SC Restaurant has no Worker's Comp Insurance on Burned Employee

Pat Jennings

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Just over a month ago, Smokehouse Restaurant employee Kevin Lane suffered second degree burns over nearly twenty percent of his body following an accident at work. The employer failed to hold Worker's Compensation Insurance on Lane, and may end up paying dearly for being in direct violation of South Carolina laws relating to this situation. An employer that has four or more employees must have insurance over their workers for situations such as this, where one is injured on the job.

"I went to light the grill and it blew up and that's all I remember," Lane said following his accident at the Lugoff, SC location. Jason's mother, Joanne had trouble even looking at her son upon first glance and said that his arms, legs and face had all been burned. She also added that the surgical procedures and therapy would cost thousands of dollars, to which medical providers are already seeking from the victim's family due to Smokehouse's lack of Worker's Compensation Insurance. Lane's operations were performed at the Augusta Burn Center following the accident just outside of Columbia.

The Lanes are currently preparing for a lawsuit against the restaurant, and are hoping for financial assistance in the near future. Smokehouse owners issued this statement regarding their insurance knowledge: "We were told we didn't have to have Worker's Comp on our part-time employees. Since the accident, we have applied for Worker's Compensation. After the accident we paid him his weekly salary until we received a letter from his lawyer. We were advised to stop any contact or payment to Mr. Lane by our attorney." The State of South Carolina does currently have a program in which allows injured employees to file suits against their uninsured employer at the time of the accident.

For more information on this subject matter, please refer to the section on Workplace Injuries and Discrimination.