Responsibility for Workers' Compensation Reports

October 18, 2012

Responsibility for Workers' Compensation Reports

You have been injured on-the-job. What now? Whose responsibility is it to start the workers' compensation claims process?

Generally, a Minnesotan covered by workers' compensation who becomes injured or ill on the job needs to notify his or her employer as soon as possible. Then, it is the employer's responsibility to act.

First Report of Injury Form

After receiving notice, the employer must give the employee a copy of an Employee Information Sheet and complete a First Report of Injury form to send to the company's insurance provider.

The employee is not responsible for filling in the First Report of Injury form. The employer is required by law to submit this form whenever an employee has an injury or illness that requires medical care or results in missing work, if the injury or illness is believed to be work-related.

If an employee misses three or more days of work, the employer must send in the form within 14 days. In case of serious injury or death, the employer must notify both the insurer and the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry within 48 hours. It is permissible to notify them by telephone, and then send the injury report form within a week.

The First Report of Injury includes details about the injured worker's employment, including hire date, occupation and compensation. The insurer needs a detailed account of the worker's injury. Both the date and the time of the injury need to be provided, along with the time the employee started work that day.

The employee's medical provider information is also needed. Eventually the insurer may investigate to determine if an injury or illness is work-related. It is not necessary for the employer to wait for doctors' reports before submitting the First Report of Injury.

Employees should receive a copy of the First Report of Injury form submitted by their employer.

What Next?

You should receive information regarding how much your claim is worth from the insurance company. If your claim is denied or you disagree with the amount of compensation offered, there are steps you can take to appeal the decision.

In order to collect worker's compensation benefits, a worker must prove that the injury resulted from job activity. Some injuries are attributable to a single event, while others result from long-term processes, such as developing a sore wrist from data entry on a keyboard. Because some injuries are harder to prove than others, it can be helpful to obtain legal advice from an experienced attorney.

Article provided by Midwest Disability PA
Visit us at www.midwestdisabilityworkcomp.com