For a worker or family in Fort Wayne or elsewhere in Indiana, the immediate priority is emergency help. Afterward, keep the work history, medical records, employer notice, and claim correspondence organized. This guide focuses on an injury-by-accident claim; it is not an individual medical opinion or a calculation for an occupational-disease or special statutory claim.
- Get emergency help first.
- Separate what happened at work from the medical explanation.
- Keep employer notice and a formal Board filing as separate tasks.
- Do not assume the place of collapse answers the entire claim.
Recognize the emergency before addressing the claim
CDC says to call 911 immediately if you or someone else has heart-attack symptoms. Warning signs include chest pain or discomfort, feeling weak or lightheaded, fainting or a cold sweat, pain or discomfort in the jaw, neck, back, arms or shoulders, and shortness of breath. Other symptoms can include unexplained tiredness, nausea or vomiting. CDC: Heart Attack[2].
CDC says to call 911 right away for stroke signs, including sudden trouble walking or seeing, sudden weakness or numbness especially on one side, sudden confusion or trouble speaking, or a sudden severe headache without a known cause. Note when signs first appeared. CDC advises calling an ambulance instead of driving to the hospital. CDC: Signs and Symptoms of Stroke[3].
Paperwork can wait while someone calls for emergency help. The signs above are general emergency guidance, not a way to decide the medical explanation yourself.
What must connect the event to employment?
Section 22-3-2-2(a) requires both an employment-related origin and occurrence in the course of employment. Proving one element does not create a presumption that another element is satisfied. The statute therefore does not make “it happened at work” a substitute for the other required proof. Indiana Code 22-3-2-2(a), burden of proof[4].
The Worker’s Compensation Board explains that medical evidence is extremely important to proving the case in a disputed claim and that the parties must be prepared to present their evidence. Indiana Worker’s Compensation Board: Disputed Claims[5].
For the consultation, organize the exact assignment, what happened before the event, when you first felt unwell, what others observed, and what the medical providers recorded. Include relevant earlier medical records rather than leaving them out. Ask which questions require a medical opinion; a timeline should not present guesses as clinical conclusions.
Our Fort Wayne workers’ compensation guide introduces the broader system. The separate pre-existing-condition guide addresses aggravation questions; this article does not decide that issue from a prior history alone.
A work-event worksheet for the worker or family
This is Delventhal’s practical organizing aid, not a government-required checklist or a medical test. Fill it out after emergency help is underway. Use records you may lawfully possess, identify who supplied each detail, and write “unknown” instead of filling gaps.
| Record | Details to organize | Avoid this mistake |
|---|---|---|
| Work assignment | Shift, task, location, lifting or other activity, breaks, and any unusual event | Keep the original schedule, dispatch record, messages, and incident report. |
| Sequence | What happened before the worker first felt unwell, when help was called, and who was present | Label an exact timestamp, an estimate, and a secondhand account differently. |
| Conditions | Heat, equipment, pace, and other conditions actually observed | Do not turn an impression into a measurement or assume it proves the medical explanation. |
| Medical file | EMS information, hospital records, tests, discharge instructions, earlier records, and work restrictions | Use the provider’s words; leave interpretation to qualified professionals. |
| People and notice | Supervisor and witness names, signed notice, recipient, delivery method, and date | Keep copies and delivery records; an employer report is not a Board application. |
| Work and payments | Last full-duty day, missed shifts, wage records, payment statements, and correspondence | Keep payment dates and the periods each payment covers as separate entries. |
If video or electronic logs may exist, note the system and relevant time period and ask that they be kept. Preserve original files unchanged. Do not access restricted systems or post private medical information online. The work-injury records organizer provides a broader folder structure.
Employer notice and a Board filing are different
Under section 22-3-3-1, written notice of injury or resulting death is required as soon as practicable unless the employer or its representative has actual knowledge. If notice or knowledge is absent within 30 days, the statute says compensation is not paid until and from notice or knowledge. It also says lack of knowledge or a notice failure or defect does not bar compensation unless the employer shows prejudice, and then only to that extent. This is not a simple rule that every late report destroys the claim. Indiana Code 22-3-3-1[6].
Section 22-3-3-2 specifies the employee’s name and address, the time, place, nature and cause of the injury or death, and a signature by the employee or someone on the employee’s behalf, with provisions for dependents. It describes personal service on specified employer representatives or a registered letter to the employer. Indiana Code 22-3-3-2[7].
Report promptly, keep a copy, and ask for help if the worker cannot handle the paperwork. Our work-injury reporting guide discusses this step in more detail.
Section 22-3-3-3(a) generally requires a Board claim within two years after the accident, or within two years after a resulting death. Subsection (b) provides that when temporary total or temporary partial disability compensation is paid, the two-year filing period begins on the last date for which that compensation was paid. The statute also has a radiation-specific provision. Indiana Code 22-3-3-3(a)–(b)[8].
Do not calculate from a diagnosis date, an employer report, or the day a check arrived without reviewing the applicable rule and payment history. The Board-filing guide offers further context. An informal inquiry is not a substitute for the required formal filing.
Who arranges medical care, and what about time off work?
For a compensable injury, section 22-3-3-4(a) requires the employer to furnish an attending physician and necessary services and products before adjudication of permanent impairment, free of charge to the employee. Subsection (d) addresses another physician’s care during temporary total disability because of an emergency, failure to provide care, or other good reason; reasonable costs remain subject to Board approval. Indiana Code 22-3-3-4(a), (d), pages 87–88[9].
Section 22-3-3-4(e) prohibits an employer or carrier from delaying emergency medical care considered necessary in the professional judgment of the attending health-care-facility physician. Indiana Code 22-3-3-4(e)[10].
Keep emergency care separate from later appointment and payment questions. Ask for written follow-up instructions. Our doctor-choice guide explains the broader process; do not assume every self-selected appointment will be paid.
Section 22-3-3-7(a) provides temporary total or temporary partial disability compensation beginning with the eighth day of disability, apart from medical benefits. The first seven calendar days are payable only if disability continues longer than 21 days. Indiana Code 22-3-3-7(a)[11].
Bring work restrictions, missed-shift records, wage information, and any payment statements for review. This article does not estimate a payment amount or the duration of a particular claim.
What if the claim is disputed?
The Board’s informal process begins with a Request for Assistance, State Form 45442. A case coordinator can inquire into the dispute. The formal process uses an Application for Adjustment of Claim, State Form 29109; the Board’s disputed-claims page explains that unresolved matters can proceed to a hearing through that filing. Indiana Worker’s Compensation Board: Informal Disputes[12].
Keep the denial, work-event worksheet, medical file, notice records, and payment history together. Ask which filing is needed and when, rather than waiting for informal discussions to finish. The Application for Adjustment of Claim guide explains that separate step.
Frequently asked questions
Is a heart attack or stroke automatically covered because it happened at work?
No. Indiana Code 22-3-2-2[13](a) requires injury or death by accident arising out of and in the course of employment. The employee must prove the required elements; proving one does not establish the others.
Should a family member collect paperwork before calling for help?
No. CDC directs people to call 911 immediately for heart-attack symptoms and right away for stroke signs. Emergency help comes first. Organize the file afterward.
What should I bring about an earlier heart or vascular condition?
Bring the available earlier records along with the work-event timeline and current medical file. This is consultation preparation, not a conclusion about whether the earlier condition decides the claim.
Does a report after 30 days always end the claim?
No. Section 22-3-3-1 includes actual knowledge, payment timing, and employer-prejudice provisions. Report promptly and have any late-notice issue reviewed instead of assuming an automatic bar.
Is the Board filing period always measured from the accident?
No. Section 22-3-3-3 includes a resulting-death rule and a provision measuring the period from the last date for which temporary total or temporary partial disability compensation was paid. The applicable facts and payment history need review.
Can emergency care wait for the workers’ compensation carrier?
Section 22-3-3-4(e) prohibits the employer or carrier from delaying emergency care considered necessary in the professional judgment of the attending health-care-facility physician. Later authorization and payment questions are separate.
Prepare for a private consultation
Delventhal Law Office can review the work-event timeline, medical file, notice history, and claim correspondence with you. Bring the available records to a free case evaluation; an incomplete folder should not keep you from asking for help.
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.
Sources reviewed October 19, 2026. Illustrations do not depict an actual client incident.
Sources
- Indiana Code 22-3-2-2(a) (iga.in.gov) ↩
- CDC: Heart Attack (cdc.gov) ↩
- CDC: Signs and Symptoms of Stroke (cdc.gov) ↩
- Indiana Code 22-3-2-2(a), burden of proof (iga.in.gov) ↩
- Indiana Worker’s Compensation Board: Disputed Claims (in.gov) ↩
- Indiana Code 22-3-3-1 (iga.in.gov) ↩
- Indiana Code 22-3-3-2 (iga.in.gov) ↩
- Indiana Code 22-3-3-3(a)–(b) (iga.in.gov) ↩
- Indiana Code 22-3-3-4(a), (d), pages 87–88 (iga.in.gov) ↩
- Indiana Code 22-3-3-4(e) (iga.in.gov) ↩
- Indiana Code 22-3-3-7(a) (iga.in.gov) ↩
- Indiana Worker’s Compensation Board: Informal Disputes (in.gov) ↩
- Indiana Code 22-3-2-2 (iga.in.gov) ↩
