[Pangaman]

Good afternoon, About 4 months ago I was on a jobsite and fell into a hole. My right leg went into the hole and my left leg stayed on top, and was deep enough so that I hit my chest and hyper extended my left leg.

I did not immediately seek treatment for this hoping that my knee was just strained and it would get better. It did not...

So, went to the doc got an MRI and it was found that I have torn the cartilage behind my kneecap and also have some small meniscus tears. Surgery scheduled for Aug 25. The surgery entails removing the broken cartilage shaving rough edges of the meniscus tears and also harvesting stem cells from my femur to implant in the old cartilage areas in hopes that it will grow new cartilage.

Recovery time for all of this is 6 weeks in a brace limiting my range of motion to 20% and 4 months till back to as good as it will get. The doctor is confident that at the end of the 4 month period I should have normal range of motion and the knee should not have any problems.

So, my question. I have had a couple people around me telling me I will get a settlement from workers comp, some telling me I will not. Some tell me I need to get an attorney to get all I can get... All of this is very new to me never dealing with WC before. I also work for my family owned business and do not want to make things hard on the business I am a part of. Just need some help getting steered in the right direction and not making poor decisions when it comes to WC.

Also, if it helps I am based in South Carolina.

[1171]

i don't know when you found out about the seriousness of the injury but you should not keep it from the employer if you intend to make them pay for it.
not all injuries result in settlements/additional permanent disability payments; only those that result in permanent damage or require long term medical care.
with a gap of 4 months and some time from when you sought medical evaluation expect some delay in accepting the claim if you file;
the time delay will require some investigation.
more information on SC comp rules here
http://www.wcc.sc.gov/Pages/default.aspx

[Scooter123]

WC will ask you why you waited 4 months.
Be prepared for a fight.
1171 is spot on about settlements. Don't expect a thing and maybe you might get a few thousand if anything many many years down the road and only if you meet the criteria he stated.
If your on good terms with your employer and have medical insurance, I would steer away from WC if you can. If your going after a settlement, be prepared for a long and nasty fight, your employer dumping you and then you would need to hire an attorney. WC will not speak directly to you after this happens then you must deal with the lawyers your IC hires.

My advice to you would be get your knee fixed under your current insurance, take the leave from work and then go back after your healed.
SC WC system is slower than pond water going uphill on a frozen January day and will drive you to insane depths of anguish that one never thought possible.

[Pangaman]

WC so far has been pretty good to me. I notified them of injury, next day they wanted me to go to an urgent care center to get an xray and a referral. After I got the referral it was approved and 2 day later I went to doc and did MRI. Surgery was deemed necessary, it was approved and scheduled for the 25th.

Im not looking to make money off this deal, and im certainly not going to be going after the company because it is my father who is the owner and I am next in line. So going after him would be like going after myself...

The thing that got me thinking about all of this was my brother in law, who also works for the company cut his finger last year along with a tendon. It was sewn up and he is fine. He got a check for 6k... certainly did not have a 4 month recovery.

Not looking to get rich or go after someone but at the same time if there is an opportunity for a settlement for whatever reason I do not want to say or do something that could hinder it.

[1171]

since you have already filed a claim and gotten treatment I'm not sure what your question is??
if/when the time comes and they are ready to pay permanent disability you don't have to accept it if you want to save your employer some money.
the choice is yours.
you don't have to get an atty and litigate the claim unless there is a legal issue.
what are you asking?

[Scooter123]

Will tick my lock on this one.