“I Got Hurt Helping a Client!” | What Should a PSW Do After Getting Hurt at Work in Ontario?

Get medical care and tell the provider it happened at work. Tell your supervisor the same day, even if the injury seems minor. Write down what happened while it is fresh. Your employer then has three business days to report it to the WSIB, and you have six months to file your own Form 6.

PSWs spend their careers helping other people recover. Then one shift, a transfer goes wrong, a resident lashes out, or a car runs a light between client visits, and you're the one who is hurt.

What to do next is the most read workplace injury question on Steps to Justice, Ontario's plain-language legal information site. Here is the full answer for PSWs, in the order it matters.

What should I do first if I get hurt at work?

Get care. If the injury is serious, that comes before anything else. When you see a doctor or nurse practitioner, tell them it happened at work, describe exactly what happened and name every symptom, even the small ones. Ask them to send their report to the WSIB. Steps to Justice sets out these same steps in its answer on what to do if you get hurt at work.

Then tell your supervisor as soon as you can, even if the injury seems minor. Strains from lifting and transferring can feel manageable on the day and much worse the next morning.

If you need to go to a doctor or hospital on the day you are hurt, your employer should pay your travel costs. Under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, your employer also pays your regular wages for the day or shift you were injured.

What should I write down, and when?

The same day, while it is fresh. You already chart for every client. This is the same skill, turned toward yourself.

• What happened, step by step. The date, the time, where you were and the task you were doing, such as a transfer, repositioning or bathing. You can describe the situation without naming the client.
• Who was there. Coworkers, family members in the home, anyone who saw it or came to help, and any equipment you were using.
• What you felt. Where it hurts, how strongly, and what you could not do afterwards, in your own words.
• Who you told. The name, the role, the date and the time, and any forms you filled in or signed. Ask for copies.

Steps to Justice also notes that a disagreement about whether an injury happened at work can surface weeks later. Notes written the same day are the part of the record that does not change.

What does my employer have to do?

If you need health care beyond first aid, or you lose time or pay, your employer must report the injury to the WSIB within three business days of learning about it and give you a copy of that report, the Form 7. That rule is set out in the WSIB's own In case of injury fact sheet.

You can also report it yourself with the Form 6, the Worker's Report of Injury/Disease. You have six months from the date of injury to claim benefits, and you give your employer a copy of your Form 6.

Do I have to use sick days instead of WSIB?

No. A workplace injury belongs with the WSIB. The same WSIB fact sheet tells workers to report a workplace injury even if they are told to use sick days instead, and even if a supervisor says not to report it.

This rarely needs to become a dispute. If the suggestion comes up, write down who said it and when, and report the injury anyway.

What if I work for more than one employer?

Tell the WSIB about all of your earnings, including overtime, shift premiums and every other job. Steps to Justice calls this very important in its guide to making your claim, because your benefits are based on what you earn.

Keep a copy of a recent pay stub from every employer with your record.

What if a client hurt me?

It is a workplace injury, and you report it the same way. In 2024, workplace violence caused 1,654 lost-time injuries in Ontario's health care sector, according to Government of Ontario data. Moving and handling clients caused another 1,840.

Record what happened in plain, factual words, without blame. Note any effects on your sleep, your mood or your confidence at work as well. Those are part of the injury too.

What if it happened while I was driving between clients?

Report it as a workplace injury, and watch for a WSIB Election Form. A collision during your workday can be a workplace injury and a motor vehicle collision at the same time. If another driver was involved, the WSIB may send you an Election Form, which asks you to choose between claiming WSIB benefits and pursuing a claim against the other driver.

That choice is set by section 30 of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, and it has a deadline, usually three months from the collision. Read the form carefully and get independent advice before you sign it. Our article “I'm About to Call My Insurer!” | Hurt in a Crash in Ontario? Your First Call Needs One Very Important Extra Sentence covers the auto insurance side.

What should I keep recording after the first week?

Every appointment, every call with the WSIB and your employer, and what you can and cannot do at home and at work. Recovery rarely ends in a week, and neither does the record.

Two moments matter most. The first is the Functional Abilities Form, where your health professional describes what you can safely do. Our article “My Doctor Has Paperwork to Fill Out!” | What Is the WSIB Functional Abilities Form? explains it, and “My Employer Wants Me Back!” | Return to Work and WSIB in Ontario covers what follows.

The second is any WSIB decision letter. The WSIB gives you 30 days to object to a decision about return to work and six months for most others. Our article “WSIB Rejected My Claim!” | WSIB Denied Your Claim? Your Next Steps Before the Deadline sets out what to do.

Who can help me?

Your union representative if you have one, and the Office of the Worker Adviser if you don't. Many unions have representatives who help injured members through the WSIB process.

The Office of the Worker Adviser is an independent agency of the Ontario government, and its service to non-unionized injured workers is free. Its number for English service is 1-800-435-8980.

No one else sees your whole recovery. You do. So you keep the record.

Read next

• “It Hurts More After Every Shift!” | Hurt Over Time, Not in One Moment? How WSIB Handles Repetitive Strain
• “I Paid for My Prescription Myself!” | What Does WSIB Pay For? Prescriptions, Physio and Travel, Explained

If your recovery were reviewed tomorrow, what would your record say?

The National Workplace Injury Recovery Guide is where your recovery gets documented, day by day. Symptoms, appointments, calls and costs, written while they are fresh. It works in every province and it stands on its own.

See the National Guide$39

Both guides, $39 until 22 November. Add the Ontario Workplace Injury Companion Guide for the dates and rules that shape your recovery in Ontario, and the discount applies at checkout. Bought separately: $63.99.

Every figure in this article comes from a named source. How we check
Last verified: September 2026.