You walk into an insurance adjuster's office with a broken arm and a number in your head. That number almost always comes from a chart someone showed you online — the famous 220 weeks. Here's what nobody explains about it: that chart is a ceiling, not a floor, and it assumes you lost your entire arm. For a fractured radius, the math looks very different.
The 220-Week Chart Is a Starting Point, Not Your Settlement
The 220-week figure lives in South Carolina Code §42-9-30, and it applies specifically to the total loss of an arm. If your arm was amputated at or above the elbow, the statute sets 220 weeks of scheduled compensation as the maximum payout. A broken forearm, a wrist fracture, or even a comminuted ulna with hardware — none of those trigger the full 220 weeks.
Most broken arm cases settle for fewer weeks because the injury isn't a total loss. The chart is a cap, not a guarantee.
What the 220 weeks means
Schedule losses work on a points system. The legislature assigned points to body parts. An arm = 220 points. A hand = 180. A finger = 5–15 depending on which one. Those points multiply against your wage base. The result is a dollar amount tied to what you earned, not a flat check from the state.
Why your wage matters more than the chart
Your actual settlement depends on your paycheck, not the chart alone. Two workers with identical broken arms earn different settlements if their weekly wages differ. The chart only tells you the number of weeks available. Your wage tells you the value per week. That distinction changes the final number by hundreds of dollars each week.
Suppose a 34-year-old line worker in Greenville earns $820 gross per week. Her base for calculation is $820. Multiply by 65%: $533/week. Multiply by 220 weeks: $117,260 if the arm is totally lost. A hairline fracture might get her 20 weeks instead — $10,660. Same injury, same chart, very different outcome because of the wage multiplier and the applicable week count.
The chart gives you the framework. Your wage and your impairment rating fill in the blanks.
How to Calculate Your Broken Arm Settlement Step by Step
Here's the actual SC formula, written so you can plug in your own numbers.
Step 1: Find your gross weekly wage at the time of injury. This includes overtime, tips, and bonuses averaged over the prior 52 weeks. If you worked part-time before the injury, use that average. Don't guess — pull your pay stubs or W-2.
Step 2: Apply the 65% rule with the wage cap. Multiply your gross weekly wage by 0.65. If the result exceeds $650, the cap kicks in and your weekly benefit locks at $650. Many workers in higher-paying trades hit this cap without realizing it. The cap exists regardless of what you earned.
Step 3: Multiply by the applicable number of weeks. For a broken arm, the schedule runs up to 220 weeks. The treating physician's impairment rating determines where on that range you land. A 10% rating means 10% of 220 = 22 weeks of compensation. A 40% rating means 88 weeks.
Step 4: Factor in the Treating Physician's Impairment Rating. The rating is a percentage of permanent disability assigned after you reach maximum medical improvement. A 15% rating means you receive 15% of the full 220-week value. This is where your case diverges from the chart's ceiling.
Step 5: Add past medical bills and lost wages already paid. These are separate line items from the scheduled value. Medical bills paid by the carrier don't reduce your settlement — they're their obligation. Lost wages during recovery are calculated separately at the same 65% rate.
The wage cap that surprises people
A worker earning $1,200/week doesn't get 65% of $1,200 ($780). They get capped at $650. That's a $130 weekly difference, or $28,600 over 220 weeks. If you're near or above the cap, this alone shifts your settlement by tens of thousands.
When the impairment rating changes everything
A 5% rating on a broken arm might net you roughly $9,350 (10% × 220 weeks × $650). A 30% rating on the same injury nets roughly $44,550. The same fracture, different rating, nearly five times the payout. The rating is the single biggest variable after wage.
What Changes Your Settlement Amount in SC
Not all broken arms settle the same. Here's what shifts the number:
| Factor | Low-end scenario | High-end scenario |
|---|---|---|
| Fracture type | Hairline, non-displaced, no surgery | Comminuted, surgical plating, nerve involvement |
| Time off work | 2–4 weeks return to light duty | 12+ weeks off, permanent restrictions |
| Impairment rating | 3–8% | 25–40% |
| Injury type | Workers' comp (capped) | Third-party liability (no statutory cap) |
| Occupation | Desk job, desk-bound | Carpenter, construction, heavy labor |
| Age | Younger worker (faster recovery) | Older worker (longer rehab, harder return) |
A hairline fracture on a desk job with an 8% rating and a $550 weekly wage nets roughly $10,860 in scheduled value. A comminuted fracture on a 42-year-old roofer with a 35% rating and a $700/week wage (capped at $650) nets roughly $57,750. Same body part. Very different outcomes.
The injury severity drives the impairment rating. The impairment rating drives the week count. The week count drives the settlement. You can trace every dollar back to one of those three variables.
When a Broken Arm Settlement Is Worth Fighting For
You don't need a lawyer for every broken arm. You do need one when the math stops looking like a simple schedule calculation. Here's when the number shifts from "file a claim" to "hire counsel."
Impairment rating above 10%. At that point the settlement jumps enough that carriers will contest it. A 12% rating on a $650-cap wage means roughly $17,820 in scheduled value alone — plus medicals, plus lost wages. Carriers often lowball these by disputing the rating or the wage base. If you're at 10%+, call someone who reads impairment ratings.
Your employer disputes the injury or the wage. This happens more than people expect. A carrier might argue your wage was lower because you worked part-time before the accident, or that the injury is pre-existing. A disputed wage base changes your entire calculation.
You were in a car accident and a third party is at fault. Workers' comp caps apply to on-the-job injuries. A car accident settlement is not limited by those caps. Pain and suffering, future earning capacity, and full medical damages are all recoverable. See our guide on car accident settlements in South Carolina for how those numbers diverge from workers' comp.
The 80% rule of thumb
If an adjuster offers you a lump sum that's less than 80% of your calculated value, walk away from the table. That gap usually means they've discounted your impairment rating, excluded past medical bills, or compressed your week count. An offer below 80% is a negotiation starting point, not a final number.
Hypothetical illustration: Picture a 41-year-old warehouse worker named Marcus who broke his right radius in a fall. His treating physician assigned a 22% impairment rating after surgery. His gross weekly wage averaged $780, which hit the $650 cap. Carriers first offered him $14,300 — based on an 8% rating and 16 weeks. Recalculated: 22% × 220 × $650 = $31,460 in scheduled value, plus $4,200 in past medicals and $2,800 in lost wages. Total estimated value: roughly $38,460. The difference was the rating dispute and the medical add-ons.
A broken arm settlement is never just the chart. It's the chart × your wage × your rating + medicals + wages. If you want to calculate your settlement value yourself, work through the five steps above with your own numbers. If the gap between your estimate and the carrier's offer exceeds 20%, that's your signal to call.
Get Your Broken Arm Settlement Value Before You Sign Anything
An insurance adjuster has one job: pay the least amount the law allows. They will not volunteer the full range of what your claim is worth, and they will not explain how a disputed wage base or a contested impairment rating could swing your number by tens of thousands. You can work through the five steps above with your own pay stubs and your doctor's rating. But if the carrier's offer sits more than 20% below your own calculation, or if your impairment rating is over 10%, you need someone who reads these schedules for a living. Contact Accident Lawyer Greenville to review your broken arm claim. No obligation. No upfront fee. Just a straight answer on what your settlement is worth.
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