Workers' comp deadlines in Indiana: tell your employer and file

Tell your employer in Indiana

Time limit

30 days

Counted from

The date of the injury (or death)

In writing?

Yes, in writing

If you are late

If your employer does not get notice or learn of the injury within 30 days, no compensation is paid for the time before notice is given or the employer learns of it. Late or faulty notice does not end the claim unless the employer shows it was harmed by the delay, and then only to the extent of that harm.

Illness that develops over time

For an occupational disease, give your employer notice of the disablement as soon as practicable after the date of disablement. A defect in the notice does not bar the claim unless the employer proves it was unduly harmed.

Tell your employer about the injury right away. The law asks for written notice as soon as practicable, signed, with your name and address and the time, place, nature and cause of the injury. You can give it to your employer, a foreman, superintendent or manager, or send it by registered letter. Written notice is not needed if your employer already knew about the injury.

Law: Ind. Code §§ 22-3-3-1, 22-3-3-2, 22-3-7-32(a)

Source: iga.in.gov

File your claim in Indiana

Time limit

2 years

Counted from

The date of the accident; if temporary total or temporary partial disability benefits were paid, the last date for which they were paid

What to file

Application for Adjustment of Claim, filed with the Worker's Compensation Board. Send it by certified mail if you are close to the deadline, because otherwise the filing date is the date the Board receives it.

Source: State Form 29109

Who files it

You report the injury to your employer. Your employer reports it to its insurance carrier, and the carrier files the First Report of Injury with the Board electronically. You file with the Board yourself only if there is a problem: a Request for Assistance for the free informal process, or an Application for Adjustment of Claim for a hearing.

What your employer must do

Within 7 days after learning of an injury that causes death or needs medical care beyond first aid, your employer must report it to its insurance carrier (or to the Board, if self-insured). The carrier must file the First Report of Injury with the Board within 7 days after receiving it or 14 days after the employer learned of the injury, whichever is later. Employers must post a workers' compensation notice.

When the insurer decides

The employer or carrier must start paying or send the Board a written Notice of Denial of Benefits within 30 days after the employer learns of the injury (it can ask the Board for more time).

Illness that develops over time

For an occupational disease, file your claim with the Board within 2 years after the date of disablement (for a death claim, within 2 years after the death).

Most claims are handled without a filing by you: your employer reports the injury and its insurance carrier pays or denies. To protect your rights if there is a dispute, you must file an Application for Adjustment of Claim with the Board within 2 years after the accident. If you were paid temporary total or temporary partial disability benefits, the 2 years run from the last date for which those benefits were paid.

Law: Ind. Code §§ 22-3-3-3, 22-3-7-32(c)

Source: in.gov

Law: Ind. Code §§ 22-3-3-7, 22-3-4-13

Source: in.gov

Waiting period and first payment in Indiana

Waiting period

No wage benefits are paid for the first 7 calendar days of disability; benefits start with the 8th day. Medical care is paid from the start.

Paid back for the waiting days

If your disability lasts longer than 21 days, you are also paid for the first 7 days.

First payment

The first weekly payment is due 14 days after your disability begins. Payments then come weekly.

How often you are paid

Weekly

Law: Ind. Code § 22-3-3-7(a), (b)

Source: iga.in.gov

Deadline helper

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