In order to earn compensation for an injury that you suffered at work, one of the first things you’ll need to do is inform your employer about the incident that led to your injuries. After all, if they are unaware that you are injured, they won’t be able to create a First Report of Injury and complete other necessary processes to ensure your claim is processed correctly. Moreover, if you don’t report your injury in time, you may find that your legitimate claim is denied by their insurance provider simply because you filed outside of the required deadline.
With that in mind, we wanted to use today’s blog to take a closer look at the deadlines you need to meet when reporting your injury if you want to remain eligible to collect workers’ compensation.
Reporting Your Work Injury – Minnesota Reporting Deadline
Although you’ll see that you have a little grace period when it comes to reporting your work injury to management, we don’t advise taking any longer than you need. The sooner you report the injury, the easier it will be to get accurate witness statements, save potential video evidence and get the process rolling. Waiting to report your work injury also sends up a red flag to the insurance company, as they may believe that you were actually injured outside of work and are attempting to commit insurance fraud. Don’t give them a reason to doubt the legitimacy of your claim. Inform a supervisor or Human Resources as soon as possible after your work injury.
With that said, here’s a look at what the law says about reporting deadlines for injured Minnesota workers.
14 Days – If you report your work injury to your employer within 14 days, you are considered to have met the standard deadline, and your employer’s insurance company cannot deny your claim as a result of late notice.
15-30 Days – If you wait between 15 to 30 days to inform your employer about your injury, there is a possibility that your claim could be denied due to late notice, but only if your employer can prove that they were irreparably harmed by the delayed reporting, which is a lofty standard to prove. Still, don’t give them a potential out if you can help it.
30-180 Days – If you wait between 30 to 180 days from the date of your injury to inform your employer, they are allowed to deny your claim unless the delay is due to:
- Employee mistake
- Inadvertence
- Ignorance of the law or other reasonable fact
- Valid inability to provide notice
- Fraud, dishonesty or misrepresentation by your employer or their insurance company.
Even if you have a valid reason listed above, your employer can still deny your claim if they can prove they have been significantly harmed by the delay.
More Than 180 Days – If you wait more than 180 days to inform your employer about your injuries, they can deny your claim unless the reason you failed to give a timely notice was because you were mentally or physically incapacitated. You have 180 days from the point where you are no longer incapacitated to inform your employer.
Simply put, our best advice is to inform your employer as soon as possible after an injury, and ideally that will be within 14 days so that there is no way that your claim can be denied due to delayed reporting. If you need assistance with the reporting process or any other part of your injury claim, reach out to Dean and the team at Margolis Law Firm today at (952) 230-2700.
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