South Carolina Supreme Court Modifies Ruling on Ergonomics and Workers’ Compensation Case

In a notable decision, the South Carolina Supreme Court has affirmed, with modifications, the Court of Appeals’ decision concerning the use of ergonomics evidence in workers’ compensation cases. The case involved Dale Brooks, an employee of Benore Logistics Systems, Inc., who suffered a repetitive trauma injury. Initially, the Workers’ Compensation Commission denied Brooks’s claim based on an ergonomics report, which argued that the nature of his job did not meet the criteria for causing his back injury. However, the Court of Appeals reversed this decision, asserting that the Commission overstepped its boundaries by relying on the ergonomics report to rule out the repetitive nature of Brooks’s job and its causal connection to his injury.

The Supreme Court’s review focused on whether Brooks’s job as a "switcher" truck operator, which involved moving trailers and containers for long hours, was repetitive and if it could be linked directly to his injuries. The court criticized the appellate panel’s reliance on non-medical ergonomics evidence to deny Brooks’s claim, underscoring that medical evidence should be the basis for determining causation in such injuries. Consequently, the case has been remanded back to the Commission solely for the calculation of the benefits due to Brooks, setting a significant precedent on how ergonomics evidence should be treated in the context of workers’ compensation claims.