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Your "Five-Step Response"
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If you see, hear about or suspect a work injury, don't ignore it. Get to the bottom of it. It's your job to ask questions and find out the "where, when and how." This is particularly important when either you or the employee is not sure whether the injury is work-related.
Document your conversation. If the employee is not injured, or it is clear the injury is not work-related, you have fulfilled your obligation. If the employee believes he or she has become injured at work, go to the next step. |
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For an emergency, call 911 or get the employee to an emergency care facility. For a non-emergency, suggest your employee go to the clinic you have established a relationship with. |
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Find the information necessary to report the injury accurately and completely. Talk to the injured employee. You need specifics on how, when and where the accident took place. Be objective, not accusatory.
Find out whether anyone witnessed the injury. This can be a valuable source of details about the accident. You'll also need to get the injured employee's personnel file, including:
- Wage information
- Application for employment
- Medical information
- Date of birth
If the injury is serious, call your claims representative right away so arrangements can be made to take photos of the accident site. If you can't do that, take photos of the accident site and any objects, broken tools or machinery involved.
Save any broken parts. The accident could be a result of faulty equipment, and broken parts may be useful in recovering costs from a third party, like the tool manufacturer. |
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Be as accurate and complete as possible when you fill out a First Report of Injury. SFM sometimes receives First Reports that lack vital information, or are so vague it is difficult to determine whether the injury is compensable.
Pay close attention to dates. They need to be correct. A missing or wrong date can cause big hassles later, especially if it involves timing requirements set by the state. For example, for Minnesota employers, not indicating that an employee is losing time from work (Box 21, Minn. First Report form) is the No. 1 cause of problems leading to state penalties.
Be as complete as possible. If you get additional information after you have sent in the First Report, forward it to your claims representative immediately.
If you have sensitive information about the claim--for example, you suspect the employee did not actually hurt himself at work--do not write it on the First Report because the employee will be receiving a copy of it. Instead, use the "confidential comments" box on the online form or, if filling out a paper version, write the information on a separate sheet of paper and attach it to the First Report. Or call your claims representative. |
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 Fatal or catastrophic injuries must be
reported to SFM immediately.
All injuries should be reported to SFM within 24 hours. This ensures your claims representative will be able to investigate the injury and determine compensability within state deadlines. If you don't have all the required information within 24 hours, go ahead and report anyway. Your claims representative will follow-up with you for needed specifics.
The fastest, most efficient way to report an injury to SFM is online. Use the "Report a work injury" form that starts on the homepage.
You should receive a letter confirming that SFM received your First Report of Injury. The letter will provide you with the claim number and contact information for your claims representative. If the injury involves the employee losing time from work, your claims representative will call you to discuss the claim within 48 hours. If you have not received a phone call or letter within a week, call SFM to check whether your First Report was received. |
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