Employee Injury Process

If an employee is injured while working for Utah State University, the first priority is to ensure the employee immediately gets the appropriate treatment.  Appropriate treatment will range from administering first-aid onsite, taking the injured employee to an approved medical clinic or Emergency Room, or calling 911.

Employees whose injuries require medical treatment beyond first-aid but are not life threatening must initially be seen by USU’s preferred medical provider.  Where available, Intermountain Healthcare’s WorkMed is the preferred provider.  If the injury requires treatment by a specialist, the WorkMed doctor will refer the employee to an appropriate specialist.  Employees have the right to change medical providers after the initial WorkMed visit.

Employee Responsibilities

Employees should report even minor/incidental injuries and near misses to their supervisor and fill out an Employer’s First Report of Injury.  Worker’s Compensation coverage is based on an incident happening in the workplace that causes an injury.  Reporting even minor/incidental injuries ensures a report of the initial injury exists should the employee require medical treatment for the injury at a later date.

• The longer an employee waits to report the incident, the more difficult it is to determine if the incident at work was the sole cause of the injury.

If an injury occurs on the job, employees should report the injury to their supervisor as soon as possible.  If the employee cannot report in person, then they should call their supervisor to report.

• The Employer’s First Report of Injury is used to file a claim with USU’s worker’s compensation insurance provider. While employees don’t need to fill it out before they seek appropriate treatment, it should be filled out as soon as possible after treatment.
• Be aware that medical treatment provided after the initial medical provider visit may not be covered by Worker’s Compensation if an employee fails to fill out the Employer’s First Report of Injury.

Employees are expected to notify their supervisor immediately if the medical provider gives them any work restrictions or takes the employee off work altogether.  USU has a return-to-work program to provide employees with modified duty that can meet the restrictions a doctor may prescribe.  Employees are expected to participate in this program. The employee’s supervisor should work with them to provide modified duties until such time as the employee is cleared by their medical provider for normal duties.

If an injured employee’s medical provider has taken them off work, they are expected to follow the direction of the medical provider.  Employees should communicate this to their supervisor and not report to work until they have been cleared by their medical provider.

Workers Compensation Claim Process

Once Risk Management has received the Employer’s First Report of Injury, they will file the Worker’s Compensation claim and email the employee a copy of their claim number.  Injured employees will also receive a physical letter in the mail from WCF Insurance that lists the claim number and the name, phone number, and email address of the assigned adjuster.

• Please do not discard this letter. The assigned adjuster is the person who will be working with the employee to determine coverage and pay covered expenses.
• Generally, employees will want to talk with their adjuster at least once in the claim process. Please don’t assume that the medical providers are communicating with the adjuster on the employee’s behalf.

If employees have questions about their claim or if they feel they are not receiving the right treatment, they should reach out to their adjuster as soon as possible. Communication between the injured employee, their medical provider, and their adjuster are the key components in insuring the claim process goes successfully.