What to Do When an Employee Gets Injured - Florida Workers' Comp Guide

Step 1 - Get the Worker Medical Care Immediately

For any emergency - broken bones, head trauma, significant bleeding, loss of consciousness - the answer is always the ER first. Do not delay emergency care over paperwork. Once stabilized, the workers' comp process begins.

For non-emergencies, this is where Florida law is different from what many employers expect: the employer, through the insurance carrier, has the right to direct care to an authorized treating physician (ATP). This is not optional. The carrier contracts with a Managed Care Organization (MCO) that maintains a network of approved providers. The injured worker's first non-emergency appointment should be with a provider in that network.

Step 2 - Employee Reports the Injury to You

Florida Statute 440.185 requires the injured employee to report the injury to the employer within 30 days. Failure to report within 30 days can bar the claim entirely. As an employer, you want this report in writing - date, time, what happened, body part injured. Even for minor injuries that seem like they won't develop into claims, document the report. Injuries that look minor on day one sometimes get worse, and missing the 30-day window is a problem for the employee, not just the employer.

Make injury reporting easy. Post the procedure, have a standard form, and designate a specific person employees report to. Complicated reporting procedures delay everything and cost more money in the long run.

Step 3 - You Report to the Carrier

Once the injury is reported to you, you have 7 days to report it to your workers' comp carrier. This is a hard deadline under Florida law. Late reporting can result in penalties and complicates the carrier's investigation. Call the carrier's claims line the same day if possible - do not wait the full 7 days unless you genuinely need time to gather information.

The formal document that gets filed is the First Report of Injury (FROI). It must be submitted to the Florida Division of Workers' Compensation within 14 days of the injury or the employer's knowledge of the injury. Your carrier typically handles this filing - confirm that they do and do not assume it happens automatically.

Step 4 - The Carrier Investigates and Makes a Compensability Decision

After you report the claim, the carrier has 3 days to pay the first installment of benefits, deny the claim, or notify the parties that it needs more time to investigate. A denial must state the specific reason. Common denial reasons include: injury did not arise from employment, pre-existing condition, employee was intoxicated, injury was self-inflicted, or employee failed to follow safety rules.

If the carrier denies the claim and the employee disagrees, the dispute goes to a Judge of Compensation Claims. See our Chapter 440 overview for more on the JCC process.

Wage Replacement: How TTD and TPD Work

Once a claim is accepted and the worker cannot return to full duty, wage replacement begins after the 7-day waiting period. The benefit is 66.67% of the worker's average weekly wage (AWW), calculated from the 13 weeks immediately before the injury. Two types of temporary disability apply:

• Temporary Total Disability (TTD): The worker cannot work at all. They receive 66.67% of AWW until they reach MMI or can return to some form of work.
• Temporary Partial Disability (TPD): The worker can work in a limited capacity and is earning less than 80% of their pre-injury AWW. TPD pays 80% of the difference between 80% of AWW and current earnings. This is where light duty becomes critical.

Your Obligation to Offer Light Duty

This is one of the most important things Florida employers need to understand. If the authorized treating physician releases the worker to modified or light duty - even one day a week, even desk work - you are expected to make a bona fide offer of light duty employment. If you make a legitimate offer and the employee refuses it without good cause, benefits can stop.

The offer must be real. It cannot be a pretextual offer of work that doesn't actually exist or that the employee physically cannot perform given the doctor's restrictions. But if you have genuine light duty available that fits within the restrictions, documenting a formal offer in writing protects you significantly on the ongoing wage benefit obligation.

Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI)

MMI is the point the authorized treating physician determines the worker's condition is as good as it is going to get with further treatment. At MMI, temporary disability benefits end. If the worker has a permanent impairment, the physician assigns an impairment rating using the AMA Guides. Permanent impairment benefits are then calculated on a schedule tied to the rating percentage.

The carrier may also request an Independent Medical Examination (IME) from a physician of their choosing at any point. The IME opinion often differs from the treating physician's opinion - particularly on the extent of disability and the impairment rating. This conflict is the single most common trigger for formal JCC proceedings.

Most Expensive Claim Types in Florida Construction

Not all claims cost the same. Based on claims patterns in Florida construction, the most expensive injuries by average cost are: falls from elevation (scaffolding, roofs, ladders), electrocution, crush injuries from equipment or material, and amputations. These are the claims that hit six figures quickly and drive experience modification upward for years. Preventing them is not just a safety issue - it is a direct cost of doing business.

How a PEO Changes the Process

When you are covered through a PEO, the injured worker reports to the PEO's claims administrator rather than navigating the carrier directly. The PEO has experienced claims adjusters who handle Florida claims every day. Reporting is faster, MCO routing is handled, and the light duty process is managed professionally. Employers who self-manage claims - particularly those who have never dealt with a serious Florida workers' comp claim before - often make costly procedural errors. A PEO eliminates most of those risks.

See how PEO coverage compares to a standard policy at our PEO vs. standard policy guide.

Frequently Asked Questions - The Injury and Claim Process

Related Resources

• Florida workers' comp law overview - Chapter 440
• Stop-work orders - what they are and how to avoid them
• PEO vs. standard workers' comp policy comparison
• Pay-as-you-go workers' comp - no deposit, no audit
• Get an instant Florida workers' comp quote