved by the Commission (commonly up to one-third of what we recover). No retainer, no hourly billing, no risk to you.
Not before someone who works for you reviews it. A full and final workers' comp settlement in South Carolina, often called a clincher agreement, closes your claim for good, including future medical care for that injury. The first offer is rarely the best one. Understand exactly what you are giving up before you sign.
Be completely honest with your own lawyer and your treating doctor. They are on your side. The person to be careful with is the adjuster. Do not guess, do not downplay your pain to seem tough, and do not exaggerate it either. Do not give a recorded statement or sign a blanket medical release before talking to a lawyer. Stick to the facts of how you got hurt.
It varies. A straightforward, accepted claim can resolve in a few months, while a disputed claim that goes to a hearing and possibly an appeal can take a year or more. A lot depends on whether you have reached maximum medical improvement, because that is when the full value of a permanent injury becomes clear.
A ghost policy is a bare-bones workers' comp policy that a small business or contractor buys mainly to show a certificate of insurance. It usually excludes the owner and assumes there is no payroll, which means it may not actually cover an injured worker. Do not take “we are not covered” as the final word. There may be coverage through a general contractor above them, or a claim through the Uninsured Employers' Fund.
Healthcare workers have some of the highest injury rates around, including patient-handling injuries, needle sticks, and slips on wet floors. All of it can be covered. The key is documenting everything immediately. If you moved a patient and felt your back go out, report it that shift. Do not wait until your next day off to see if it gets better.
It depends on the specifics. Dock workers and marina employees are usually covered by South Carolina workers' comp. But if you were injured on navigable waters, you may fall under federal maritime law instead, the Jones Act or the Longshore Act, which have different rules and sometimes better benefits. A workers' compensation lawyer at The Wilson PC can sort out which one applies to you.
Most likely yes. In South Carolina, businesses with four or more employees are required to carry workers' comp insurance. Many smaller Mount Pleasant businesses, like boutiques, restaurants, and service companies, meet that threshold. Even if your employer claims they do not have coverage, you may still have options.
You file with your direct employer, whoever signs your paycheck, and their workers' comp insurance covers you. But if another contractor's negligence caused your injury, you may also have a third-party claim against them. Construction sites around Mount Pleasant often have several companies working together, which can complicate things. We can help you figure out who is responsible for what.
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