How do I report my injury?

A: There are three ways to report your injury. First, you need to report your injury to your employer. Even if your injury was witnessed by other employees, including your direct supervisor, it is YOUR responsibility to immediately (as soon as you are able) contact your employer to advise them of your work injury and how you were injured. We recommend that you tell your supervisor as soon as you can and ask if you need to complete an accident report. If not, you can call your Human Resources Department to ensure that they have knowledge that your injury happened and all of the details (when it happened, what happened to cause the injury, and all body parts that hurt). You can also notify your employer in writing.

Secondly, you also need to file a claim for benefits with the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission. You can do this one of several ways. If you are computer savvy, you can register with Webfile at https://webfile.workcomp.virginia.gov/portal/vwc-portal and click on claimant registration in the top right hand corner. Once you have registered, you can complete the claim for benefits form online and upload it automatically. Alternatively, you can find the form on our website here.  You can then print the form, complete it, and mail it to the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission, 1000 DMV Drive, Richmond, VA 23220. Lastly, if you have no access to a computer, you can contact our office for a copy of the claim for benefits form.

You need to complete the claim for benefits as completely as you can. There are two parts- Part A and Part B. The form says that Part B is optional. Just completing Part A will toll the statute of limitations but no hearing will be scheduled and no additional action will be taken by the Commission unless you complete both Part A and Part B of the form. You also want to be sure that you include ALL of the body parts that you hurt in your work injury, the date of your injury, exactly what happened to cause your injury, and what benefits you are seeking.

Lastly, you will need to inform all medical providers of what happened to cause your work injury, the date of the work injury, and ALL body parts involved – especially and even if you feel a particular body part doesn’t hurt very much (i.e. the pain will go away). This is very important, as the insurance carrier will deny treatment for any issue that is not specifically mentioned in the initial medical report. Remember to tell the doctor exactly what hurts even a little, each time you are treated, even if the doctor tells you that the insurance company will not cover that injury. Then, each time you see a new doctor, tell them exactly what happened to cause the work injury, ALL body parts you hurt, and the date of the work injury.