What Is the Statute of Limitations for Workers’ Compensation?

When you get injured at work, you may, understandably, be preoccupied with your current health condition and following the road to recovery, so to speak. While your physical health, of course, takes precedence, you must not lose sight of how you plan to pay for these medical bills and make up for these lost wages. That is, filing a prompt workers’ compensation claim is critical. With that being said, please continue reading to learn the statute of limitations that applies to your workers’ compensation claim and how one of the experienced Illinois workers’ compensation benefits lawyers at The Law Firm of Kevin A. Moore can help you meet it. 

Does reporting my workplace accident affect my benefits claim deadline?

First of all, you should report your workplace accident to your employer as soon as possible. In the state of Illinois, you are required to do so within 45 days of the event. You must understand, though, that disclosing your incurred injury does not automatically file a workers’ compensation claim with the Iowa Workers’ Compensation Commission (IWCC). This is a separate, formal filing process with its own enforced deadline. 

What is the statute of limitations for filing a workers’ compensation claim in Illinois?

Generally speaking, the statute of limitations for your Illinois workers’ compensation claim is three years. Specifically, this countdown starts on the date your accident event occurred. However, say that you were already collecting workers’ compensation benefits for your medical expenses or temporary disability. Well then, you may only have two years to file a formal claim for additional compensation. The clock starts on the date you received your last payment. 

Is it possible for the statute of limitations for my claim to be paused or extended?

You may be in a unique situation where your injury did not arise from an isolated workplace accident. Rather, it may be in the form of a repetitive stress injury or occupational disease due to years of exposure to a specific workplace hazard. Therefore, if you can establish this properly, your statute of limitations may be inadvertently extended to become three years from the date you knew or should have reasonably known about your work-related injury or illness.  

In another scenario, say your employer committed misconduct when you initially reported your workplace accident or injury. That is, they may have failed to relay this information to the IWCC, purposely misclassified your injury, actively denied your medical care, etc. If so, the statute of limitations clock may pause, allowing you to file later after this is sorted out. Of note, depending on the specific issue you dealt with, you may pursue a separate retaliation action against them.

But you do not want to assume you are the exception to the rule. To avoid the possibility of being permanently barred from benefits, please reach out to one of the skilled Illinois workers’ compensation benefits lawyers today. We at The Law Firm of Kevin A. Moore are eager to represent you.