Injured at work: the first steps and the accident report

You have been hurt at work and you are not sure what to do, or whether doing anything will cost you your job. This guide gives you the first week in order: the doctor, the report, the record, the benefit, the insurer who pays, the protection the law gives you, and the two dates that matter. It does not decide whether anyone failed in their duty.

The doctor first

See a doctor the same day or as soon as you can, whether that is A&E, an occupational health service or your GP. Say how the accident happened and describe every symptom as it is. That record is the first dated evidence of the injury, and the Board's medical report, the Medical Assessment Form (Form B), is later written by the treating doctor or GP.

If you are unable to work, ask the doctor for a certificate. You need it for your employer, for Injury Benefit, and as a record of the days lost.

Report it and get it in the accident book

Tell your employer in writing, the same day if you can. An email is enough: the date, the time, the place, what happened and who saw it. Ask for the accident to be entered in the accident book and ask for a copy of the entry or its reference.

The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 places the duty of care on the employer (section 8) and requires a written safety statement (section 20). Section 13 places duties on you too: to take reasonable care for your own safety, to use equipment properly, and to report a danger you become aware of. A report made at once is part of meeting that duty.

If the employer will not record it, keep your own written note with the date and send it to yourself and to the employer. A record made later carries less weight than one made the same day.

The HSA report after three days

Under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2016, an accident that keeps an employee off work for more than three days must be reported by the employer to the Health and Safety Authority. The duty is the employer's. You can ask whether the report has been made, and the HSA's record is a document a solicitor or the Board may later ask for.

Witnesses, photographs and the record

Take the names and numbers of anyone who saw the accident, and ask them to write a few lines now. Photograph the place as it was: the floor, the equipment, the ladder, the guard that was missing, the lighting. Keep the clothing or footwear if it is relevant. Write down what happened while it is fresh: the time, who was there, what was said, what training you had been given.

You have a right under GDPR to ask your employer for the personal data it holds about you, which includes the accident book entry, any incident report and CCTV in which you appear. The Data Protection Commission explains the right of access, and the letter builder writes the request.

Injury Benefit

If you are off work, Injury Benefit from the Department of Social Protection is €254 a week in 2026, paid from the fourth day of incapacity for up to 26 weeks, for an employee injured at work or on the way to or from it, subject to PRSI class. It is not paid for days covered by statutory sick pay from your employer. Disablement Benefit may follow where a faculty is lost, and Illness Benefit after the 26 weeks.

Apply through MyWelfare with your doctor's certificate. Under the Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2013, a respondent who settles or is assessed must repay the Department for welfare paid because of the injury, and the Board's Notice of Assessment lists the amounts. The Injury Benefit guide covers the conditions and how it sits with sick pay.

EmploymentWise covers your rights at work: dismissal, sick pay and the WRC. See EmploymentWise.

The insurer pays, not the employer

Employers in Ireland carry employer's liability insurance, and when a claim is made the insurer, not the employer, deals with the Board and pays any award. Many people stay silent because they imagine their employer paying from the business's own money. In nearly every case that is not how it works. The claiming-against-your-employer guide sets this out, together with the position for permit holders.

Section 27: penalisation is unlawful

Section 27 of the 2005 Act makes it unlawful for an employer to penalise an employee, or threaten to, for making a complaint about safety, health or welfare, for giving evidence, or for making a claim. Penalisation includes dismissal, suspension, demotion, loss of hours, a transfer and any other unfavourable treatment. A complaint about penalisation goes to the Workplace Relations Commission, which EmploymentWise explains.

The one-month letter and the two years

Two dates run from the day of the accident.

The section 8 notice is a short letter stating the nature of the wrong alleged. It does not describe your injuries, argue fault or name a figure. Served late without reasonable cause, it lets a court draw inferences and refuse or reduce your costs. The section 8 guide explains it.

The two years run from the accident or from the later date on which you knew you were injured, that the injury was significant, and what it was attributable to. For a single accident that is usually the day itself. For a repetitive strain or a hearing loss it is usually the diagnosis, and the repetitive strain guide deals with that. A Board application pauses the clock while it is open and for six months after the Authorisation. The time-limit guide explains the date of knowledge.

The Board

Nearly every personal injury claim in Ireland goes first to the Injuries Resolution Board (still searched as PIAB; see the glossary). Section 12 of the 2003 Act means a claim cannot go to court until the Board has dealt with it or issued an Authorisation.

The application is the Board's own online form (€45 online, €90 by post), the medical report on Form B, and proof of identity. The respondent you name is your employer; its insurer usually replies. The respondent has 90 days to consent to an assessment, the Board then assesses on the documents, on the assumption that the respondent is fully liable, and must do so within nine months of consent. The Board says in terms that a solicitor is not required. The lead Board guide walks through the process and the employer's duty guide covers the evidence in more depth.

The Board's Award Values Report for July to December 2025 reported that the median award in employer liability cases rose 27% year on year. The Board does not give the figure for the half-year in its release, so this site does not either. The figures page carries what the Board has published, dated.

What not to do

Do not sign anything for the employer's insurer, or accept a cheque in settlement, before the injury has settled: a direct settlement ends the claim. Do not give a recorded statement about fault on the phone; say you will reply in writing. Do not post about the accident on social media. Do not describe the injury as more, or less, than it is. Section 26 of the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004 requires a court to dismiss a claim that is false or misleading in a material respect.

And do not stay silent because it is your employer. The insurer pays, section 27 protects you, and the record you make this week is the record the Board reads.

Where this leaves you

You have the first week in order: the doctor, the written report, the accident book, the witnesses and photographs, Injury Benefit, the one-month letter, the two years, the Board. The first-week checklist prints these steps for an accident at work, each with its source, so you can tick them off.