If you are injured at work, or you become sick because of your work, you should report it to your employer within 24 hours and seek medical attention.
You should report your injury or illness to your employer whether you intend to make a claim for workers compensation or not. You can report an injury in writing or verbally and it can be given in person or through the post.
Report these details
You must include these details:
- The day on which the injury or illness occurred
- The place at which the injury or illness occurred
- The nature of the injury or illness
- The cause of the injury or illness
Your employer must then send a copy of the 'Claim for Compensation' form (the orange copy of the Worker Report Form) to WorkCover's claims agent, Employers Mutual, within five business days. If your employer is self-insured, they will have their own claims manager and follow their own internal processes.
If you decide to make a claim for compensation you and your employer will need to fill in some forms and supply a Prescribed Medical Certificate (PMC) from your doctor.
More details are outlined in lodging a claim section of this site
or alternatively you can call EarlyClaim on 13 18 55 and WorkCover will begin the claims process over the phone. This service is convenient and confidential.
Fatalities and serious injuries
When a person is killed at work, or requires admittance to a hospital due to illness or injury at work, the employer must immediately report the incident to SafeWork SA on emergency telephone 1800 777 209 (24 hour service).
Example: Reporting a serious injury
Simon operates a company that provides specialist electrical services. One of his workers, John, is involved in a workplace incident that requires him to be admitted to hospital. What are the steps Simon should take?
Firstly, Simon should make sure that John receives appropriate medical treatment and care. Simon should then notify SafeWork SA of the incident (within 24 hours) and record details of the incident for his record-keeping and occupational health and safety purposes.
As John will require time off work to heal from his injury, he should make sure he has a Prescribed Medical Certificate (PMC) and lodge it (through Simon) with a claim for workers compensation using the Worker Report Form.
Simon should complete and forward an Employer Report Form
at the same time as the claim form is submitted. Following submission of the paperwork Simon should also carefully examine the nature of the incident and take steps to minimise the risk of it happening again.