How to Report a Work-Related Injury or Condition

Reporting an injury verbally to an employer isn't good enough. While our clients don't always see negative consequences in their claims when they only report it to their employer verbally, an injured worker puts themselves at risk to have a negative consequence in their claim when they don't insist on reporting an injury in writing.

For instance, an employer can seek to reduce the amount of compensation due to an injured worker for each day beyond four days that an injury isn't reported in writing. It's also harder to prove to a judge that an injury was reported on time when it was only reported verbally. The case can become a he said/she said situation.

Once you're injured, report it to your direct supervisor as soon as possible and ask your supervisor if your employer has internal accident reporting forms you need to fill out. Don't rely on indications by your supervisor that they will take care of reporting the injury to human resources, or a higher manager or supervisor.

If your supervisor doesn't have you fill out accident report forms or direct you to human resources (or another supervisor or manager) to report the injury, you need to go on your own to human resources (or a higher manager or supervisor) and report the injury.

If you're still met with resistance, draft a brief statement of how the injury occurred, when the accident happened, where it occurred and what body parts were injured.

This statement doesn't need to be more than three or four sentences, but it does need to be as specific as possible about the details of the injury. Date the statement and make a copy of it for your records.

Then, either hand deliver the statement or mail it to your employer and ask them to include it in your personnel file.

What if My Injury Wasn't from a Specific Accident, but Occurred Over Time?

Injuries or medical conditions that aren't the result of a specific accident, but instead occur over time due to the conditions or requirements of a worker's employment are known as occupational injuries. One of the most common and well-known occupational diseases is carpal tunnel syndrome, but there are all types of medical conditions that can occur as a result of an occupational disease.

A worker who suffers an occupational injury or disease is entitled to all the same benefits as someone who's injured in an accident and has all the same reporting requirements. The only difference is that instead of the deadline for reporting an injury or for filing a Workers' Claim for Compensation being from the date of an accident, the clock starts running from the moment the injured worker discovered their occupational disease or should have known about their medical condition caused by their employment.