If you have a work-related injury or illness, your employer is required by law to pay for workers’ compensation benefits. Common workplace injuries include:
- Specific injury events: breaking a bone in a fall, getting burned by a chemical explosion or getting injured in a car accident while driving for an employer
- Ongoing repetitive injuries: carpal tunnel or a frozen shoulder from doing the same motion over and over, or losing your hearing because of loud noises in a factory
- Some stress-related injuries
It is important to note that a work-related injury does not have to be as a result of employer’s negligence or some other party’s fault. Workers’ compensation is a no fault system. Even if it is your own fault in causing your own injury, workers’ compensation benefits will be provided.
According to the State of California Department of Industrial Relations, you should “report the injury to your employer by telling your supervisor right away. If your injury or illness developed over time, report it as soon as you learn or believe it was caused by your job.”
After you have reported the injury, you will need to fill out a claim form.
Filing a Claim Form (DWC-1): The Very First Step after Reporting the Incident to Your Employer
The DWC-1 is the form that your employer should give you when you report that you have been injured. Read all of the information on the form and keep this and all other papers for your permanent records. To file a DWC-1 claim, complete the section titled “Employee” on the form, and then keep one copy and give the other copies to your employer. Your employer will complete the section titled “Employer” and then will keep one copy, give you a dated copy and send a copy to the claims administrator. Complete the form as soon as possible to preserve your right to receive benefits as needed. Your right to benefits depends on the nature and facts of your claim. Additionally, the claims administrator responsible for handling your claim may contact you.
While you do not need a workers’ compensation lawyer to file the DWC-1 form, you may need or may want to hire an attorney if you find that your employer does not carry workers’ compensation insurance, or if there are other complications in your case.
It is a criminal offense for an employer not to carry workers’ compensation insurance, and it is also a criminal offense for an employee to file a DWC-1 report that an injury was caused on the job when it was not; fraud in California is a crime, punishable by imprisonment.
After Filing a DWC-1
Within one working day after you file a DWC-1 claim form, your employer must approve medical treatment for the reported injury, and they shall continue to be liable for up to $10,000 in treatment until the claim is accepted or rejected by the employer’s insurance company.
In some cases, you may be entitled to the following benefits:
- Medical care
- Temporary disability benefits, which pay you a portion of your salary if you miss work as a result of your injury
- Permanent disability benefits if you have some long-term ratable impairment from your injury
- Supplemental job displacement vocational training voucher
- Death benefit
For more key terms and issues in workers’ compensation law, visit the California Department of Industrial Relations and the San Diego County Bar Association websites.
This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended to provide legal counsel or serve as legal advice. If you have a workers’ compensation law matter, it is best to consult the advice of an attorney. You can get referred to an attorney for a free 30-minute consultation through the San Diego County Bar’s Lawyer Referral & Information Service at www.sdcba.org/ineedalawyer or by calling 1 (800) 464-1529.