EMPLOYEE INJURY CLAIM: WHAT TO DO FIRST
The first 72 hours, from Claims Desk by RFS

An employee injury is a claim, a statutory obligation and a human
situation at once, and the first hours decide how well all three go.

WHAT LOSES IT
Settling directly with the worker or the family before the insurer is
involved. It is understandable, it is usually well-meant, and it can put
the whole payment outside the policy.

1. Get medical treatment, and keep every paper it generates  [Immediately]
   The first prescription, the casualty note, the admission record.
   The medical trail from hour one is what establishes that the
   injury happened when and how you say it did.

2. Tell the insurer the same day  [Same day]
   Even where the injury looks minor. Injuries that seem small at
   the time are the ones that turn into disability claims months
   later, by which point a late intimation is a problem.

3. Make the statutory reports  [Check and comply]
   Employee injury carries reporting obligations to the labour
   authorities, and separately under ESIC where the worker is
   covered. What is required and by when depends on the state and
   the severity, so check the current position rather than assuming.

4. Record the scene and the circumstances now  [Day 1]
   Photographs of the location and the machine or process involved,
   the safety equipment issued, and written accounts from those who
   saw it, taken while it is fresh.

5. Pull the employment and wage record  [Days 1 to 3]
   Appointment letter or muster roll, wage register, attendance, age
   proof, and the contractor's agreement where the worker is not
   directly employed. Compensation is calculated from wages and age,
   so these are the claim.

6. Do not settle privately  [Throughout]
   Not with the worker, and not with the family or the contractor
   either. A payment made outside the policy is usually a payment
   the insurer never agreed to, and it is very hard to reclaim.

7. Be clear about who employed the worker  [Day 1]
   Direct employee, contractor's worker, or sub-contractor's. Cover
   for contract labour is a specific extension and this single fact
   decides whether the claim sits under your policy at all.

8. Keep the file open after they return to work  [Ongoing]
   Residual disability, relapse and later medical treatment all
   attach to the original incident. A closed internal file and an
   open liability is a bad combination.

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Claims Desk by RFS - claimsdesk.in - 92514 56334
We run insurance claims end to end, including on policies placed
elsewhere. Nothing here is legal advice, and what your policy pays
is decided by its wording and the facts of the loss. Where this
says 'the time your policy sets', read your own wording: the
periods genuinely differ and a wrong one costs the claim.