The kitchen's claims
Burns from fryers, steam, and hot oil (deep-fryer burns are frequently worse than they first look — see a doctor, not just the first-aid kit); knife cuts with their infection and tendon risks (hand guide); slips on greasy floors producing back, knee, and wrist injuries; and the repetitive strains of prep work and tray carrying. The tough-it-out culture is real and expensive: a burn that scars or a cut that severs a tendon is a permanency claim, and the report you didn't file on day one haunts it.
Your tips belong in your wage — insist on it
Wage benefits are computed from your average weekly wage — and in most states, that includes reported tips, not just the $2.13 tipped minimum on your pay stub. An AWW computed from base wages alone can cut your checks by half or more. The catch is the word "reported": tips that never hit a paycheck or tax record are hard to prove. Going forward, that's a reason to report accurately; right now, POS records, tip-share sheets, scheduling apps, and bank deposits can reconstruct reality. Run the calculator with your true earnings and compare it to what the insurer used — then ask for the calculation in writing.
Informal payroll, real rights
Service work runs on informality — cash shifts, off-the-books hours, "we'll add it next check." None of that erases comp rights: coverage follows employment, not paperwork quality. It does make proof harder, which makes contemporaneous records golden: schedules, texts from managers, coworker statements, delivery-app histories. Report injuries in writing even where nothing else is in writing — especially where nothing else is.
Young workers: extra protections apply
Restaurants employ more minors than almost any industry — and injured workers under 18 often have extra protections: some states pay increased benefits (in some cases double) when a minor was injured while illegally employed (prohibited equipment like slicers, prohibited hours), and minors' claim deadlines are frequently extended until adulthood. If you're a teenager hurt at work — or a parent of one — don't let anyone treat it as a lesser claim. It may legally be a larger one.