Workers’ Compensation Statute of Limitations Reduced to One Year
In follow-up to our recent post on House Bill 27, an update has been made to this proposed legislation in regards to an “illegal alien” receiving workers’ compensation benefits and reducing the statute of limitations for filing a workers’ compensation claim from two years to one year from the date of injury. Language in House Bill 27 regarding “illegal aliens” was removed before it passed in the Ohio Senate. The proposed change regarding the statute of limitations remained and Governor Kasich signed the bill in late June. The new statute applies to injury and death claims only, and does not alter the two-year statute of limitations on VSSR applications and occupational disease claims.
Most workers’ compensation claims are filed within days to weeks of the injury so the new statute of limitations will not have a major impact on the system. Instead, it will likely help employers with questionable claims that have little to no merit and are filed long after an injury occurs, often following a discipline issue with the employee.
The change will take effect 91 days after House Bill 27 is filed with the Ohio Secretary of State. The new one-year statute of limitations will therefore apply to claims arising on or after October 2017.
