If you miss the 1-year claim deadline or keep treating outside Washington's approved system, you can lose medical coverage, wage-loss benefits, and mileage reimbursement. In Washington, a sudden work injury generally must be filed within 1 year of the date it happened.

Yes - your boss does not get to choose all your care.

If this just happened and you are pregnant, go where the injury needs you to go now. If there is abdominal pain, bleeding, contractions, decreased fetal movement, a fall, or any crash hard enough to worry about the baby, go to an ER for fetal monitoring and trauma evaluation. In Seattle, that may mean a hospital ER, not just urgent care.

After emergency treatment, ongoing workers' comp care usually needs to be with a provider in Washington L&I's Medical Provider Network if the claim is through the Department of Labor & Industries. If your employer is self-insured, you still generally may choose your treating provider, but the provider must be authorized for that claim system.

You start the claim by filing a Report of Accident with the doctor, urgent care, or hospital. The provider submits it to L&I or the self-insured employer's claims administrator. Tell the provider clearly: this happened at work.

Your employer can offer light duty, but they cannot force you to skip needed pregnancy-related monitoring. If work restrictions are needed, the treating provider writes them.

Washington workers' comp can cover:

• ER and doctor visits
• Pregnancy-related monitoring tied to the work injury
• Medications and imaging approved for pregnancy
• Time-loss pay if you cannot work
• Mileage to medical appointments

Do not use only your regular health insurance and hope it gets sorted out later. If it is work-related, have it documented as a work injury from day one.