Injury Reporting & Documentation · For employers
The first hour decides how the claim goes.
Claims reported the same day close faster and cost less. Here is exactly what a supervisor does when someone gets hurt, which Colorado and OSHA clocks start, and what the file should contain — with ICA handling the medical documentation for you.
Are you the one who got hurt? Start here.The first hour
What the supervisor does, in order
Six steps. The person on the floor owns the first four; the office owns the last two. None of them require deciding whether the injury “counts.”
- Get the worker seenMinute 0
Life- or limb-threatening: call 911. Anything else: send them to ICA, walk-in, Monday to Friday 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. If they can’t drive or you can’t spare a driver, call us for free transportation. Do not send an injured worker home to “see how it feels.”
- Hand over the designated provider listBefore they leave
Colorado requires you to give the worker a written list of designated providers when the injury is reported. Give it, note the time, and tell them ICA is on it. Without a list, the worker can choose any physician.
- Secure the scene and the factsSame shift
Photograph the area, equipment, and any hazard before it is cleaned up or repaired. Get names of everyone who saw it. If a machine or tool was involved, tag it out until someone has looked at it.
- Write the incident reportSame shift
The supervisor’s report, in the worker’s own words plus what you observed. Facts only — what, where, when, who, what body part. No opinions about cause or fault. Use the checklist on the right.
- File the Employer’s First Report of InjuryWithin 10 days
Send Colorado Form WC1 to your insurer. Most carriers take it online or by phone the same day. Late employer reports can carry penalties and slow the worker’s benefits. Your insurer then has 20 days to admit or deny.
- Update the OSHA log if recordableWithin 7 days
Anything beyond first aid — prescription medication, stitches, restricted work, days away — goes on the OSHA 300 log within seven calendar days, with a 301 incident record. ICA tells you on the same-day call whether the treatment was first aid or recordable.
Hand the worker your provider list before they leave the building.
Colorado requires a written list of designated providers when an injury is reported. If you don’t give one, the worker may choose any doctor and you lose control of the claim’s direction. We’ll prepare a compliant list with ICA on it — free, no form.
The claim file
Who produces what, and who keeps it
A clean claim file has three authors. You write the incident report and the WC1 and keep two records; ICA and your insurer produce the rest and send you copies.
Employer
- Supervisor’s incident report, same shift, signed by the supervisor and the worker.
- Employer’s First Report of Injury (WC1), to your insurer within 10 days. Keep the confirmation.
- Provider-list acknowledgment, signed and dated by the worker.
- OSHA 300, 300A, 301, if recordable. Witness statements and photos alongside.
Treating clinic
- Physician’s initial report (WC164), filed to the insurer after the first visit.
- Work-status note after every visit: status, restrictions, recheck date. You get a copy the same day.
- Progress reports and MMI determination, plus impairment rating when the claim reaches maximum medical improvement.
- Same-day employer call, documented in the chart with who we spoke to.
Carrier / adjuster
- General or Final Admission of Liability, or a Notice of Contest, within 20 days of your report.
- Benefit payment records and any independent medical exam reports.
- Claim closure paperwork. Ask for a copy for your file when the claim closes.
Retention. Keep OSHA 300/300A/301 records five years after the year they cover. Keep the workers’ compensation claim file at least as long as the claim can be reopened — for most Colorado claims, plan on six years after closure.
Ask ICA about your fileCommon questions
The calls we get most from supervisors
If your question isn’t here, call the clinic. We answer reporting questions the same day, whether or not the worker has been seen yet.
Send them anyway, or at minimum document that care was offered and declined, with a signature. A “nothing” that becomes a claim two weeks later, with no same-day record, is the most expensive claim there is. The visit costs you nothing extra under workers’ compensation.
Report anything that gets treatment beyond basic first aid, anything with lost time or restrictions, and anything the worker asks you to report. When in doubt, report — a late report is a bigger problem than an unnecessary one.
OSHA’s list is specific: non-prescription medication at non-prescription strength, cleaning and bandaging a wound, hot or cold therapy, a splint used only for transport, and a few others. Prescription medication, stitches, restricted work, or days away make the case recordable. We tell you which on the same-day call.
You do, by giving the designated provider list at the time of the report and having the worker sign that they received it. If no list is given, the worker may choose any physician and the claim’s direction is out of your hands.
Take the report exactly as you would a fresh one. Note the date they say it happened and the date they told you. Do not refuse to take it — late reporting affects the worker’s benefits, not your obligation to document and report.
You will get work-related information: status, restrictions, expected duration, and recheck date. Diagnosis and treatment details are protected medical information and come only with the worker’s written authorization. The work-status note is designed so you don’t need the diagnosis to plan the shift.
No. Workers’ compensation is no-fault. The report records facts — what, where, when, who — not causes. A factual same-day report protects you; a missing one is what looks bad to an adjuster.
If you are the one who got hurt
Report it today, even if it seems small
Telling your supervisor in writing protects your claim. You don’t need to prove anything or fill out anything complicated — a text or email saying what happened, where, and when is enough to start.