Report a work-related injury, illness, or hazardous material exposure
Campus funded employees must notify your supervisor and complete an incident report below.
For UC San Diego Health-funded employees, please call (619) 543-3200. Choose one of the designations below to report an incident/injury:
IMMEDIATELY report all work-related deaths, catastrophes and serious injury* or illness to Workers’ Compensation, 858-534-2454. After hours, contact UC San Diego Police 858-534-4357.
Seek Medical Treatment at UC San Diego COEM, UC San Diego emergency rooms or additional treatment options listed below.
UC San Diego Workers’ Compensation Office is required to report serious injury or illness to Cal/OSHA within 8 hours from the time of the incident. Reporting delays can result in Cal/OSHA fines to your department.
*A serious injury or illness is one that requires inpatient hospitalization, or in which an employee suffers a loss of any member of the body or suffers any serious degree of permanent disfigurement.
Special reporting instructions for chemistry/biochemistry incidents only:
- Report serious incidents immediately: Call 9-1-1
- Secure access to the incident scene and preserve all evidence for no less than 24 hours.
- Report the incident immediately by telephone to Environment, Health & Safety.
- Follow the procedures below to report the incident to the UC San Diego Workers' Compensation Office.
All employees, follow the steps below when an incident occurs:
1. Notify your supervisor.
- Employees: Notify your supervisor immediately if you experience a work-related injury, exposure, or illness.
- Employees and supervisors: Follow the steps below to report the incident to the Workers' Compensation Office.
2. Report the incident.
Employees and Supervisors
This form is for use by campus-funded employees. Health Center employees, please contact (619) 543-3200 for instructions.
Use one of the options below to report the incident:
- Option 1:
- Use the online Workers' Compensation reporting form:
- Note: Employee report forms will be shared with employee's supervisor. The supervisor must complete both pages if an injured employee is unable to complete the Employee Report.
- Option 2:
- Call the 1-800 Reporting Line: 877-6UC-RPRT (877-682-7778) to report the incident,
and - Supervisors: complete the Supervisor Report page of the online Workers' Compensation Occupational Incident Report form.
- Call the 1-800 Reporting Line: 877-6UC-RPRT (877-682-7778) to report the incident,
Important – Completing an Occupational Incident Report form does not file a claim for workers’ compensation benefits. See step 4.
Students and Volunteers
3. Get medical treatment at UC San Diego COEM or UC San Diego ERs if needed.
Get treatment at a UC San Diego Center for Occupational & Environmental Medicine (COEM) clinic, unless emergency care is required or it is after COEM business hours.
For emergency medical care or after business hours
Go directly to the UC San Diego Health System Emergency Department in La Jolla or in Hillcrest.
For non-emergency medical care during regular business hours
Use the COEM clinic near your work location: La Jolla or Hillcrest:
- COEM – La Jolla location
8899 University Center Lane, Suite 160
San Diego, CA 92122
(858) 657-1600 (Call for an appointment, please)
Monday–Friday, 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
- COEM – Hillcrest location
330 Lewis Street, Suite 100
San Diego, CA 92103
(619) 471-9210 (Call for an appointment, if possible)
Monday–Friday, 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Additional Treatment Options
Refer to the locations/phone numbers in the links below:
- Kaiser On the Job - multiple locations
(888) 565-9675
4. File a workers' compensation claim.
Important – Submitting the Occupational Incident Report form in step 1 does not file a claim for workers’ compensation benefits.
After receiving your Occupational Incident Report form, the Workers’ Compensation Office will monitor your medical treatment to determine if level of care exceeds first aid treatment. (Note: First aid means any one-time treatment and any follow-up visit(s) for the purpose of observation of minor scratches, cuts, burns, splinters, or other minor occupational incidents, which do not ordinarily require medical care. This one-time treatment and follow-up visit(s) for the purpose of observation is considered first aid even though provided by a physician or registered professional personnel. Your employer will cover these medical costs.)
First aid treatment may be appropriate treatment and is not considered a workers’ compensation benefit, although first aid costs will be paid by your employer.
If medical treatment exceeds first aid treatment at the initial or subsequent medical visits, the Workers’ Compensation Office will send you a State of California Workers’ Compensation Claim Form (DWC-1).
How to file a claim:
- Complete and sign the Employee portion of the DWC-1 form.
- Describe your injury or illness completely. Include every affected part of your body.
- Make a copy of the form for your records.
- For expediency, fax a copy of the form to the Workers’ Compensation Office: (858) 246-0973.
- Mail the original form to Mail Code 0925. By returning the DWC-1 form, you are actually filing a claim for workers’ compensation benefits.
For details on procedures relating to workers' compensation claims, benefits, and responsibilities, please review the Workers' Compensation Program for campus employees.