Workers' comp deadlines in Rhode Island: tell your employer and file

Tell your employer in Rhode Island

Time limit

30 days

Counted from

The date the injury happened or first showed itself (manifestation)

In writing?

Yes, in writing

If you are late

A claim cannot go forward without notice within 30 days, but a mistake in the notice or a missing notice does not defeat the claim if your employer or its agent actually knew about the injury, the court finds good cause for the delay, the employer or insurer was not misled, or the employer or insurer does not contest the claim.

Illness that develops over time

For an injury or disease that was hidden or not discovered, the time does not begin until you knew, or reasonably should have known, about the impairment and its connection to your job, or until you became disabled, whichever is later.

Give your employer notice of the injury within 30 days after it happens or first shows itself. The notice must state in ordinary language the nature, time, place and cause of the injury and your name and address, and be signed by you or by someone for you.

Law: R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 28-33-30, 28-33-31, 28-33-33, 28-35-57(b)

Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov

File your claim in Rhode Island

Time limit

2 years

Counted from

The date the injury or incapacity happened or first showed itself (for a hidden injury or disease, the date you knew or should have known of it and its link to work, or the date of disablement, whichever is later)

What to file

A petition filed with the Rhode Island Workers' Compensation Court (Garrahy Judicial Complex, One Dorrance Plaza, Providence), unless the insurer has already started paying weekly compensation

Who files it

You give written notice to your employer. Your employer reports the injury to the Department of Labor and Training. If the insurer pays, it files a memorandum of agreement (or a 'nonprejudicial' memorandum) with the Department and sends you a copy. If the claim is not paid or is disputed, you (or your attorney) file a petition with the Workers' Compensation Court.

What your employer must do

Your employer must report to the Department every work injury that keeps you from earning full wages for at least 3 days or needs medical treatment, within 10 days after the injury (for an occupational disease, within 10 days after learning of the incapacity). Your treating health care provider must send a notification of compensable injury form to the insurer and to you within 3 days of the first visit.

When the insurer decides

If the insurer starts weekly payments, it must file a memorandum of agreement with the Department within 10 days of the first payment. It may instead pay for up to 13 weeks under a 'nonprejudicial' memorandum without accepting the claim; if it stops those payments it must notify you within 10 days that the claim was not accepted and that you may file a petition within the 2-year limit. Payments for more than 13 weeks count as an admission of liability.

Illness that develops over time

For latent or undiscovered impairment, including disease, the 2 years start when you knew or reasonably should have known of the impairment and its connection to your work, or after disablement, whichever is later.

Your claim is barred unless weekly compensation payments have started, or you file a petition with the Workers' Compensation Court, within 2 years after the injury or incapacity happened or first showed itself. A petition cannot be filed within 21 days of the injury.

Law: R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 28-35-12(a), 28-35-57

Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov

Law: R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 28-32-1, 28-33-8(b), 28-35-1, 28-35-8, 28-35-9

Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov

Waiting period and first payment in Rhode Island

Waiting period

No weekly compensation is paid for an injury that keeps you from earning full wages for less than 3 days. If the incapacity lasts longer, compensation begins on the fourth day after the date of injury.

Paid back for the waiting days

Rhode Island law does not pay the first 3 days back later.

First payment

Payments ordered at a Workers' Compensation Court pretrial conference, including weekly benefits, must be paid within 14 days of the order. A petition for nonpayment or late payment of weekly benefits may be filed 14 days after the payment was due.

How often you are paid

Weekly

Law: R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 28-33-4, 28-35-12(a), 28-35-20(c)

Source: webserver.rilegislature.gov

Deadline helper

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