When Does Workers’ Compensation Stop Paying? Georgia and South Carolina Rules

If you are receiving workers’ compensation benefits after a workplace injury in Georgia or South Carolina, you are likely depending on those payments to cover your bills while you recover. One of the most stressful questions injured workers face is: when will these benefits stop? The answer depends on what type of benefits you are receiving, how severe your injury is, and the specific rules in your state. For a general overview of how these systems work, the Cornell Law Institute’s workers’ compensation overview provides useful background.

Both Georgia and South Carolina set specific rules for how long each type of workers’ compensation benefit can last. Understanding these timelines — and knowing what triggers a cutoff — is essential for protecting your financial stability and planning your recovery.

Types of Workers’ Compensation Benefits and How Long They Last

Workers’ compensation provides several categories of benefits, each with its own duration rules. The four main types of disability benefits are:

1. Temporary Total Disability (TTD) — you cannot work at all while recovering
2. Temporary Partial Disability (TPD) — you can work in a limited capacity but earn less than before
3. Permanent Partial Disability (PPD) — you have a lasting impairment but can still work in some capacity
4. Permanent Total Disability (PTD) — you are permanently unable to work

In addition to disability benefits, workers’ comp provides medical benefits to cover treatment costs. Each category has different rules for when and how benefits end.

Temporary Total Disability (TTD) Benefits

TTD benefits replace a portion of your wages while you are completely unable to work due to your injury. These are the most common workers’ comp payments and typically the first to begin after an injury.

Georgia TTD Rules

• Weekly benefit: Two-thirds of your average weekly wage, subject to a maximum set annually by the State Board of Workers’ Compensation (O.C.G.A. § 34-9-261)
• Maximum duration: 400 weeks (approximately 7.7 years) from the date of injury (O.C.G.A. § 34-9-261)
• Waiting period: Benefits do not begin until you have missed more than 7 days of work. If you miss more than 21 consecutive days, the first 7 days are paid retroactively (O.C.G.A. § 34-9-220)

South Carolina TTD Rules

• Weekly benefit: Two-thirds of your average weekly wage, subject to a statutory maximum (S.C. Code § 42-9-10)
• Maximum duration: 500 weeks (approximately 9.6 years) from the date of injury (S.C. Code § 42-9-10)
• Waiting period: Benefits begin after 7 days of disability. If disability exceeds 14 days, the first 7 days are paid retroactively (S.C. Code § 42-9-200)

TTD benefits end when any of the following occurs: you return to work, your doctor releases you to return to work, you reach maximum medical improvement (MMI), or you hit the statutory maximum number of weeks.

Temporary Partial Disability (TPD) Benefits

TPD benefits apply when you can return to work in a limited capacity — such as light duty or reduced hours — but earn less than you did before the injury.

Georgia TPD Rules

• Weekly benefit: Two-thirds of the difference between your pre-injury wage and your current reduced wage (O.C.G.A. § 34-9-262)
• Maximum duration: 350 weeks from the date of injury (O.C.G.A. § 34-9-262)

South Carolina TPD Rules

• Weekly benefit: Two-thirds of the difference between your pre-injury and post-injury earnings (S.C. Code § 42-9-20)
• Maximum duration: 340 weeks (S.C. Code § 42-9-20)

TPD benefits stop when your earnings return to pre-injury levels, you reach MMI and transition to permanent disability benefits, or the statutory maximum is reached.

Permanent Partial Disability (PPD) Benefits

PPD benefits compensate you for a lasting impairment — loss of function in a body part — after you have reached maximum medical improvement. These benefits are typically calculated based on an impairment rating assigned by your treating physician.

Georgia PPD Rules

Georgia uses a schedule of injuries (O.C.G.A. § 34-9-263) that assigns a specific number of weeks of benefits for the loss or loss of use of specific body parts. For example:

• Loss of a hand: 160 weeks
• Loss of a foot: 135 weeks
• Loss of an eye: 150 weeks
• Loss of hearing in one ear: 75 weeks

For injuries not on the schedule (such as back or neck injuries), benefits are determined based on the impairment rating and its effect on your earning capacity, subject to the 400-week overall cap.

South Carolina PPD Rules

South Carolina also uses a schedule of injuries (S.C. Code § 42-9-30) with assigned weeks per body part. The amounts and weeks differ from Georgia. For injuries not on the schedule, benefits are based on loss of earning capacity and the overall 500-week cap applies.

Permanent Total Disability (PTD) Benefits

PTD benefits are for workers who are permanently and completely unable to work due to their injury. These are the most significant workers’ comp benefits and typically last the longest.

Georgia PTD Rules

• Duration: PTD benefits continue for the lifetime of the injured worker for catastrophic injuries — defined as spinal cord injuries causing paralysis, amputation of major limbs, severe traumatic brain injury, severe burns to more than 25% of the body, or total blindness (O.C.G.A. § 34-9-200.1)
• For non-catastrophic injuries that still result in permanent total disability, the 400-week cap applies

South Carolina PTD Rules

• Duration: PTD benefits continue for 500 weeks, but may be extended if the worker proves continued total disability (S.C. Code § 42-9-10)
• Certain catastrophic injuries — including brain injuries, paralysis, and amputation — may qualify for lifetime benefits under specific circumstances

Medical Benefits: Do They Ever Stop?

Medical benefits are separate from disability (wage replacement) benefits. In both Georgia and South Carolina, medical benefits generally continue as long as the treatment is reasonable and necessary for the work-related condition — even after disability benefits have ended.

• Georgia: Medical benefits have no specific time limit. The employer/insurer must provide all reasonable and necessary medical treatment for the life of the claim (O.C.G.A. § 34-9-200). However, the insurer can request a change of condition hearing to dispute ongoing treatment.
• South Carolina: Medical benefits similarly continue as long as treatment is causally related and medically necessary (S.C. Code § 42-15-60). There is no automatic cutoff date.

This means you may still be entitled to medical treatment — including surgery, physical therapy, prescription medications, and medical devices — even after your weekly disability checks have stopped.

Maximum Medical Improvement: The Key Turning Point

Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI) is one of the most important concepts in workers’ compensation. It is the point at which your treating physician determines that your condition has stabilized and is unlikely to improve significantly with further treatment.

Reaching MMI does not necessarily mean you are fully recovered — it means you are as recovered as you are going to get. When you reach MMI:

• TTD benefits typically end because you are no longer “temporarily” disabled
• Your physician assigns an impairment rating — a percentage that quantifies the permanent loss of function
• You may transition to PPD or PTD benefits depending on the severity of your impairment and its effect on your ability to work
• The insurer may use MMI as a basis to stop payments — which is why having an attorney review your impairment rating and benefit transition is critical

Insurers often pressure doctors to declare MMI as early as possible to cut off TTD benefits. If you believe you were declared at MMI prematurely, your attorney can request an independent medical examination to challenge the determination.

Georgia vs. South Carolina: Benefit Duration Comparison

Common Reasons Workers’ Comp Benefits Stop

Benefits can end for legitimate reasons — or for reasons that should be challenged. Here are the most common triggers:

Legitimate Reasons

• You return to full-duty work at your pre-injury wage level
• Your doctor releases you to work without restrictions
• You reach MMI and transition from temporary to permanent disability benefits
• You reach the statutory maximum number of weeks for your benefit type
• You accept a lump-sum settlement that closes out your claim

Reasons That May Be Improper

• The insurer unilaterally stops payments without a medical basis or proper legal authorization
• Your doctor declares MMI prematurely under pressure from the insurer
• The insurer claims you can return to work based on a biased independent medical examination (IME)
• The insurer argues your injury is no longer work-related — particularly common with aggravation of pre-existing conditions
• You are fired or laid off and the insurer claims you are voluntarily limiting your income
• The insurer reduces benefits without authorization after you take a light-duty position

If your benefits are cut off for any of these reasons and you believe the termination is unjustified, you have the right to challenge it through the state workers’ compensation system.

What to Do if Your Benefits Are Wrongfully Terminated

If your workers’ comp insurer stops your benefits and you believe it is premature or unjustified:

1. Do not panic. Benefit disputes are common and there are legal mechanisms to restore your payments.
2. Get a written explanation from the insurer stating why benefits were terminated.
3. Continue all medical treatment. Do not stop seeing your doctor just because the insurer stopped paying. Gaps in treatment can be used against you.
4. Contact a workers’ compensation attorney immediately. Your attorney can file a hearing request with the Georgia State Board of Workers’ Compensation or the South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Commission.
5. Request a hearing. In Georgia, your attorney files a WC-14 form requesting a hearing. In South Carolina, a Form 50 is filed with the Workers’ Compensation Commission. An administrative law judge will review the evidence and determine whether benefits should be reinstated.
6. Gather supporting evidence. Medical records, your physician’s opinion, and documentation of your ongoing disability are critical to winning the hearing.

In many cases, an experienced attorney can get benefits reinstated quickly — sometimes through a phone call to the insurer, and sometimes through a formal hearing.

Talk to a Workers’ Compensation Lawyer

Understanding when and why workers’ comp benefits stop is critical for protecting your financial stability. If your benefits have been cut off — or you are concerned they may be soon — do not wait to get legal advice.

At Roden Law, our attorneys handle workers’ compensation disputes across Georgia and South Carolina from offices in Savannah, Darien, Charleston, Columbia, and Myrtle Beach. We work on a contingency fee basis — you pay nothing unless we recover benefits for you.

Workers’ comp benefits stopped or threatened? Call Roden Law at 1-844-RESULTS or contact us online for a free consultation. We will review your case, explain your rights, and fight to get your benefits restored.

About the Author

Eric Roden

Founding Partner, CEO