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

Tell your employer in Maine

Time limit

60 days

Counted from

The date of injury (or when you learn of the injury), for injuries on or after January 1, 2020

In writing?

The law does not require writing

If you are late

If you wait more than 60 days after the injury or after you learn of it, you can lose the right to claim workers' compensation. Late notice is not a bar if your employer or its agent knew about the injury. Time when you could not give notice because of physical or mental incapacity, or because of a mistake of fact, is not counted.

Illness that develops over time

For an occupational disease, the 60 days run from the date the disease first made you unable to do your work in the last job where you were exposed to its hazards. Give notice to the employer where you were last exposed, and include the nature of the disease, the date you became unable to work, and when that job ended.

Tell your employer (a supervisor or someone from management) as soon as possible that you were injured at work, and no later than 60 days after the injury. The notice should include the time, place, cause and nature of the injury and your name and address. It can also be given to a company doctor or nurse on duty at the work site.

Law: 39-A M.R.S. §§ 301, 302, 606, 607

Source: maine.gov

File your claim in Maine

Time limit

2 years

Counted from

The date of injury, or the date your employer filed a required First Report of Injury with the Board, whichever is later; 6 years from the most recent payment if your employer or insurer paid benefits within that time

What to file

A petition filed with the Workers' Compensation Board, such as a Petition for Award of Compensation (WCB-140) for lost wages or a Petition for Payment of Medical and Related Services (WCB-190) for medical bills

Who files it

You give notice of the injury to your employer. Your employer fills out the First Report of Injury (WCB-1) and gives you a copy, and files it with the Board if you lose a day's work. You file a petition with the Board only if there is a dispute that troubleshooting and mediation do not resolve.

What your employer must do

Your employer must complete a First Report of Injury within 7 days after learning of an injury that needed a health care provider, give you a copy, and file it with the Board if the injury caused you to lose a day's work. It must also report your average weekly wage within 30 days after you claim lost-time benefits, and mail you a copy.

When the insurer decides

Within 14 days after your employer learns of the injury, it must either start paying lost-time benefits (sending you a Memorandum of Payment) or send you and the Board a Notice of Controversy denying the claim. If it starts paying, it may still stop and file a Notice of Controversy by the 45th day; payments made this way are 'without prejudice'. If it files nothing by day 45, it must keep paying unless benefits are ended through the Board's process.

Illness that develops over time

For an occupational disease, the 2-year period runs from the date the disease first made you unable to do your work in the last job where you were exposed to its hazards. The claim is made against the employer where you were last exposed. If payments for an occupational disease were legally stopped, a claim for more compensation for the same disease (without new exposure) must be made within 1 year after the last payment.

If your employer or insurer has not paid any benefits, you must file a petition with the Workers' Compensation Board within 2 years after the date of injury, or 2 years after your employer filed a required First Report of Injury with the Board, whichever is later. If benefits were paid within that time, you have 6 years from the most recent payment. Time when you are unable to file because of physical or mental incapacity is not counted.

Law: 39-A M.R.S. §§ 306, 606, 607

Law: 39-A M.R.S. §§ 205(2), 303

Source: maine.gov

Waiting period and first payment in Maine

Waiting period

Weekly compensation is not paid for the first 7 days of incapacity. For example, if you miss 9 days, you are paid for 2 days; if you miss 16 days, you are paid for all 16 days. Firefighters are paid from the first day.

Paid back for the waiting days

If your incapacity lasts more than 14 days, you are paid from the first day.

First payment

The first payment is due within 14 days after your employer has notice or knowledge of the injury, unless it files a Notice of Controversy. After that, payments are made weekly. If benefits are more than 30 days late and there is no ongoing dispute, $50 a day is added, up to $1,500.

How often you are paid

Weekly

Law: 39-A M.R.S. §§ 204, 205(2)-(3)

Source: maine.gov

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