A drawing of the lead workers' compensation lawyer for Atticus." />A drawing of the lead workers' compensation lawyer for Atticus." />
Atticus offers free, high-quality workers' compensation advice to those injured at work. Our team of Stanford and Harvard trained lawyers has a combined 15+ years of legal experience, and help thousands of Americans get the benefits they deserve each year.
Why trust us?State workers’ comp laws require you to follow a certain timeline to report your injury in order to qualify for benefits. Each state sets a limit on how quickly you should report and it could range anywhere from a few days to a few months. Your best bet is to tell your employer immediately, but we’ll go over each state’s time limits and how to submit your injury notice.
Report a work injury immediately when it happens. If you can’t report right away, like if you need emergency care, ask someone else to report it for you and then report it yourself as soon as possible.
Besides meeting your state’s time limit for reporting your injury, reporting early has two more benefits:
The time you have to report your work injury varies based on your state.
Most states say to notify your employer of your injury “as soon as practicable.” That generally means as soon as possible, but it gives you time if you can’t report it to your employer immediately — like if you needed emergency care or didn’t confirm the injury is work-related until later.
The table below shows how long you have across the United States to let your employer know that you have a workplace injury or illness that could require workers’ comp.
Time limit to notify employer
Do you need to give written notice?
As soon as possible
As soon as possible
As soon as possible
District of Columbia (Washington, D.C.)
As soon as possible
45 days (90 days for exposure to radiological materials or equipment)
As soon as possible
As soon as possible
As soon as possible
As soon as possible
As soon as possible
As soon as possible
As soon as possible
If you have a condition that you can’t immediately identify, like an exposure-related illness or a repetitive motion injury, report it as soon as you’re aware that you have the condition and that it’s related to your work.
Having medical documentation — like a doctor’s diagnosis — will also help you prove to insurance that you have the condition and that it’s work-related.
State laws vary on when the time limit for reporting starts. For example, in Montana, the typical 30-day time limit doesn’t apply to occupational diseases. Looking at Oregon law, you can report later than the 90-day time limit if you can show you have a good reason, but you have to prove it in a hearing.
If you’re not sure exactly when your condition first began, make your best guess at the date and ask coworkers you trust for written testimony about your condition. If your employer, their insurer, or the state tries to debate when your illness started, a lawyer can help you give proof.
Report your injury in writing to the highest-level person at your job who you can get in touch with. This chain could go up to as low as your direct supervisor or as high as your company’s owner.
Only some states, like New York, require a written report. But reporting your injury in writing will help you wherever you live. You’ll have documented evidence of your report with the exact information you provided. This will also help if months pass and you can’t remember all the small details of your accident, like the time it happened.
Put this information in your report:
It’s not always easy to give your employer a written report right away. In this case, you can let them know verbally as soon as possible and follow up with a written notice soon after. These states only recognize written reports:
If you’re having a difficult time filing your claim or if you run into issues, a workers’ comp lawyer is your best option for help.
When your employer, their insurer, or your state’s workers’ comp agency fights or denies your claim, they likely have legal teams on their side that know the laws around benefits better than you do. A workers’ comp lawyer evens out the situation.
At Atticus, we connect workers with lawyers who can help them get the benefits they need so they can move forward with life. Take our two-minute quiz to see if you could qualify for legal help, and we’ll get you in touch to learn more and connect you with a lawyer. (Getting matched with a lawyer is free, you don’t have to use our lawyer if you don’t want to, and you never pay unless you win benefits or get a settlement.)
