Injured workers in Texas are required to file their workers’ compensation claim within a certain amount of time after their work-related injury occurred or their work-related illness developed, in order to be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits. If the injured worker’s claim is not filed within this limited amount of time, commonly referred to as a workers’ compensation claim statute of limitations, the injured worker will lose the ability to file a claim based on that specific work-related injury or illness. The statute of limitations for a workers’ compensation claim varies from state to state.
The statute of limitations in Texas for filing a workers’ compensation claim is codified in Section 409.003 of the Texas Workers’ Compensation Act. This section of the Act indications that the statute of limitation for a workers’ compensation claim is one year from the date that the injury occurred or one year from the date that the injured worker the knew or should have known about the existence of a work-related illness.
The same statute of limitations of one year under Section 409.008 of the Texas Workers’ Compensation Act applies to claims for death benefits through workers’ compensation when an eligible and covered worker is killed as a result of their work-related injuries or illness.
Tolling Of The Statute of Limitations
Under Texas Workers’ Compensation Act Section 409.008, if the injured worker’s employer or the employer’s insurance provider has been notified of the injury and yet fails to, neglects or refuses to file the requisite report associated with the injury, the statute of limitations for filing a worker’s compensation benefits claim is tolled (meaning that the statute of limitations clock is paused) until the day that the requisite report is actually filed.
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