If you or a family member in Wisconsin has experienced an injury or developed an illness related to a work situation or incident, you may need to file for workers’ compensation benefits. There may be many steps involved in seeking these benefits and the process starts with a series of reports that must be made. Understanding these is an important step in learning how to get the help you need at this time.
According to the State of Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, the first reporting requirement is on the injured or ill employee who must inform the employer of the situation. This notification must be made within a certain timeframe but that timeframe depends on a few factors, one of which is when the employee first learns about the problem. Some injuries or illnesses may not appear immediately after an accident, for example. For certain injuries or occupational diseases, there is no limit on when an employee may file a report.
Once the employer has been notified they must in turn provide details regarding the medical claim portion to their workers’ compensation insurer. The insurer in turn reports to the Workers’ Compensation Division. These two reports must be made within 24 hours if a death has occurred or within seven days for other cases.
If you would like to learn more about the processes involved in seeking workers’ compensation benefits for an injury or an illness related to your job, please feel free to visit the injured or ill employee assistance page of our Wisconsin personal injury and workers’ compensation website.
