Filing a Worker’s Compensation Claim in Utah:

Ask your employer for a copy of the claim form to report a work injury or illness to your employer. Follow the instructions on the form, complete the "employee" section" and sign and date it.  Make sure you keep a copy for your records.  The employer will fill out the "employer" section.  You can submit the form to your employer in person or by mail, but if you use mail it is usually recommended to send it by certified mail (return receipt requested) so you have a record of the date it was mailed and received. 

It is important to first report any injury, even minor injuries, to the employer immediately. Obtain the employer's insurance carrier information and take this information, plus the form on the injury the employer provides to the designated doctor or a doctor of your choice if one is not provided. The doctor will then complete required accident and injury forms and submit them to the respective insurance company. The forms will then be sent within 7 days to the employer, Labor Commission and yourself as the employee. Contacting the insurance company to ensure they receive the forms and start the claims process is all that is typically required, although an additional claim form may also be needed for the process to begin. 

Attorney Fees are: 20% first $15,000; 15% next $15,000;10% balance; maximum $10,850

Utah Worker’s Compensation Treatment:
The insurance carrier or employer has the right to designate a preferred medical provider. You are required to first seek medical treatment from the preferred provider, if one exists.

If you seek medical treatment from someone other than the designated provider, you may be obligated to pay any charges in excess of the preferred provider allowances. The emergency room is ONLY to be used in life threatening situations unless it is the designated medical provider.

Employer makes the initial selection of physician. Employee may make one choice of physician after initially seeing the employer's physician.

You are entitled to make one change of doctors. However, you need to notify the insurance carrier or self-insured employer as soon as possible of the change.

A referral from your treating doctor to another doctor is not considered a change. Nor is a change from an emergency room doctor to a private doctor. Once doctor care has begun, emergency room visits are prohibited except in cases of: (1) doctor referral or (2) threat to life.

NOTE: If the doctor you choose is not a part of the preferred provider network (PPO) that the insurance carrier or self-insured employer has established, and that doctor recommends surgery at a hospital not part of the PPO network, you will be liable for the difference of the PPO contract and what is charged by the hospital for treatment.

Utah Worker’s Compensation Benefits:
The workers' compensation system provides replacement income, medical expenses, and sometimes, vocational rehabilitation benefits -- that is, on-the-job training, schooling, or job placement assistance. The benefits paid through workers' compensation, however, are almost always relatively modest.

• If you become temporarily unable to work, you'll usually receive two-thirds of your average wage up to a fixed ceiling. But because these payments are tax-free, if you received decent wages prior to your injury. You will be eligible for these wage-loss replacement benefits as soon as you've lost a few days of work because of an injury or illness that is covered by workers' compensation.
• If you become permanently unable to do the work you were doing prior to the injury, or unable to do any work at all, you may be eligible to receive long-term or lump-sum benefits. The amount of the payment will depend on the nature and extent of your injuries. If you anticipate a permanent work disability, contact your local workers' compensation office as soon as possible; these benefits are rather complex and may take a while to process.

Utah Worker’s Compensation Waiting Period:
The waiting period for compensation benefits after injury is 3 days for temporary total disability only.

Compensation is retroactive if disability continues for more than 14 days from the date of injury.

Utah Worker’s Compensation Contact Information:
Joyce Sewell, Director
Labor Commission
Division of Industrial Accidents
160 East 300 South, 3rd Floor
P. O. Box 146610
Salt Lake City, UT 84114-6610
 (801) 530-6800  (801) 530-6800 or  1-800-530-5090  1-800-530-5090

NOTICE: These questions and answers concern Utah law only, and should not be construed nor relied upon as reflecting the law in other States, nor as giving legal advice. You are warned that circumstances often vary greatly and that, due to changing decisions and law, the answers to these questions may change over time and not be current, and you should consult an attorney in any specific case, and NOT rely on these questions and answers as giving anything other than general information.