Does an Employer Need to Report a New Jersey Work Injury to the State?

In most cases, no. If your employer has New Jersey workers’ compensation insurance, he or she will report the injury to the insurer. The insurer will pass along the information to the Compensation Rating & Inspection Bureau, who will in turn send it to the New Jersey Division of Workers’ Compensation. Upon being informed of the injury, the Division of Workers’ Compensation will be responsible for making sure your employer or your employer’s insurance company complies with the law.

Employers can be self-insured for workers’ compensation purposes, but they would need to be approved by the Department of Banking & Insurance. An employer will only be approved if it can show sufficient assets to cover all potential work injury claims.

A self-insured employer will submit the same forms to the state that the insurance company for a covered employer would. These are the First Report of Accident (FROI/IA-1), which must be submitted within three weeks of learning of the accident, and the Subsequent Report of Accident (SROI/SA/IA-2), which must be filed within 26 weeks of the injured employee recovering enough to be able to return to work (or maximum medical improvement, if such a recovery is not expected).

If you have been injured on the job, an experienced New Jersey workers’ compensation attorney may be able to help you get the benefits you need. Call Dan T. Matrafajlo at (908) 248-4404 for a free evaluation of your case.