§ 42-19-10 — Employers' records and reports of injuries.

Every employer shall keep a record of all injuries, fatal or otherwise, received by his employees in the course of their employment on forms approved by the commission. If the injury requires minimal medical attention at a cost not to exceed an amount specified by regulation of the Workers' Compensation Commission, and does not cause more than one lost workday or permanency, the employer is not required to make a written report to the commission or the employer's insurance carrier, provided the employer maintains a record as prescribed by the commission and pays directly the incurred cost of the resulting medical attention. All other injuries must be reported in writing to the commission according to the following guidelines: (1) An injury for which there is no compensable lost time or permanency and the medical treatment does not exceed an amount specified by regulation of the Workers' Compensation Commission must be reported annually on a form and at a time prescribed by the commission. (2) An injury involving compensable lost time, medical attention in excess of the limit established by commission regulation in item (1), or the possibility of permanency must be reported within ten business days after the occurrence and knowledge of it, as provided in Section 42-15-20, on a form or in an electronic format prescribed by the commission. However, for the injury of a South Carolina National Guard member as provided for in Section 42-7-67, the reporting periods must be counted from the date the employer, the South Carolina National Guard, has knowledge that the federal government has denied benefits to the injured guard member or that benefits or additional benefits may be due under the provisions of Title 42.

Legislative History

HISTORY: 1962 Code SECTION 72-501; 1952 Code SECTION 72-501; 1942 Code SECTION 7035-69; 1936 (39) 1231; 1955 (49) 459; 1980 Act No. 318, SECTION 7; 1989 Act No. 197, SECTION 1, eff June 20, 1989; 1990 Act No. 612, Part II, SECTION 15D, eff June 13, 1990 (became law without the Governor's signature); 1996 Act No. 424, SECTION 8, eff June 18, 1996. Editor's Note 1996 Act No. 424, SECTION 13, provides, in part, as follows: "Employers who have filed with the Workers' Compensation Commission a notice to reject the provisions of Title 42 before the effective date of the 1996 amendment will have until July 1, 1997, to comply with the provisions of the 1996 amendment relating to insuring their workers' compensation liabilities. Any employer who has rejected the terms of this title prior to approval of the 1996 amendment and has procured another form of employee benefits insurance shall comply, not later than July 1, 1997, with the provisions of the 1996 amendment relating to the insuring of its workers' compensation liabilities. Furthermore, nothing in the 1996 amendment shall affect or alter any cause of action, right, or claim accruing before the effective date of the 1996 amendment; however, any such cause of action, remedy, or claim accruing before the effective date of the 1996 amendment shall be governed by the law prior to the effective date of the 1996 amendment."