Free Consultation (803) 350-9230
Proving Workers Compensation Brain Injury Cases

Brain Injury
By: Robert F. Goings

Workers Compensation Brain Injury Cases in South Carolina

A Workers Compensation claim involving a brain injury can be one of the most challenging to prove under the S.C. Workers Compensation laws.  A brain injury can occur from a serious accident, a blunt force striking the head, or from occupational harms such as the exposure to dangerous chemicals.  Under workers compensation, an employee is typically entitled up to 500 weeks of benefits.

However, South Carolina law provides that an injured employee can receive lifetime indemnity and medical benefits if he is totally disabled from paraplegia, quadriplegia or “physical brain damage.”  S.C. Code § 42-9-10(C).  The Workers Compensation laws determine that “physical brain damage” is among the most serious impairments within the statutory exception to the 500 week cap on benefits as an indication that the legislature was contemplating brain damage so severe that the person could not subsequently return to suitable gainful employment.

In 2013, the South Carolina Supreme Court held issued two significant cases involving the legal requirements to receive lifetime benefits from a physical brain injury: Sparks v. Palmetto Hardwood and Crisp v. SouthCo.  The Supreme Court concluded that “physical brain damage” as used in § 42-9-10(C) is physical brain damage that is both “permanent” and “severe.”  The severity of the permanent brain damage is the lynchpin of the analysis.  Most often, medical and occupational experts must be retained to provide sufficient evidence to prove the brain injury is “permanent” and “severe.”  Inherent in the requirement that the damage to the brain be severe is the requirement that the worker is unable to return to suitable gainful employment.

Contact a Columbia South Carolina Workers Compensation Attorney Today

If you or a loved one has experienced a brain injury that was caused on the job, contact a Columbia, South Carolina Workers Compensation Attorney today.  We are here to help you with your workers compensation claim.


Last Updated : January 4, 2023
TBest Law Firms - Personal Injury Litigation 2022
International Society of Barristers
10.0Robert F. Goings
Legal Elite Logo
Legal Elite Logo
South Carolina Leadership in law Honoree Logo
Rated a 10.0 Super Lawyer by Avvo.com
American Board of Trial Advocates
American Society of Legal Advocates Top 40 Under 40 - 2014
Best Law Logo
National Trial Lawyers Top 100
Legal Elite of the Midlands logo
 AV Preeminent
Best Law Badge
Best Personal Injury Attorneys in Columbia
South Carolina Association for Justice
Lead Counsel Seal
American Society of Legal Advocates Top 40 Under 40 - 2014
Super Lawyers Rising Star
Goings Law Firm, LLC, LawyersPersonal Injury & Property Damage, Columbia, SC
Robert Goings CR Platinum 300
Robert Goings PR AV
Trust Analytica-badge
The State's Best - 2023 Winner - Goings Law Firm
South Carolina Lawyers - The 2024 Powerlist - Personal Injury