There are specific steps you must follow to make a claim for workers’ compensation.
If you are injured while on the job, you have to file a claim for workers’ compensation. In Missouri, any company that has more than three or four employees is required to carry workers’ compensation insurance to protect not just their own assets, but their employees.
Just because you are injured while at work, though, that does not automatically mean that you are entitled to workers’ compensation. But if the injury was directly related to the scope of your work-related duties, then there are specific steps you must follow to make a claim for workers’ compensation. It’s a good idea to consult a St. Louis workers’ compensation attorney to help you ensure that you follow the steps properly.
Filing the Work Comp Claim
The first step that you have to follow when injured while working is to report your injury in writing to your employer. You must provide the employer a written account of the injury including the date, the time, place and the events related to the injury. If you had any first aid treatment or required further medical attention, those details should likewise be included in your report, along with any lost wages due to your absence.
You have 30 days to report your injury to the Division of Workers’ Compensation. The First Report of Injury must be electronically filed with the Division. When you report your injury to your employer, your employer has five days from the date of the alleged injury to send the report to either their workers’ compensation insurance carrier or a third-party administrator.
If your company receives the report via an insurance carrier or a third-party administrator, the company must report that information to the Division. The following information must be included in the report:
- The insurer and third-party administrator’s FEIN and address of who has received the claim
- The Employer’s FEIN, address, and name
- The Division’s Injury Number once it is assigned to the case
- The Employee’s address, social security number, and full name
- The date of the accident or injury and a description of the injury
The other information that the Division must be supplied is:
- The date when the claims were sent and acquired by the company
- For a third-party administrator, a list of the employers and all cases that the third-party administrator will be handling
- The company handling the case will be responsible for documenting medical costs and any lost wages
- The Division is responsible for mailing any documents outlining case dockets, any evidentiary hearings, the correct third-party administrator name, or the insurance carrier name
- The Division will need to know what company will be responsible for handling any claims or cases that are sent to appeal prior to the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission
- For any cases that are already closed by the insurance company or third-party administration but are still open according to the
- Division’s records, such as when there are unresolved medical disputes or left unpaid if the statute of limitations to file a claim has not run out. Or if the Claim for Compensation has been referred to an independent counsel
- Any cases that are currently pending to the Division that reflect third-party or insurance company Amendment Answers to Claim for Compensation
- For permanent or wrongful death cases, the company that is handling the case needs to confirm in writing that they continue to make payments and benefits to the claimant according to the claim award
Filing a workers’ compensation claim is not an easy process, especially if you are already injured and out of work. To make sure that your paperwork is filed properly and correctly, it is imperative that you hire a professional St. Louis workers’ compensation lawyer to make sure that you do so on time and as specified so that you are rewarded all that you are entitled to.
Law Office of James M. Hoffmann
If you have been injured at work and are having complications with filing your workers compensation claim, call the Law Office of James M. Hoffmann. For more than 20 years our firm has been helping work injury victims receive the benefits they need and deserve. Call us today at (314) 361-4300 or fill out our online case evaluation form.