Injured Workers in Texas must notify their employer of an on the job injury within 30 days of knowing your condition was due to a work related accident. If not reported to your employer, you will have NO CLAIM for workers’ compensation.
Scenario: You lift a box at work, and feel a pull but don’t think it is that serious and you continue to work. Days go by and you keep trying to doctor it yourself either with over the counter medication, hot packs, etc. Finally, you can’t even get out of bed one morning, as much as you tried to deal with it on your own, and you report it to your employer…on the 32nd day after the lifting accident. Your claim will immediately be denied. The Insurance carrier will not be liable for your injury, since it was not reported timely.
I cannot stress enough, that the moment you feel that there was an injury, you must immediately report the incident AND what was injured to your employer. It is not enough to call in the next day and say “My back is bothering me, I’m going to the doctor.” Nothing about that statement indicates that the injury was due to a work related incident. Just remember WWWH. What? Where? When? and How? What happened? Where did it happen? When did it happen? and How did it happen?
The employer must be someone above you. It’s not considered reported if you tell a co-worker about your incident. SO the best bet is your boss, foreman, supervisor, or even someone in the safety or HR department. Be sure that you reporting your injury is a memorable experience. What I mean by that, is make sure you said it in such a way that there will be no doubt the person you reported it to will remember it. The employer should immediately fill out an incident report and turn it in. If they don’t, continue to be persistent until there is something written or reported. Do not let 30 days go by!
Keep in mind that although reported within the 30 days, your employer may have their own policy regarding reporting of an injury that may subject you to a write-up or even termination for late reporting according to your employee manual/policy.
