What Happens If Your Employer Doesn’t Report Your Work Injury?

After a workplace injury, employees often assume their employer will handle the required paperwork and notify the workers’ compensation insurance carrier. But what happens when an employer delays reporting the accident, refuses to report it, or tells the employee that the injury does not qualify?

An employer’s failure to report a workplace injury does not necessarily prevent an injured Colorado worker from pursuing benefits. However, the worker may need to take additional steps to protect the claim.

Report the Injury in Writing

In Colorado, an injured employee generally must notify the employer of a work-related injury in writing within 10 working days. Even if the employee already told a supervisor what happened, providing written notice creates a clearer record.

The notice should identify the employee, the approximate date and time of the injury, where it occurred, and how it happened. The employee should keep a copy, along with any email or other proof showing when the notice was delivered.

Missing the 10-day deadline does not always eliminate a claim. The employee should still provide written notice as soon as possible. Delayed reporting can nevertheless create complications, including disputes over whether the injury happened at work and possible reductions in certain benefits.

Contact the Colorado Division of Workers’ Compensation

Workers do not have to depend entirely on their employers to begin documenting a claim. The Colorado Division of Workers’ Compensation encourages injured employees to report their injuries directly by submitting a Workers’ Claim for Compensation form.

Filing this form creates a record with the Division, but it is not the same as notifying the employer. An injured worker should generally complete both steps rather than assuming one replaces the other.

Document the Employer’s Response

An employee should preserve communications with supervisors, human resources personnel, and insurance representatives. Helpful documentation may include:

• The original written injury report
• Emails or text messages discussing the accident
• Names of witnesses
• Photographs or video of the accident scene
• Medical records and work restrictions
• Notes about any refusal or delay by the employer

These materials may become important if the employer later claims that it did not know about the injury or disputes that the accident was work-related.

Ask About an Authorized Medical Provider

After receiving notice, the employer generally should provide information about designated medical providers. In nonemergency situations, treating with an unauthorized provider can create disputes over payment.

An employee who needs emergency care should not delay necessary treatment. For follow-up care, however, the worker should ask the employer in writing which provider is authorized and preserve the response—or lack of one.

Do Not Assume the Claim Has Been Filed

A verbal assurance that an employer will “take care of it” does not guarantee that the injury was properly reported. The employee should confirm whether the workers’ compensation carrier has been notified, obtain the carrier’s contact information, and request the claim number.

If no one contacts the employee, medical care is denied, or wage-loss benefits do not begin, the worker should follow up promptly.

Employers and insurance carriers may dispute whether an injury is covered, but an employer should not prevent a worker from reporting an accident or seeking available benefits. A Colorado workers’ compensation attorney can investigate whether the claim was submitted, communicate with the insurer, and help the employee take the appropriate next steps before important deadlines pass.