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Notice Given to Employer

Whenever an employee gets injured on the job, he or she or their legal representative must immediately give written notice of the accident to the employer. A claim can fail unless the written notice is given within 30 days of the accident unless the Industrial Commission is convinced that the employer has not been prejudiced and that there was a reasonable excuse for not providing notice within 30 days. A reasonable excuse always depends on the circumstances. For example, if the worker does not understand the seriousness of the injury or the compensation available, and doesn't file promptly due to this, the excuse might be deemed reasonable.

Until notice has been given to the employer, employees may not be compensated for physician's fees or any other type of compensation unless it can be shown that the employer already had knowledge of the accident or some sort of employer actions would have led the injured worker to believe that the employer had notice, but in fact did not. Notice by the employer can also be waived. There are two main reasons that notice is required to be given to the employer. First, it compels people to provide fast diagnosis and treatment in order to decrease the severity of the injury. Second, it lets the employer know so that they can immediately investigate the claim.

Medical benefits generally start right after a worker is injured on the job; however, the partial wage benefit only starts if the injured worker misses more than 7 days of work. Thus, some claims may only be for medical benefits.

If the employer has personal knowledge of the accident, a claim may not be barred for lack of notice. In other words, if the employer or his or her agent knew about the accident, that counts as notice. The notice must contain the name and address of the employee, the time, the place, the nature and cause of the accident, and the resulting injury or death. It has to be signed by the employee or someone on their behalf. In the event of death, any adult dependant or a legal representative may sign.

For occupational diseases (with the exception of lead poisoning, asbestosis, and silicosis), the time in which notice must be give for the employee does not begin until he or she has been advised by a medical authority that he or she has an occupational disease. In addition, the employee must be advised, not only the name of the disease, but also the nature and work-related cause of the disease.