How Long Do You Have to File a Workers’ Compensation Claim in South Carolina?

South Carolina gives you two years from the date of your accident to file a workers’ compensation claim with the Workers’ Compensation Commission.

That’s the headline number, but it isn’t the whole clock.

An earlier, tighter deadline comes first, and missing it can sink your claim long before the two-year mark ever arrives.

Repetitive trauma injuries and occupational disease claims run on their own separate timelines, and missing any of these dates can end a claim regardless of how strong the medical evidence is.

Note: This is general information, not legal advice. Filing deadlines and procedures are subject to change, so confirm the current requirements with the South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Commission.

The 90-Day Deadline to Notify Your Employer

South Carolina law requires you to notify your employer of a workplace accident immediately, or as soon as practically possible, and it sets a hard outer limit of 90 days.

Ninety days.

That notice has to reach someone with actual authority, a supervisor, a manager, or an on-site nurse; the Commission’s own guidance warns that telling a coworker may not count as notice at all.

Miss that window, and you lose your right to compensation unless the Commission accepts a reasonable excuse for the delay and finds your employer wasn’t harmed by it.

A few narrow escape hatches exist: Your employer already knew about the accident on their own, you were physically or mentally unable to report it, or a third party’s fraud or deceit kept the report from happening.

The 2-Year Deadline to File With the Commission

South Carolina’s clock for filing a claim runs two years from the date of your accident, and the Commission enforces that window strictly.

Your claim has to reach the Commission inside that two-year window, or you lose the right to compensation entirely.

Filing means submitting a Form 50 for an injury, or a Form 52 if a workplace accident caused a death, directly to the Commission.

There’s no fee to file that initial claim, and sending it by registered mail counts as filing on time even if the Commission’s own paperwork lags behind.

Two years. That’s it.

Meeting the 90-day notice doesn’t buy you any extra room on the two-year filing deadline, and filing early doesn’t erase a notice problem either because the Commission treats them as two separate clocks.

Repetitive Trauma Injuries Get a Different Clock

South Carolina treats a repetitive trauma injury, such as carpal tunnel or a shoulder worn down by years of overhead work, on its own separate timeline.

Your 90-day notice window still applies, but it starts on a different date: The day you discovered, or reasonably should have discovered, that your condition is compensable, not the day the pain started.

That discovery-based notice period runs alongside a matching filing rule: A repetitive trauma claim survives only if it reaches the Commission within two years of when you knew, or should have known, the injury was compensable.

There’s also an outer boundary that doesn’t exist for a one-time accident: No repetitive trauma claim can be filed more than seven years after your last date of injurious exposure on the job.

Seven years.

That cutoff applies even if you never realized at the time that the injury was tied to your job.

A warehouse worker whose knees give out after a decade on concrete floors falls under this rule, and so does an office worker with nerve damage from years of repetitive keyboard use.

Occupational Disease Claims Start the Clock at Diagnosis

South Carolina treats an occupational disease, a lung condition from years of workplace dust exposure or a chemical-related illness, differently than either a single accident or a repetitive trauma injury.

Your two-year filing window doesn’t start on the day the exposure happened, or even the day symptoms first showed up.

It starts only once a doctor has definitively diagnosed the condition as an occupational disease and you’ve been notified of that diagnosis.

Diagnosis, not exposure.

That discovery-style rule protects you if your illness developed slowly over years on the job and wasn’t obvious until a doctor connected the dots, since the Commission doesn’t count time against you before you knew you had a claim.

Deadlines That Pause for Minors and Incapacitated Workers

South Carolina law pauses the notice and filing clocks entirely for one category of worker: A minor or a mentally incompetent person who has no guardian, trustee, or committee looking out for their legal interests.

None of the clocks run.

Not until someone is appointed to act on their behalf.

The moment a guardian is in place, the normal 90-day and two-year clocks start running like they would for any other injured worker.

South Carolina homeowners face their own share of costly clocks and rules, from common money mistakes to the state's squatter rules, so a missed workers' comp deadline is far from the only paperwork trap in the state.

Why South Carolina's Deadlines Don't Bend

South Carolina's 90-day and two-year deadlines mean exactly what they say, and missing either one carries the same blunt result: Your claim dies, regardless of how serious the injury or how strong the medical records are.

A late notice past 90 days blocks compensation unless the Commission accepts a reasonable excuse and finds your employer wasn't harmed by the delay.

A claim submitted even one day past the two-year mark misses that window outright, and unlike the 90-day notice rule, there's no built-in excuse for missing it.

None built in.

South Carolina courts have carved out one narrow exception: In Hopkins v. Floyd's Wholesale, 299 S.C. 127, 382 S.E.2d 907 (1989), the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled the two-year clock can pause if an employer's own conduct leads a worker to believe the claim is already being handled without a formal filing.

That exception is rare and depends on proving assurances the employer made, so treating the two-year mark itself as the deadline that matters is the safer plan.

What Counts as Filing Before the Deadline

South Carolina's two-year deadline isn't satisfied by reporting an accident or seeing a doctor; it's satisfied by getting a completed Form 50 into the Commission's hands, whether your employer's insurer already reported the accident or not.

You, or a dependent if the accident was fatal, submit Form 50 for an injury or Form 52 for a death, and the filing date has to fall inside that two-year window.

That date is what counts.

There's no charge for that first filing.

Many workers assume their employer's paperwork automatically protects their own right to compensation, but filing Form 50 yourself is the only way to guarantee your claim reaches the Commission before the deadline passes.

FAQ

Quick answers to what South Carolina workers ask most about these deadlines.

How long do you have to file a workers' compensation claim in South Carolina?

Two years from the date of the accident, or two years from the date of death if the accident was fatal. An earlier 90-day deadline to notify your employer comes first, and missing it can block compensation before the two-year mark ever arrives.

What happens if I miss the 90-day notice deadline?

You lose your right to compensation unless the Commission accepts a reasonable excuse for the delay and finds your employer wasn't harmed by it. Telling a supervisor or manager counts as notice; telling a coworker generally doesn't.

Does the two-year deadline change for repetitive trauma injuries?

Yes. A repetitive trauma claim must be filed within two years of when you knew, or should have known, the injury was compensable, but never more than seven years after your last date of exposure on the job.

When does the clock start for an occupational disease claim?

The two-year filing window begins only after a doctor has definitively diagnosed the condition and you've been notified of that diagnosis, not on the date the exposure happened.

What form do you need to file a workers' comp claim in South Carolina?

Form 50 for an injury, or Form 52 if the accident caused a death. Both go to the South Carolina Workers' Compensation Commission, and there's no fee to file the initial claim.