Hurt at work in Rhode Island? Deadlines, weekly benefit and how to file

Tell your employer in writing within 30 days (the date the injury happened or first showed itself, manifestation). File your claim within 2 years.

Weekly compensation for total incapacity (temporary total disability) can pay 62% of your gross (before-tax) wages, up to $1,691 a week (on or after October 1, 2026).

Your employer's insurer, not the state, usually decides first. If they deny or delay, the free help listed here can explain your options.

In Rhode Island, weekly compensation for total incapacity replaces part of your wages while a work injury keeps you from working at all. Your employer's insurance company pays the claim, and the Rhode Island Workers' Compensation Court decides disputes between injured workers and employers.

What are my deadlines?How much will I get?Who is my doctor?Claim denied?

Checked against official sources: October 31, 2026.

Deadlines are strict. If you are near one, call the state agency or free help today.

Free tools for Rhode Island

Free tools that run in your browser. Nothing you enter is saved or sent until you download, copy or print a document.

Deadline helper

Worked out in your browser. Nothing you enter here is saved or sent.

If you are not sure of the exact day, use the earliest day you think it could be.

Enter the date of injury

We add the number from the law to your date. Nothing is saved.

Written notice to your employer

A letter that tells your employer, in writing, that you were hurt or made sick by your work.

Where the reply should be sent.

Required when you mail it. Not needed if you hand it in person.

In your own words, in English. Keep it short and factual. Do not guess why it happened.

It goes into the letter as you type it.

Other formats

Claim checklist: what to gather and do

A printable list of papers to keep and steps to take.

What you already have

Rhode Island
Other formats

Your checklist

Deadlines in Rhode Island

Tell your employer
30 days
File your claim
2 years
Waiting period

No weekly compensation is paid for an injury that keeps you from earning full wages for less than 3 days.

All the details →

Weekly benefit in Rhode Island

What it pays
62% of your gross (before-tax) wages
Maximum
$1,691 a week (on or after October 1, 2026)
Minimum rule

Rhode Island law sets no minimum weekly amount for total incapacity; you receive 62% of your average weekly wage, plus any dependency allowance.

Applies to
Injuries occurring on or after October 1, 2026 (until the next annual maximum is announced)

Law: R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 28-33-17(a), (c), 28-33-20

Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov

We do not offer a calculator for Rhode Island: its rule has parts that a simple estimate cannot show. Read the rule above and ask the state agency.

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Who is your doctor in Rhode Island?

Who chooses
You choose
Network
Insurer's preferred-provider network approved by the Medical Advisory Board (if any)

You have free choice of any qualified health care provider for your first treatment. A first visit to an emergency facility, or to a doctor or clinic under contract with your employer or insurer for priority care, does not count as your choice. Your first provider may refer you to specialists without prior approval.

If the insurer has a preferred-provider network approved by the Medical Advisory Board, a change from your first provider must be to a provider in that network; to change to a provider outside the network you need the insurer's (or self-insured employer's) approval. You may be treated by more than one provider.

Law: R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-33-8(a)

Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov

Who is covered in Rhode Island

Size of employer

Rhode Island employers that regularly employ workers must either buy workers' compensation insurance or be approved to self-insure. The state is also covered; a city or town is covered if it has voted to accept the law.

Special rules
  • Farm and nursery workers: Farm employers are covered only if they employ 25 or more farm workers for 13 consecutive weeks, and even then may be exempt if they keep health and disability insurance for all farm workers that costs more than workers' compensation.
  • Domestic service: Employers of domestic workers are not covered unless they choose to be.
Not covered
  • Domestic service workers (unless the employer elects coverage)
  • Farm and nursery workers of employers with fewer than 25 farm workers for 13 consecutive weeks
  • Certain licensed real estate brokers and salespersons
  • Independent contractors who have filed a notice of designation as an independent contractor
  • Cities and towns that have not voted to accept the law
Contractors

A worker who files a Notice of Designation as Independent Contractor with the Department of Labor and Training may be treated as outside the workers' compensation law. Calling someone an independent contractor without that filing does not by itself remove coverage.

If your employer has no insurance

If your employer illegally has no workers' compensation insurance, the Uninsured Protection Fund can pay your weekly incapacity benefits. You must file a petition with the Workers' Compensation Court against the uninsured employer as well as the petition against the fund. The fund does not pay medical bills or loss-of-function benefits, but you can still seek those from the employer.

Law: R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 28-29-5, 28-29-6, 28-29-7.1, 28-29-7.2, 28-29-17.1, 28-36-1, 28-53-7

Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov

If your claim is denied or delayed in Rhode Island

First step

For questions about your rights, call the Department of Labor and Training, Division of Workers' Compensation at (401) 462-8100. To have a dispute decided, file a petition with the Workers' Compensation Court (filing fee $20).

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Lawyers' fees and other benefits in Rhode Island

If you win a petition (or successfully defend against a reduction or termination of benefits), the Workers' Compensation Court awards costs, including your attorney's fees and medical expert fees, against the employer. Your attorney may not accept any other fee for that petition. Fees in lump-sum settlements are handled separately.

Rhode Island workers' compensation also pays medical care, weekly compensation for partial incapacity, specific compensation for loss of use and disfigurement, rehabilitation services, death benefits to dependents, and burial expenses. An injured worker may also have a right to be reinstated to the former job on written demand.

Free help in Rhode Island

State agency

Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training, Division of Workers' Compensation (disputes: Rhode Island Workers' Compensation Court)

Phone
(401) 462-8100
Address
Division of Workers' Compensation, P.O. Box 20190, Cranston, RI 02920-0942

Free help

Good to know in Rhode Island

  • For injuries since January 1, 2022, the weekly rate is 62% of gross wages; older injuries were paid at 75% of spendable (after-tax) wages.
  • The dependency allowance rose from $15 to $25 a week per dependent on January 1, 2025.
  • A worker with a covered injury can demand in writing to be reinstated to the former job if it exists and the worker can do it with reasonable accommodation. This right does not apply to temporary or seasonal workers, workers on probation of less than 91 days, or workers whose employer had 9 or fewer workers at the time of injury.

Changes in 2024–2026

Maximum weekly compensation for total incapacity is $1,691 for injuries on or after October 1, 2026 (DLT Information Letter 26-03, September 25, 2026), up from $1,622 for injuries on or after October 1, 2025 (Information Letter 25-04). The dependency allowance for total incapacity rose from $15 to $25 per dependent on January 1, 2025.

Law: R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-33-17(c)(1)

Questions about workers' comp in Rhode Island

How long do I have to tell my employer about a work injury in Rhode Island?

Give your employer notice of the injury within 30 days after it happens or first shows itself. The notice must state in ordinary language the nature, time, place and cause of the injury and your name and address, and be signed by you or by someone for you.

How long do I have to file a workers' comp claim in Rhode Island?

Your claim is barred unless weekly compensation payments have started, or you file a petition with the Workers' Compensation Court, within 2 years after the injury or incapacity happened or first showed itself.

How much does workers' comp pay in Rhode Island?

Weekly compensation for total incapacity (temporary total disability) can pay 62% of your gross (before-tax) wages, up to $1,691 a week (on or after October 1, 2026).

Can I choose my own doctor for a work injury in Rhode Island?

You have free choice of any qualified health care provider for your first treatment. A first visit to an emergency facility, or to a doctor or clinic under contract with your employer or insurer for priority care, does not count as your choice.

What if my workers' comp claim is denied in Rhode Island?

For questions about your rights, call the Department of Labor and Training, Division of Workers' Compensation at (401) 462-8100.

Not about a work injury?

Not about a work injury? Unpaid wages → Wage Claim Map · Hurt in a car crash → Accident Claim Map · A medical bill → Medical Bill Map · Unemployment benefits → Unemployment Claim Map · Other problems → robinclaim.com

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