CLAIMS AND PAPERWORK
Filing a WorkSafeBC claim, and what the first visit needs
The worker files, the employer reports, and the clinic bills. Three separate obligations with three separate deadlines. Here is who does what.
THE SHORT ANSWER
How do I start a WorkSafeBC claim for a workplace injury in BC?
Report the injury to your supervisor as soon as it happens, then file your own application with WorkSafeBC. Under section 151 of the Workers Compensation Act you have one year from the date of injury to apply, and late applications are only accepted in special circumstances. Your employer must separately report the injury to WorkSafeBC within 72 hours of becoming aware of it, but their report does not replace yours. Once you have a claim number, bring it to your first physiotherapy appointment and the clinic bills WorkSafeBC directly.
A WorkSafeBC claim involves three parties with three different jobs, and workers often assume the employer's paperwork covers theirs. It does not.
You file your own application. Your employer files an injury report. The clinic files clinical reports once treatment starts. Each has its own deadline, and missing yours is the one that costs you the claim.
This page walks through the sequence in order, gives the real deadlines with their sources, and lists what to bring so the first appointment is not spent on admin.
AT A GLANCE
- Worker's deadline
- 1 year from injury
- Employer's deadline
- 72 hours
- Late application
- Special circumstances only
- Claims Call Centre
- 1-888-967-5377
- Lower Mainland
- 604-231-8888
- Hours
- 8am to 6pm PT, Mon to Fri
- Choice of clinic
- Yours
- Studios accepting WSBC
- All five
ORDER OF OPERATIONS
Who does what, and when
1. You tell your supervisor, the day it happens
This starts everything else. It also creates the contemporaneous record that makes the claim straightforward later. A verbal report to a supervisor or first aid attendant is the normal starting point.
2. Your employer reports to WorkSafeBC within 72 hours
WorkSafeBC requires employers to report a worker's injury or illness within 72 hours of becoming aware of it. Serious incidents have to be reported immediately through the Prevention Information Line, which is a separate obligation.
3. You file your own application
The employer's report is not your application. Section 151 of the Workers Compensation Act gives you one year from the date of injury. This is the deadline that matters most to you, and it is the one people miss because they assume the employer handled it.
4. You book physiotherapy
You choose the clinic. Bring the claim number if you have it. If the claim is still pending, say so, and ask the clinic to put in writing how payment will work until a decision comes.
THE DEADLINES
One year to apply, and what happens if you are late
Section 151 of the Workers Compensation Act says no compensation is payable unless an application is filed within one year after the date of the worker's injury. That is the rule, and it is worth treating as firm.
There is relief for late applications, but it is discretionary rather than automatic. Where special circumstances prevented filing on time, the Board may accept an application that arrives within three years of the original deadline. Beyond that, the Board may still accept it, but compensation is payable only from the date the application was received rather than from the date of injury.
None of that is a plan. If you are near the one year mark, file now and sort out details afterwards.
Occupational disease claims have their own provision under section 152, for cases where the medical evidence only became available later.
A RIGHT WORKERS OFTEN DO NOT KNOW
You choose the clinic, not your employer
Workers in BC choose their own healthcare provider. An employer can suggest a clinic, and under the early access programme an employer may have a partner clinic, but the choice of who treats you is yours.
Launch Rehab accepts WorkSafeBC physiotherapy claims at all five studios: Lougheed, Coquitlam, Richmond, New Westminster and North Burnaby. Pick whichever is easiest to reach from home or work, because the visits are frequent and a long trip is the most common reason people stop going.
FIRST APPOINTMENT
What to bring
- Your WorkSafeBC claim number, if it has been issued. If not, bring the date of injury and your employer's name.
- Your Personal Health Number.
- The name and phone number of your employer's contact for the claim.
- A list of current medications.
- Clothing you can move in. Shorts for a lower-body injury, a t-shirt for a shoulder or neck injury.
- A short written account of how the injury happened and what you have not been able to do since. It helps the assessment and it helps your claim.
This page is general information about how WorkSafeBC funding works. It does not replace assessment by a regulated practitioner. Go to an emergency department rather than a clinic if you have severe or worsening pain, numbness or weakness in an arm or leg, loss of bladder or bowel control, confusion, repeated vomiting, or a head injury with loss of consciousness.
AFTER THE FIRST VISIT
The reports your physiotherapist files
WorkSafeBC funding runs on clinical reporting, and the deadlines are set in the Reference Manual. You do not file these, but knowing they exist explains why your physiotherapist asks detailed questions about your job duties.
- Initial Report. No later than 7 days after the initial assessment.
- Treatment Plan Request Report. At least 7 days before the current treatment period or extension ends, and no earlier than the third calendar week of it. This is the extension request.
- Discharge Report. No later than 14 days after your last visit.
BOOK OR ASK
Book a WorkSafeBC assessment if
WORKSAFEBC AT LAUNCH REHAB · FIVE STUDIOS
We accept WorkSafeBC physiotherapy claims at all five studios and bill WorkSafeBC directly, so pre-approved physiotherapy and kinesiology support sessions cost you nothing at the desk. We do not accept WorkSafeBC claims for massage therapy. Not sure where to start? Call any studio and describe what happened. It is a two-minute conversation.
FAQ
Common questions.
One year from the date of injury, under section 151 of the Workers Compensation Act. If special circumstances prevented you from filing on time, the Board may accept an application within three years of that deadline. Later still, it may accept the claim but pay compensation only from the date it received the application rather than from the date of injury. Treat the one-year limit as the real deadline.
SOURCES
Where the facts on this page come from.
- Workers Compensation Act, RSBC 2019, c.1, s.151 (Application for compensation) · BC Laws, Queen's Printer for British Columbia · Accessed 3 September 2026
- Report a workplace injury or illness · WorkSafeBC · Accessed 3 September 2026
- Physiotherapy Services Reference Manual · WorkSafeBC · February 2026. Accessed 3 September 2026
- College of Health and Care Professionals of BC · CHCPBC · Accessed 3 September 2026
KEEP READING
More from the WorkSafeBC guides.
- What WorkSafeBC covers
What WorkSafeBC covers
The real visit counts: 10 visits or 5 weeks, then extensions. Straight from the manual that sets them.
READ - Claims and paperwork
EAPP: early access explained
How the Early Access to Physiotherapy Program actually works, and which Launch studio is on the list.
READ - Timelines, extensions and comparisons
Extensions and what comes next
What happens at 10 visits or 5 weeks, how an extension is requested, and why it can be refused.
READ
FROM THE JOURNAL
Related reading from our clinicians.
READY?
Start your WorkSafeBC treatment at any of our five studios.
We accept WorkSafeBC physiotherapy claims and bill WorkSafeBC directly at Lougheed, Coquitlam, Richmond, New Westminster and North Burnaby. No referral needed. Bring your claim number, and if you do not have one yet, call and we will explain how to get it.