Hurt in a Fall at Work in Ohio: Starting a Workers' Compensation Claim

Attorney Answer

A fall on the job is a workers' compensation injury in Ohio. Comp pays for medical care and part of lost wages, and it is the route for an injury at work: in most cases you cannot sue your employer instead. The claim must be started within one year of the fall, and you can start it yourself.

What counts as an injury. Ohio Rev. Code § 4123.01(C):

(C) "Injury" includes any injury, whether caused by external accidental means or accidental in character and result, received in the course of, and arising out of, the injured employee's employment.

A fall while you are working on a ceiling for your job is the kind of injury that definition describes. Your employer's knowledge of the fall, and your medical records saying how it happened, are what the claim will rest on.

Comp replaces a lawsuit against your employer. Ohio Rev. Code § 4123.74:

Employers who comply with section 4123.35 of the Revised Code shall not be liable to respond in damages at common law or by statute for any injury, or occupational disease, or bodily condition, received or contracted by any employee in the course of or arising out of his employment, or for any death resulting from such injury, occupational disease, or bodily condition occurring during the period covered by such premium so paid into the state insurance fund, or during the interval the employer is a self-insuring employer, whether or not such injury, occupational disease, bodily condition, or death is compensable under this chapter.

That trade is the core of the system: you don't have to prove anyone was careless, and your employer can't be sued for the injury in the ordinary way. If someone other than your employer contributed to the fall, for example another company's equipment, a claim against them is a separate question for a lawyer.

The one-year deadline. Ohio Rev. Code § 4123.84(A):

(A) In all cases of injury or death, claims for compensation or benefits for the specific part or parts of the body injured shall be forever barred unless, within one year after the injury or death:

(1) Written or facsimile notice of the specific part or parts of the body claimed to have been injured has been made to the industrial commission or the bureau of workers' compensation;

Notice is by part of the body. If you hurt your back and your wrist, name both. The bureau can also take the notice by telephone (R.C. 4123.84(E)).

What you can do

1. Tell your employer about the fall in writing, with the date and what happened, and keep a copy.

2. Get medical care, and tell every provider that the injury happened at work so the bills go to the claim.

3. File the claim with the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation, online or by phone, naming every part of your body that was hurt. Don't wait for your employer to do it.

4. Keep every medical record, bill and work note, and a list of days you missed.

5. Even if you are handling this yourself, you would be best served by a brief phone consultation with a local Ohio attorney before you act. Most lawyers offer a short initial call at no cost, and a few minutes on your specific facts — and on how your court actually handles this — is worth more than any general guidance, including this page.

⏱ Time limits apply. A workers' compensation claim must be started within one year of the injury under Ohio Rev. Code § 4123.84(A), most simply by notice to the Bureau of Workers' Compensation of each part of the body that was hurt. Have a lawyer or the bureau confirm your claim is on file well before then.