Statute of Limitations on Workers’ Compensation Claim in Illinois
You were injured in an accident at work in Illinois. Perhaps your injuries did not seem to be serious at the time. You may have kept right on working. You may not have missed any work time at all.
It may be that your employer did not want you to file a workers’ compensation claim. Your employer may have threatened you if you filed a claim.
Claim not filed
At any rate, for one reason or another, you did not file a workers’ compensation claim. Now, a lot of time has passed since the accident took place at work. You may be having physical problems that you believe were brought about by the accident. You may have wound up having medical bills and expenses as a result of the accident at work in Illinois. You may have missed work because of injuries you received from the accident.
Some questions you may now have are, “Have I waited too long? Can I still file a workers’ compensation claim for my accident? Is it too late? What is the law in Illinois?”
The first thing that has to be answered is, “Did you let your employer know about the accident and your injuries within 45 days from the time that the accident took place?” If you did not, you may have forfeited your right to receive workers’ compensation benefits. If you notified your employer about the accident and your injuries within 45 days of the accident, you may still be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits.
Statute of Limitations
The Statute of Limitations is a time deadline that you have for filing a personal injury claim. In Illinois, the Statute of Limitations is 2 years from the date of an accident. This means that you have 2 years from the date that an accident happened in which you were the injured party to file a personal injury claim in circuit court.
In regard to filing a workers’ compensation claim in Illinois, it is a little different. The Statute of Limitations in Illinois for filing a workers’ compensation claim is 3 years from the date of the accident at work or 2 years from the date that you last received workers’ compensation benefits. The determining factor is which one of these came later.
Repetitive trauma
In the instance of making a claim for a “repetitive trauma,” determining the Statute of Limitations may be much more difficult. In the case of a repetitive trauma, it is extremely important to determine the correct beginning date. Even if you continue working with a repetitive trauma injury, it is not the last day that you work that is the beginning of your Statute of Limitations. It is the day in which your injury and its involvement with your job became apparent.
Even if you think it is too late, that you have missed your deadline, you really ought to talk to a workers’ compensation attorney. You may still be able to file a claim. There may still be hope. A workers’ compensation attorney will give you the best advice on what options are available to you.
Related articles
- Third Party Claims for Injuries on the Job (usworkerscomp.com)
- Can My Employer Ask Me to Submit to an Independent Medical Examination (usworkerscomp.com)
- What if I Want to See Another Doctor (usworkerscomp.com)










