What to Do After a Workplace Injury in California

A workplace injury starts two clocks at once. One runs on the employer — measured in working days, not weeks. The other runs on the injured worker and is measured in months. Both are short enough that a well-meaning delay causes real damage, and neither is intuitive.

This guide covers both sides: what an injured employee should do in the first 72 hours, and what a California employer is legally required to do the moment it learns an injury happened. If you need the claim-filing mechanics in detail, that's covered in how to file a workers' comp claim in California.

If you're the employee

1. Get medical care first — always

Emergency care comes before paperwork. Tell the treating provider the injury happened at work; that single sentence routes the bill to workers' compensation rather than to your health plan, and it puts the work connection in the medical record from the beginning.

If you predesignated a personal physician in writing before the injury, you may treat with them. Otherwise your employer's medical provider network (MPN) generally controls treatment for the first period of the claim.

2. Report the injury to your employer — in writing, promptly

Under Labor Code §5400, notice of injury to the employer is required within 30 days. Do not use all 30. Report it the same day if you can, and put it in writing — an email or text creates a dated record that a hallway conversation does not.

For a cumulative trauma injury or an occupational illness that developed over time, the clock generally runs from when you knew or should have known the condition was work-related.

3. Expect a DWC-1 claim form within one working day

Once your employer knows about the injury, Labor Code §5401 requires it to give you a DWC-1 claim form within one working day. Complete the employee section, date it, keep a copy, and give it back to your employer. Your employer must return a completed copy to you within one working day of receiving it.

Filing the DWC-1 is what legally opens the claim. Telling a supervisor is notice; the DWC-1 is the claim. If nobody hands you one, ask in writing — and if you still don't get one, you can download it from the Division of Workers' Compensation.

4. Know the two rules that protect you while the claim is decided

The $10,000 rule. Within one working day of receiving your claim form, your employer must authorise up to $10,000 in appropriate medical treatment while the claim is being investigated. You should not be waiting for a coverage decision to get treated.

The 90-day presumption. Under Labor Code §5402(b), if the claim is not denied within 90 days of the DWC-1 being filed with the employer, the injury is presumed compensable — and that presumption can generally only be rebutted by evidence discovered after the 90 days.

5. Keep your own file

Dates and copies win disputes. Keep: the date and time of injury, who you told and when, every medical visit, work restrictions in writing, mileage to appointments, and any correspondence from the claims administrator.

6. Watch the one-year deadline

Under Labor Code §5405, an application for adjudication generally must be filed within one year from the date of injury (or from the last date benefits were provided, or the last date of furnished medical treatment). Reporting the injury is not the same as protecting this deadline.

Free help is available from the state's Information & Assistance officers at 1-800-736-7401 — no cost, no attorney required.

If you're the employer

Your obligations begin the moment you have notice of an injury, whether or not anyone has filed anything.

Within one working day

• Give the employee a DWC-1 claim form. Not "when HR gets to it" — one working day (Lab. Code §5401).

• Report the claim to your workers' comp carrier or claims administrator. Prompt reporting is the single strongest predictor of lower ultimate claim cost.

• Authorise up to $10,000 in treatment once the claim form comes back, while the claim is being investigated.

• Provide the employee with information on their rights, benefits, and the MPN.

Within five days

File the employer's report of occupational injury or illness (Form 5020) with your claims administrator for any injury requiring more than first aid or resulting in lost time beyond the date of injury.

Immediately, for serious incidents

Cal/OSHA requires immediate reporting of any serious injury, illness, or death — before you finish the workers' comp paperwork. "Serious" includes inpatient hospitalisation for anything other than medical observation, amputation, loss of an eye, or a serious degree of permanent disfigurement. Report to the nearest Cal/OSHA district office.

Then, in the first two weeks

Preserve the scene and the evidence. Photograph the location, the equipment, and any guarding. Keep the equipment out of service if it's implicated. Collect witness statements while memories are fresh.

Investigate for cause, not for blame. Your IIPP requires it, and a documented corrective action is what keeps the same injury from recurring — and from becoming an ex-mod problem.

Start return-to-work planning on day one. Modified or transitional duty within an employee's written restrictions is the highest-leverage cost control in workers' compensation. Every day an injured worker is entirely off work costs more and lengthens recovery. Put the offer in writing.

Do not retaliate, and be careful about the appearance of it. Labor Code §132a penalises discrimination against an employee for filing a claim. Discipline for an unrelated, documented reason is lawful; discipline that lands the week after a claim is filed will be examined closely.

What this does to your premium

Workers' comp premium is driven by payroll, class codes, and your experience modification factor — and the ex-mod weights frequency more heavily than severity. Three small claims damage a mod more than one moderate one.

That's why the first 24 hours matter financially as well as legally: prompt reporting, immediate medical care, and modified duty are the three levers that keep a claim from developing into the kind of reserve that sits on your mod for three years.

If your mod has moved and you don't know why, that's a conversation worth having before the next renewal. See switching workers' comp carriers and our California workers' comp guide.

Injury at your business this week? TSM handles the carrier, the paperwork, and the return-to-work conversation for our clients — the same day. (209) 524-6366 Modesto · (530) 221-3031 Redding · Claims Center

The employer's first-48-hours checklist

☐ Medical care arranged; MPN provider identified

☐ DWC-1 given to employee (within one working day)

☐ Claim reported to carrier / claims administrator

☐ Up to $10,000 treatment authorised

☐ Form 5020 filed (within five days)

☐ Cal/OSHA notified if serious injury

☐ Scene photographed, equipment secured, witnesses recorded

☐ Written work restrictions obtained from the treating physician

☐ Modified-duty offer made in writing

☐ Root-cause investigation and corrective action documented

☐ Supervisor briefed on §132a — no retaliation, no appearance of it

FAQs

How long do I have to report a work injury in California?

Notice to your employer is required within 30 days under Labor Code §5400, but report immediately and in writing. A separate one-year deadline applies to filing an application for adjudication under §5405.

What is a DWC-1 form?

The California workers' compensation claim form. Your employer must give it to you within one working day of learning about your injury, and filing it is what formally opens the claim.

What happens if my employer doesn't give me a claim form?

Ask in writing and keep the request. You can obtain the form from the Division of Workers' Compensation and file it directly. Contact DWC Information & Assistance at 1-800-736-7401.

Can I see my own doctor for a work injury?

Only if you predesignated a personal physician in writing before the injury. Otherwise treatment generally runs through your employer's medical provider network.

Do I get medical treatment before my claim is approved?

Yes. Your employer must authorise up to $10,000 in appropriate treatment within one working day of receiving your claim form while the claim is investigated.

What if my claim isn't accepted or denied?

Under Labor Code §5402(b), a claim not denied within 90 days of filing is presumed compensable.

The first 24 hours decide what this claim costs.

TSM Insurance builds workers' comp programmes for Central Valley employers — and then actually works the claims. If an injury happened today, call us before you file anything.

Modesto (209) 524-6366 · Redding (530) 221-3031 · Talk to a TSM advisor