INJURY REPORTING PROCESS

Steven Cesare, Ph.D.

A business owner from New Jersey called me the other day to talk about various workers compensation and safety issues, including proper protocol for tracking employee injuries on the OSHA spreadsheets (e.g., 300, 300A, and 301), securing and interpreting the Detailed Loss Run Report for the past five calendar years from the workers compensation vendor, and developing and delivering weekly safety tailgate training sessions. Discussion of these fundamental topics represents a strong introduction to promoting legal compliance, providing a safe work environment for all company employees, and building toward a true safety culture intent on long-term cost containment, employee well-being, and organizational success.

Ancillary to those content areas, yet integral to daily safety operations, I recommended that the business owner adopt an Injury Reporting Process for his company to guide tactical consistency whenever an employee is injured on the job. This process contributes to the company’s overall safety training program, dictates proper employee accountability, and of course, demonstrates added procedural credibility to situations like an OSHA investigation, workers compensation dispute, or employee lawsuit.

Shown below is the basic Injury Reporting Process that every company should review and tailor, share with its workers compensation vendor and occupational clinics, and offer to all employees as an ongoing safety and training document to clarify roles and responsibilities.

Foreman assesses the severity of the injury, determining if it is First Aid or Medical Care.
If judged to be a Medical Care injury, the Foreman contacts the Safety Coordinator and/or drives the injured employee to the closest occupational clinic (calls 911 for severe and life-threatening injuries).
Foreman drives the injured employee to the occupational clinic, reminding the employee the company has workers compensation insurance, independent of the employee’s health insurance benefits.
Foreman informs the employee that the company’s primary concern is his/her well-being and that the workers’ compensation provider will take care of his/her medical needs, and that the employee must keep the company advised of changes in his/her medical condition and the need to bring a disability report from the physician after each office visit.
The Foreman remains with the employee while at the occupational clinic, informing the clinic to direct all administrative correspondence (e.g., Doctor’s First Report of Injury, Work Release/Physical Assessment, invoice billing, follow-up visit schedule) to the company’s Office Manager.
Upon release from the clinic, the Office Manager receives all the administrative documentation from the occupational clinic, completes the Employee’s Claim for Workers’ Compensation Benefits Form, and submits a copy of that form to the workers compensation vendor within 24 hours of the injury:
- Sends photocopies of all documentation to the workers compensation vendor;
- Gives a photocopy of the completed form to the employee; and
- Keeps original version of all documentation in the employee’s medical file.
In many cases, the Office Manager will have to complete the Employer’s Report of Occupational Injury or Illness and submit its photocopy to the workers compensation vendor within 5 days of the injury:
- Office Manager keeps the original form in the employee’s medical file.
Operations Manager reviews the Work Release/Physical Assessment to determine if the employee can return to work with/out modified duty, current work restrictions, and the anticipated treatment plan.
- Safety Coordinator conducts an investigation regarding the nature of injury to prevent reoccurrence.
Office Manager and workers compensation vendor discuss payment procedures with the occupational clinic, administrative follow-up, potential for temporary disability payments, and process review.
Office Manager adds new recordable claim to the OSHA 300 Form and OSHA 301 Form within 7 calendar days of the incident.
If the employee is eligible for FMLA leave, provide written documentation to the injured employee stating that time away from work will be considered as leave of absence under related laws.

Safety is an extremely important aspect of the Green Industry. The design, accuracy, and efficiency of reporting employee injuries are critical to any company’s safety program. To that end, a company’s Injury Reporting Process should be reviewed by the workers compensation vendor, the occupational clinic, and all relevant company employees to ensure alignment, compliance, and trust.

Modify this process for your company. Train and implement it. Hold your employees accountable for safety!

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