Reporting Injuries

Employer and Carrier Reporting Responsibilities

Non-Fatal Injuries

When a worker is injured or has an occupational disease that results in more than three days/shifts of lost time, permanent impairment, or death, the insurance carrier must file a First Report of Injury (FROI) with the Division of Workers’ Compensation (DOWC) within 10 days. The insurance carrier must file a position on a claim within 20 days of filing the FROI with the DOWC. If an insurance carrier decides to file a notice of contest, it must be filed electronically.

Fatal Injuries

Fatalities can be the most difficult to report, but it is important to do so as soon as possible.  

Should an employer have an injured worker who initially survives, but days, weeks, or months later succumbs to their injuries, the employer must file a new FROI for the date of death. Should this happen, there will be two claims for one person: one for the injury and one for the death.

If it is unclear what caused the employee’s death, the employer should report it to the insurance carrier and allow them to investigate. Not reporting the claim because an employer thinks the cause is not work-related could result in delaying the investigation and any benefits that may be due to the dependents of the deceased. 

Injured Worker Reporting Responsibilities

Learn more about how to report your injury as an injured worker.

Within 10 working days of the injury, the injured worker must let their employer know about the injury. This must be done in writing. If the worker was injured more than 10 days ago, they should still notify their employer in writing as soon as possible. Failure to report within 10 working days may result in a penalty against the injured workers' benefits.

Injured workers are also encouraged to report their injuries directly to the Division of Workers' Compensation using the Workers' Claim for Compensation form (WC 15). 

Additional Resources