How Long Do You Have To Report an Injury at Work?

Written by

Matthew Carter, Esq.

Matthew Carter, Esq.

Matthew has been a licensed attorney since 2004. He was awarded the Martindale rating of AV – Preeminent. This is given to attorneys ranked at the highest level of professional excellence by their peers.

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If you’ve been hurt on the job, there’s a set timeline for making a workers’ compensation claim. Get the deadlines at a glance for each state.

No matter where they happen, personal injuries can have a profound effect on your livelihood. This is even more true of injuries in the workplace, as they can hurt and limit your body in ways that make it difficult or even impossible to do your job.

Fortunately, the law provides remedies to protect you from disaster, including workers’ compensation insurance. (Note that while you generally have to be an employee rather than an independent contractor to receive workers’ compensation benefits, this is not always the case.) More rarely, an injured worker may also have to file a lawsuit.

Whether you are trying to resolve your claim through the workers’ comp system or civil litigation, it’s important to promptly report and pursue your work-related injury claims. If you wait too long before you begin the process, you run the risk of reducing the amount of your injury benefits or payout.

If you miss an important deadline, you may be barred from bringing your claim at all.

All of this leads to an understandable question: How long do you have to report your injury and/or file your claim? In most cases, state law controls the answer to that question. This means that there are over 50 different answers, depending on where you live, who your employer is, and how you were injured.

This article will examine the timeline and reporting process for on-the-job injuries in the United States. It will also look at the various rules across the country. Finally, we’ll look at deadlines for bringing personal injury cases in courts. These time periods, contained in statutes of limitation, are critical in legal disputes.

How To File a Workers’ Compensation Claim

Most workplace injury claims are handled as a workers’ compensation (“workers’ comp”) claim. Workers’ comp is a type of insurance that pays benefits to employees who are injured on the job or get sick because of their job. It’s usually paid for by insurers, though in some cases independent contractors or construction subcontractors may obtain it for workers.

If you are injured or become sick as a result of your job, the first priority should always be getting appropriate medical care. If you need immediate medical attention, make sure that is taken care of before you address the legal aspects of your injury.

When you are no longer in an emergency situation, the first thing to do is report your injury to your employer or other entity that pays premiums on your workers’ comp coverage. Generally, you should make any report of an injury or illness in writing. Some state laws may allow a verbal report, but a written one is better whenever possible.

Many states will have their own specialized forms for reporting work-related injuries. Whether or not your state has these, keep in mind that your report will need to have all the relevant facts in the right order. It should also indicate safety concerns that may have contributed to the incident.

When you make your report with your company, pay attention to what they tell you to do next and follow those directions exactly. You will likely need to file a claim with either the workers’ compensation insurance carrier or a third-party administrator so that your claim can be investigated and processed.

State Deadlines for Work Injury Claims

A workers’ comp claim has two main parts. The first is to report the work injury to the company paying for workers’ comp insurance, usually your employer. The other is the claim you submit to the workers’ compensation insurance company itself. The deadlines for these claims vary depending on the law applicable to you.

The table below summarizes the general deadlines in each state. Also included is the information for federal employees covered by the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act (FECA).

While some states have hard deadlines for giving notice of work injuries to employers and others only require it “as soon as possible,” it’s always better to report an injury as soon as possible. Even where a claim is made within the allowable time period, an insurance carrier may question your credibility if you waited before giving notice.

Some states may also reduce eligible benefits based on how long it took you to report and file a claim. It’s important to get timely legal advice before any of the applicable deadlines pass.

Statutes of Limitation for Lawsuits

If your injury claim is not covered by workers’ compensation for whatever reason, keep in mind that all personal injury claims are subject to your state’s statutes of limitation, which are laws that give time limits for settling your injury claim or filing a lawsuit. If you don’t bring your lawsuit within the statutory deadline, you lose your right to pursue compensation in or out of court.

For example, Nevada’s statute of limitations for most personal injury claims is within two years of the discovery of the injury.

Therefore, if you are a Nevada independent contractor without workers’ comp insurance and fail to file your complaint for more than two years, you will be barred from bringing any claim for your injury.

Deadlines are a harsh reality of personal injury litigation, and for this reason it’s very important to do things in a timely manner.

Watch the Clock and Protect Your Rights

After you have been injured on the job, you may feel like you don’t need one more thing to worry about. The legal aspects of your injury claim can feel like a hassle best left for another day. Ignoring it and letting it wait, though, can be a serious mistake. Whether you make a claim through workers’ compensation or a lawsuit, the clock is ticking.

If you or a loved one has been injured on the job and you are facing a lengthy claim process, don’t go it alone. Contact a qualified personal injury attorney or law firm in your state for a free consultation.