Workers' Comp Laws in Alabama

If you were hurt on the job in Alabama, the most important thing to know right now is that a clock started running the moment you were injured. Alabama's workers' compensation law gives injured workers real protections - medical treatment and wage replacement, paid for by insurance your employer carries - but it also has hard deadlines that can end a claim before it starts. This guide walks through what to do first, what the system covers, and where to get help if something goes wrong.

The deadlines, up front

• Notice to your employer: within 5 days of the accident. The Workers' Compensation Division states that notice should be given within five days, but in any case notice must be given within 90 days following the accident. Miss the 90-day cutoff and compensation is generally not payable.
• Filing your claim: within 2 years. All claims for compensation are barred unless a verified complaint is filed in court within two years from the date of the accident. If compensation payments have been made, the complaint must be filed within two years from the date of the last compensation payment. (Payments for hospital, medical, and surgical treatment do not count as "compensation" for this purpose.)
• If you lose in circuit court: 42 days to appeal. Under Ala. Code § 25-5-81(e), an aggrieved party may appeal the circuit court's order or judgment to the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals within 42 days. See "If your claim is denied," below.

These deadlines do more damage than anything else in the system. Treat them as absolute.

One important exception on late notice. If you missed the notice window, do not assume you are finished. Alabama's notice statute (Ala. Code § 25-5-78) itself excuses a failure to give notice where the person required to give it was prevented from doing so by physical or mental incapacity (other than minority), fraud or deceit, or equal good reason. A worker who wrongly believes a missed deadline has ended the claim can walk away from benefits they are still owed. If you are outside the window, call the Workers' Compensation Division or talk to an attorney before you give up.

What to do first

1. Get medical care. If it's an emergency, go to the ER or call 911. For non-emergency treatment, tell your employer first, because in Alabama your employer selects the treating physician (more below).
2. Report the injury to your employer immediately. The Division tells injured workers to report any injury immediately to their supervisor, boss, or employer. Do not wait to see whether the pain goes away.
3. Put it in writing. Alabama's law is built around written notice of the accident. Even if you tell a supervisor verbally, follow up with a dated written notice (email, text, or incident report) describing when, where, and how you were hurt, and keep a copy.
4. Expect your employer to report it. The employer, its insurance carrier, or its third-party administrator files the First Report of Injury with the Workers' Compensation Division. If your employer declines to accept liability, you can call the Division and ask to speak to an Examiner.

Alabama's workers' compensation agency

The system is administered by the Workers' Compensation Division of the Alabama Department of Workforce, which oversees claims administration, medical fee schedules, and the ombudsman (mediation) program.

A naming note that trips people up: the Legislature renamed the Alabama Department of Labor as the Alabama Department of Workforce (Ala. Code § 25-2-1.2), effective in 2025. It is the same department, the same Workers' Compensation Division, and the same phone numbers - but you will see both names in circulation. Newer official pages, such as the department's divisions listing, say "Department of Workforce," while older pages, forms, staff email addresses, and the adol.alabama.gov / labor.alabama.gov web addresses still say "Department of Labor." If you get mail from the Alabama Department of Workforce about your injury, that is the agency described here.

• Division website: adol.alabama.gov/divisions/workers-compensation
• If you were injured on the job: 334-956-4044 or 1-800-528-5166 (toll-free), Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• Mailing address: 649 Monroe Street, Montgomery, AL 36131

Who is covered in Alabama

Under the Division's guidance, an employer that regularly employs five (5) or more employees - full-time or part-time, including officers of a corporation - must carry workers' compensation coverage. Some important wrinkles:

• Fewer than five employees: coverage is not required, though an employer may elect it.
• Residential construction: the under-five exception does not apply to the business of constructing, or assisting on-site in the construction of, new single-family detached residential dwellings.
• Domestic employees, farm laborers, and casual employees: their employers are not required to provide coverage, but may elect to be covered.
• Municipalities with a population under 2,000 (per the most recent federal census) are also not required to provide coverage, but may elect it.

Alabama is not a monopolistic state-fund state: employers obtain coverage through insurance carriers or approved self-insurance, not from a state-run insurance fund. If you are unsure whether your employer carries coverage, call the Division and ask.

Medical care: who picks your doctor

This is one of the most misunderstood parts of the Alabama system. The employer selects the treating physician at the time of the accident. If you are dissatisfied with that first doctor and further treatment is required, you may tell your employer and you are entitled to select a second physician from a panel or list of four physicians selected by the employer.

One caution the Division states plainly: if an injured employee refuses to comply with a reasonable request for examination, or refuses the medical service the employer elects to furnish, the right to compensation can be suspended for the period of the refusal. Keep your appointments, and collect copies of your records as you go - they are the backbone of your claim.

Wage replacement benefits

For injury claims, weekly compensation is computed by multiplying your average weekly earnings for the 52 weeks before the injury by 66 2/3%.

• Waiting period: no compensation is allowed for the first three days after the disability begins.
• Retroactive payment: if the disability from the injury lasts as much as 21 days, compensation for those first three days is added back and becomes payable.
• State maximum and minimum: benefits cannot exceed the maximum in effect on your date of injury, and there is also a statutory minimum. These figures adjust every year, so do not rely on a number you find elsewhere - confirm the current amounts with the Workers' Compensation Division.

The employer is also responsible for reasonably necessary medical, surgical, and chiropractic treatment, medicine, supplies, and related apparatus during the disability.

Permanent disability

If you are left with lasting impairment after reaching maximum medical improvement, Alabama's law distinguishes between permanent total disability and permanent partial disability, and it uses a schedule of specific injuries (such as loss of use of a hand, arm, leg, eye, or hearing) with set numbers of weeks of compensation tied to each body part. How your injury is classified significantly affects what you are paid, so this is an area where an evaluation - and often legal advice - matters most. Ask the Division to explain how your particular injury is treated before you agree to a settlement.

If your claim is denied

Alabama is unusual: contested workers' compensation claims are decided by a judge in circuit court, not by an administrative board or commission. There are several practical steps:

1. Call the Division first. If your employer declines to accept liability, you may call the Workers' Compensation Division and ask to speak to an Examiner.
2. Ombudsman mediation. The Division's Ombudsman Program, created by the Workers' Compensation Reform Act of 1992, offers free, informal mediation to help the parties settle their differences before going to court. Mediation is voluntary. To request it, call 1-800-528-5166 and ask to speak with an Ombudsman (in the Montgomery area, 334-956-4046).
3. Circuit court. If the dispute is not resolved, you have the right to obtain an attorney and pursue the claim in the courts, where a Circuit Court judge hears the case. The same two-year deadline described above applies to getting into circuit court, so do not let a denial sit. Attorney's fees are set by the judge and cannot exceed 15% of the compensation awarded or paid.
4. Appeal - and the fuse is short: 42 days. Circuit court is not the end of the road. Under Ala. Code § 25-5-81(e), from the circuit court's order or judgment any aggrieved party may, within 42 days, appeal to the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals, which has jurisdiction over workers' compensation appeals. On appeal, the standard of proof and other legal issues are reviewed without a presumption of correctness, but the circuit court's findings of fact will not be reversed if supported by substantial evidence. Forty-two days passes quickly, and missing it ends the case - if you lose in circuit court, talk to a lawyer immediately, not next month.

Where to get help in Alabama

• Workers' Compensation Division claims help: 334-956-4044 or 1-800-528-5166 - ask to speak to an Examiner if your employer or its insurer will not accept your claim.
• Ombudsman Program (free mediation): 1-800-528-5166, or 334-956-4046 in the Montgomery area. See the Division's Ombudsman Program page.
• Benefits and claims details: the Division's Benefits and Claims Filing page sets out the notice rules, the statute of limitations, doctor selection, and how weekly benefits are computed.
• Free or low-cost civil legal help: if money is tight, find the federally funded legal aid program that serves your county through the Legal Services Corporation's Get Legal Help locator.
• Hiring a private attorney: the Alabama State Bar runs a Lawyer Referral Service (800-354-6154), and participating lawyers agree to charge no more than $50 for an initial 30-minute consultation. In a workers' compensation case, any attorney's fee must be approved by the judge and is capped at 15% of the compensation awarded or paid.

This article provides general legal information about Alabama law, not legal advice. Rules and dollar figures change. For guidance on your specific situation, contact the Workers' Compensation Division of the Alabama Department of Workforce (formerly the Alabama Department of Labor) or a licensed Alabama attorney.