Time Limits for Filing or Receiving Benefits

If you are injured or contract an occupational disease in the course and scope of your employment, you have a specific period of time to file a workers’ compensation claim application.

If you do not file the application within the specified time limit, you are barred from ever receiving compensation as a result of the injury. According to ORC 4123.84, the statute of limitations begins the date you are injured, not from the date you filed the claim application. You must file all claim applications within two years of the date of injury. If you have an occupational disease claim, the time limit for filing is two years from the date the disability began or six months after a licensed physician has diagnosed the occupational disease. File claim applications involving a fatality within two years of the date of death.

If BWC dismissed your claim application and you re-file it, the new filing date will not change the statute of limitations.

When will my compensation benefits stop?
According to ORC 4123.52, expiration of your benefits will depend on the type of claim you filed and the last activity in your claim. Once a claim meets the following criteria, it is statutorily closed and no further benefits are paid.

• Medical-only claims with dates of injury prior to Oct. 20, 1993, are statutorily closed six years from the date of injury.
• Medical-only claims with dates of injury on or after Oct. 20, 1993, are statutorily closed six years from the date of the last payment of medical benefits.
• Lost-time claims are statutorily closed 10 years from date of the last payment of a medical bill or from the last compensation payment.
• Death claims are statutorily closed 10 years from date of death when no medical bills or compensation is paid.