If you are injured at work, you need to report the injury to your employer immediately, or as soon as practicable. Notice should include the date and place of the injury, if known. You can report the injury to the owner, boss, supervisor, or manager. In Illinois, if you do not give notice of the accident within 45 days, you may lose the ability to bring a workers’ compensation claim.

All of this is designed to establish proof of your injury. If you are hurt and nobody knows about it, your employer may suspect the injury did not occur. The law requires notice within 45 days because your employer has the right to speak to witnesses to corroborate or dispute the injury. If more than 45 days pass without a report, your employer would be unfairly prejudiced by not being able to gather evidence. The 45-day rule is firm, though there are exceptions for certain cases, such as radiation exposure and occupational diseases. For most injuries, however, this deadline is critical.

While an injured worker may not think of the process as evidence-building, it is important to understand that if a dispute arises, the injury, notice, and treatment all need to be well documented. Workers’ compensation law is complex, and this is a simplified explanation, but as attorneys we know that lack of timely notice creates serious problems in many cases.

If you were recently injured at work and have not reported the injury yet, and fewer than 45 days have passed, it is not too late. We offer free consultations and can guide you through the best next steps. Even if you have already reported the injury, it is still important to seek the advice of an attorney. There are many details you need to know—and your employer or their insurance company will not tell you about them.

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