For elected officials

There are five stages to the claims process.

Stage 1: Report the injury. Workers, employers and health care providers should submit a report of injury. This form looks a bit different depending on what role you play. Here’s how to report for the worker, employer or health care provider.

Stage 2: Claim classification. After reporting, the injury will be registered and classified as one of the following: lost-time claim (missed time from work), no-time-lost claim (didn’t miss time from work) or interjurisdictional claim (injured in a province that they are working in, but are not a resident—the injured worker can choose where to claim).

Stage 3: Claim decision. An initial decision is made on the claim, and it will be given one of the following status types:

• Accepted
• Not accepted
• Pending (a decision has not been made yet)
• Processed (claim is registered and medical costs are being paid, but the claim has not been reviewed for a decision)
• Medical investigation (further medical assessments are required before a decision can be made).

Once a claim is accepted, the worker can check the ongoing status of their claim online.

Stage 4: Treatment and recovery. We review each claim individually and talk with the worker to determine the benefits and services that are best suited to their recovery. We place a strong focus on rehabilitation to get the worker back to their pre-accident job.

Stage 5: Return to work. Throughout the entire claim process, we work with the worker and their employer to develop a care and return-to-work plan to help the worker recover and get back to work safely.

Workers' compensation insurance is no-fault insurance. It provides:

• Medical and return-to-work support services. Injured workers have access to the appropriate medical services to help them safely return to work. This includes chiropractic treatments, physiotherapy, counselling, etc.
• Protection against loss of income. Compensation for lost wages is based on 90 per cent of the worker's net earnings or income.
• Lawsuit protection. This includes protection for employers, workers and other parties covered by WCB. (If an employer is incorporated, directors must carry optional personal coverage to be protected from lawsuit. Personal coverage provides them the same benefits and services available through workers' compensation insurance.)

There are five types of coverage:

• Worker coverage – most employers are required by law to have worker's compensation protection for their workers if they're operating in a compulsory industry.
• Personal coverage – personal coverage may be available to an employer, business owner, director of a corporation or in a partnership. This provides them the benefits and services available through workers' compensation insurance.
• Coverage for contractors and subcontractors – if an employer hires a contractor or subcontractor who doesn't have their own WCB coverage, they would be covered under the employer's account in most cases.
• Coverage in special circumstances – for example volunteers, good samaritans or if an injury happens in a parking lot.
• Working outside Alberta – some workers are automatically covered through WCB when working out-of-province.

We know the decisions we make affect people's lives so we do our best to make sure every one is fair and considers all the facts. Even so, there will be times when we don’t agree. We believe the key to moving forward in these situations is listening and understanding each other’s perspectives.

Learn more about how to question a WCB decision, the decision review process we follow, and how workers and employers can get support.

For a quick overview, have a look at our worker fact sheet, questioning a WCB-Alberta decision.

For more details you can visit our review and appeals page for workers and employers.