For school staff, the useful starting questions are concrete: Who employs you? What assignment were you doing? Who received your report? What instructions did you receive afterward? This guide focuses on organizing those answers for teachers, aides, custodians, cafeteria workers, nurses, office staff, and transportation employees.
For the broader process, see our Indiana workers’ compensation overview. The checklist below is a practical organizing suggestion, not a statement that every listed event qualifies.
Key takeaways
- Identify your actual employer and assigned task, not just the school building.
- Keep your own account separate from records held by the school.
- Ask where to go for care and keep the response.
- Keep employer reporting and filing with the Board on separate lines of your checklist.
- Bring the school calendar, pay records, and correspondence to an individual review.
Identify the employer and school assignment
The governing rule requires both an injury arising out of employment and an injury in the course of employment. Proving one element does not create a presumption that another element is satisfied. IC 22-3-2-2(a)[1].
Start with the employer name on your own pay statement and the person who assigned the task. A substitute, contracted transportation worker, or employee assigned through another organization may need help sorting out that relationship. Bring the agreement or placement paperwork already available to you rather than assuming that the building name answers the question.
Describe the actual task: supervising a hallway, assisting a student, moving classroom supplies, cleaning a floor, preparing food, or driving an assigned route. Note where you were and what happened immediately before the event. These are examples for organizing an account, not conclusions about eligibility.
Build a clear, school-specific timeline
Use your own observations. Separate what you saw from what someone later told you. If you are unsure of the time or sequence, say so instead of filling in a gap. The following examples are hypothetical and do not predict a result:
| School setting | Questions for your own notes | Record custodian to identify |
|---|---|---|
| Hallway or classroom | What assignment were you performing? Where did the event occur? Who did you notify? | The school office or administrator holding the incident report |
| Assisting a student | What were you asked to do? What physical movement or contact occurred? | The appropriate administrator; do not take student files |
| Custodial or cafeteria work | What equipment or supplies were involved? What did you observe before the event? | The supervisor holding task or equipment records |
| Bus or other assigned travel | What route or assignment were you on? Where did you stop? Who received the report? | The transportation office holding dispatch or vehicle records |
If there was no single clear event, prepare a dated account of the tasks and changes you noticed, and explain that uncertainty at a consultation. Do not choose an accident date merely to fit a form. This article does not resolve developing-condition or occupational-disease questions.
Report the event promptly
Indiana Code 22-3-3-1[2] requires written notice as soon as practicable unless the employer or its representative has actual knowledge. It addresses notice or knowledge within 30 days, but a notice defect does not bar compensation unless the employer shows prejudice, and then only to the extent of that prejudice. IC 22-3-3-1[1].
Use the school’s designated reporting channel and keep a copy or dated note of what you sent. Record the recipient and any acknowledgment. If you already reported verbally, note when, to whom, and what you said. If reporting was delayed, explain what happened rather than assuming it is too late.
A practical first-day checklist is to address immediate safety needs, notify the designated contact, ask where to go for care, and save the response. Keep any follow-up questions in one place so you can address them with the administrator or counsel.
Arrange care and clarify work instructions
For a claim governed by the Act, the employer must furnish an attending physician and the care described in Indiana Code 22-3-3-4[3]. Subsection (d) addresses another physician or necessary services during temporary total disability because of an emergency, employer failure to furnish care, or other good reason, subject to Board approval of the reasonable cost. IC 22-3-3-4(a), (d)[1].
An employer or carrier may not delay emergency medical care when the attending health care facility physician considers it necessary in the physician’s professional judgment. IC 22-3-3-4(e)[1].
Seek appropriate help for an emergency. Otherwise, ask the administrator which provider to attend and keep the instructions. For a payment or authorization disagreement, ask counsel to review the correspondence; do not assume every appointment you arrange yourself will be paid.
Bring an accurate account of the event to the clinician. Ask for clear written work instructions and use the school’s designated channel to communicate them. For example, a proposed assignment may involve stairs, lifting supplies, or helping students: list those actual tasks for discussion with the clinician and school contact. This is appointment preparation, not medical advice.
Our guide to who chooses the doctor in an Indiana workers’ compensation claim discusses the broader issue.
Keep personal records without taking student files
Keep only materials you are permitted to possess. Do not forward student records, classroom video, student medical information, or restricted school files to a personal account. Identify where potentially relevant material is held and discuss an appropriate preservation request with counsel.
| Your personal folder | Useful details |
|---|---|
| Your account and reporting correspondence | Event date, assignment, recipient, acknowledgment, and reference number |
| Your appointment papers and work notes | Provider, appointment date, and written instructions |
| Your schedules and assignment correspondence | Regular tasks, proposed changes, and missed shifts |
| Your contract and pay statements | Pay arrangement, school calendar, leave used, and amounts received |
| Letters and payment statements sent to you | Sender, date, stated payment type, and covered dates |
Keep originals intact and record important calls. A teacher paid over a different schedule from the working school year can bring both the contract and pay statements so the arrangement is clear. Do not use the amount of a single check as a substitute for an individual calculation. Detailed financial calculations are outside this guide’s scope.
The broader injured-worker records checklist can help organize the rest of your folder.
Keep employer notice and Board filing separate
Indiana Code 22-3-3-3[4](a) generally requires a claim to be filed with the Worker’s Compensation Board within two years after the accident, or within two years after death if death results. Under subsection (b), if temporary total or temporary partial disability compensation was paid, the two-year period begins on the last date for which that compensation was paid. IC 22-3-3-3(a)–(b)[1].
That is the date the payment covered, not simply the day a check arrived. Do not assume a medical bill payment starts a new period. Have counsel examine the actual payment history. A school calendar or ongoing conversation is not a substitute for that review.
Employer notice and filing a claim with the Board are separate requirements. Giving the school a report does not replace Board filing. IC 22-3-3-1 and 22-3-3-3[1].
This is not a last-day calculator. A developing condition, radiation exposure, death, prior award, or uncertainty about which law applies needs individual review. Ask about the timing before waiting for the school year to end.
Identify what is being disputed
The Board’s disputed-claims guidance explains that unresolved disputes proceed through an Application for Adjustment of Claim, State Form 29109. At a hearing the worker bears the burden of proving the work-related accidental injury, and medical evidence is important. Indiana Board disputed-claims guidance[5].
The Board lists the First Report of Injury, Request for Assistance, and Application for Adjustment of Claim as separate forms. Indiana Board forms[6].
Ask for the administrator’s explanation in writing. Is the question about your employer, what happened during the assignment, the connection to work, or a particular requested service? Bring that explanation and your own papers to a consultation. For timing, use the full discussion above rather than the abbreviated description on the Board’s general web page.
Delventhal Law Office works with injured workers in Fort Wayne, Allen County, and elsewhere in Indiana. A free consultation is a place to discuss your school assignment and next steps privately. Avoid posting student names or other sensitive details in a public message.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is workers’ compensation limited to classroom teachers?
No. Indiana Code 22-3-2-2[7](a) uses the employer–employee relationship and work-related accidental injury requirements, not a classroom-teacher-only rule. The particular employment arrangement and event still need review.
Does a school incident report replace filing with the Board?
No. Employer notice under Indiana Code 22-3-3-1[2] and Board filing under Indiana Code 22-3-3-3[4] are separate requirements.
Does reporting after 30 days automatically end the claim?
No. Indiana Code 22-3-3-1[2] addresses actual knowledge and prejudice. Report promptly and obtain individual review of any delay rather than assuming the claim is barred.
Which payment date matters for the two-year filing rule?
When temporary total or temporary partial disability compensation was paid, Indiana Code 22-3-3-3[4](b) uses the last date for which that compensation was paid, not simply the date a check arrived.
Is employer-directed medical care an absolute rule?
No. Indiana Code 22-3-3-4[3](d) addresses other care during temporary total disability for an emergency, employer failure to provide care, or other good reason, subject to Board approval of reasonable cost.
Should I wait until summer break to review the filing date?
No. Have the accident date and any temporary disability payment history reviewed under Indiana Code 22-3-3-3[4]. Do not use the school calendar as a substitute for an individual deadline review.
This article is general information about Indiana law and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship, and neither does contacting us.
