What to Do If Your Employer Doesn’t Report Your Work Injury

When a workplace accident or work activities over time cause injuries, you are entitled to worker’s compensation benefits to pay for your medical bills, lost wages, and permanent disability or permanent wage loss. You must notify your employer of your injuries and work-relatedness, and they are responsible for reporting the claim to their worker’s compensation insurance carrier. But what can you do if your employer doesn’t report your work injury?

Your Employer Must Report Your Work Injury

Under the Wisconsin Worker’s Compensation Act, Wisconsin employers are required to report all work-related injuries to their worker’s compensation insurance company. However, managers, supervisors, owners, and others sometimes misreport or knowingly fail to report injuries.

While the reasons why an employer doesn’t report a work injury are not always clear, the three most common reasons for not reporting a work injury are:

1. The employer fears their worker’s compensation insurance premiums will increase; or
2. The employer wishes to control the situation or the injured worker regardless of the law; or
3. The injured worker does not clearly state that a work injury occurred, or that the medical condition is related to their work activities, or that a worker’s compensation claim should be submitted.

As Wisconsin worker’s comp lawyers, we regularly see employers who knowingly or unintentionally fail to report workplace injuries. There can be penalties against such an employer and, regardless of their failure to report, they cannot escape liability for a clear injury or clear report of injury by an injured worker.

How to Protect Yourself When Your Employer Doesn’t Report Your Work Injury

Fortunately, there are steps you can take yourself without immediately needing an attorney if your employer doesn’t report your work injury.

1. If you suspect your employer has not reported your work injury, you can contact the Department of Workplace Development (DWD) by calling 608-266-1340. In most cases, the DWD can address the issue so your claim can move forward.
2. If calling the DWD was unsuccessful, you can look up your employer’s workers’ compensation insurer on the Wisconsin Compensation Rating Bureau’s (WCRB) website and submit the claim yourself. You will need your employer’s name and the date of your injury. The WCRB will show the identity and contact information for your employer’s worker’s compensation carrier and you can contact them directly to report your workplace injury.

Even if you successfully report your claim by calling the DWD or submitting the claim yourself, we still recommend contacting our office to discuss your claim, the potential penalties that could be imposed against your employer for failing to report the injury, and how we can help.

Penalties for Failure to Report a Work Injury

Employers who fail to report a workplace injury to their worker’s compensation insurance carrier because of malice or bad faith face substantial penalties. To demonstrate bad faith, the injured worker must show that the employer “had no reasonable basis for denying benefits and that the employer knew or recklessly disregarded that there was no reasonable basis for denying benefits.”

If the injured worker proves their employer acted with malice or in bad faith, they are eligible for compensation in the amount of 200% of benefits due or $30,000, whichever is less.

How Kingree Law Firm Can Help

If you suffered a serious work injury that resulted in permanent disability, permanent wage loss, or significant lost time from work and your employer didn’t report your work injury, your worker’s compensation benefits were denied, or you have not received all the benefits you are entitled to, Kingree Law Firm can help.

Led by founding attorney Luke Kingree, Kingree Law Firm exclusively represents injured workers in claims for worker’s comp benefits. We are an experienced and highly sought-after Wisconsin worker’s compensation law firm with a reputation for skill, knowledge, and quality case preparation that produces results.

Contact Kingree Law Firm Today

Kingree Law Firm is a Wisconsin worker’s compensation law firm with offices in Madison and Eau Claire. We represent injured workers throughout Wisconsin, concentrating on cases outside of the Milwaukee area, and have earned a reputation as one of the top worker’s comp firms in the state. With a demonstrated record of success, we are well-known and highly respected by our colleagues and clients for our knowledge and the superior results we regularly achieve. Contact Kingree Law Firm today to schedule an appointment to discuss your situation.