Timeframe for Filing a Claim

The section of the law referred to on this page will give you the legal timeframes for filing a claim or making a claim for benefits. If you have a specific question, please contact the NH Department of Labor.

Statutes of Limitation for Injured Employees

Notice of Injury

RSA 281-A:19

The injured worker has two (2) years from the date of injury to notify the employer of his injury in order to make a claim for benefits. In cases where an occupational illness develops gradually and an injury is not immediately recognized by the claimant, the claimant must provide notice the date he or she knows, or by reasonable diligence should have known, of the nature of the injury and its possible relationship to the employment.

Time Limitations for Filing Claim

RSA 281-A:21-a

This section provides that a claim for disability, rehabilitation, medical benefits or death benefits shall be barred unless a claim for these benefits is filed within three (3) years after the date of the injury. If the nature of the injury and its possible relationship to the employment are not known to the employee, the time for filing a claim shall not begin to run until the earlier of either the date the employee knows or should know of the nature of the injury and its relationship to employment, or, in the event of fatal injury, the date any dependent knows or reasonably should know of the nature of the injury and its relationship to the employee's employment.

Time Limitations for Petition for Hearing

RSA 281-A:42-d

For injuries occurring on or after February 8, 1994, compensation for disability, rehabilitation, medical benefits, or death benefits shall be barred unless the employee petitions for a hearing under RSA 281-A:43 within 18 months after receiving notice that the claim has been denied by the carrier or self-insurer.

Review of Eligibility for Compensation, Extent of Disability

RSA 281-A:48

This provision bars the injured employee's right to receive indemnity benefits if four (4) or more years have passed since these benefits were last received or denied except as noted in RSA 281-A:42-d. This section provides specifically that a petition to review a denial or award of compensation, on the grounds of changed circumstances, must be filed no later than the fourth anniversary of the date of the denial or the date of the last payment for compensation (not including medical benefits).

If a reinstatement of benefits is sought by an injured worker and he prevails, the Supreme Court ruling of Johnson v. Aetna 131 N.H. 698 (1989), holds that benefits are paid retroactively only to the date the claimant requested the hearing.