§8122 — Title 5 Government Organization and Employees | U.S. Code

Summary

You must file a claim for pay because of a work injury or death within 3 years after the injury or death. If you miss that deadline, you usually can’t get benefits unless your immediate supervisor actually knew about the injury or death within 30 days, or you gave written notice as the law in section 8119 requires within 30 days. If the injury shows up later (a latent disability), the 3-year clock starts only when you have a compensable disability and know, or should reasonably know, it was caused by work. The 30-day notice clock for latent cases starts when you know, or should know, the condition is work-related. A timely disability claim also preserves the time limit for a death claim from the same injury. The deadlines don’t run while a person is a minor until age 21 or has a legal representative, while a person is legally incompetent without a representative, or when the Secretary excuses the delay because notice was impossible for exceptional reasons.

Title 5, §8122

Government Organization and Employees — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)An original claim for compensation for disability or death must be filed within 3 years after the injury or death. Compensation for disability or death, including medical care in disability cases, may not be allowed if claim is not filed within that time unless—

(1)the immediate superior had actual knowledge of the injury or death within 30 days. The knowledge must be such to put the immediate superior reasonably on notice of an on-the-job injury or death; or

(2)written notice of injury or death as specified in section 8119 of this title was given within 30 days.

(b)In a case of latent disability, the time for filing claim does not begin to run until the employee has a compensable disability and is aware, or by the exercise of reasonable diligence should have been aware, of the causal relationship of the compensable disability to his employment. In such a case, the time for giving notice of injury begins to run when the employee is aware, or by the exercise of reasonable diligence should have been aware, that his condition is causally related to his employment, whether or not there is a compensable disability.

(c)The timely filing of a disability claim because of injury will satisfy the time requirements for a death claim based on the same injury.

(d)The time limitations in subsections (a) and (b) of this section do not—

(1)begin to run against a minor until he reaches 21 years of age or has had a legal representative appointed; or

(2)run against an incompetent individual while he is incompetent and has no duly appointed legal representative; or

(3)run against any individual whose failure to comply is excused by the Secretary on the ground that such notice could not be given because of exceptional circumstances.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

1966 Act DerivationU.S. CodeRevised Statutes andStatutes at Large 5 U.S.C. 770.Sept. 7, 1916, ch. 458, § 20, 39 Stat. 747.

June 13, 1922, ch. 219, 42 Stat. 650.

July 28, 1945, ch. 328, § 1, 59 Stat. 503. Sept. 13, 1960, Pub. L. 86–767, § 205, 74 Stat. 908. The last sentence of the Act of

June 13, 1922, 42 Stat. 650, is omitted as obsolete. Administration of this subchapter was transferred to the Secretary of Labor by section 1 of 1950 Reorg. Plan No. 19, 64 Stat. 1271 (see section 8145). Standard changes are made to conform with the definitions applicable and the style of this title as outlined in the preface to the report. 1967 Act Section of title 5Source (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 8122(b), (d)5 App.: 770.

July 4, 1966, Pub. L. 89–488, § 9, 80 Stat. 254.

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1974—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 93–416, § 14(1), substituted provisions requiring filing of claims for compensation within three years after death or disability, and setting forth conditions for waiver of filing within required time periods, for provisions requiring claim for death to be made within one year after death and for disability to be made within 60 days after injury and authorizing extension of time for good cause. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 93–416, § 14(2), substituted provisions relating to timeliness of claim for death when claim for injury was timely filed and death was based on same injury, for provisions relating to waiver of compliance with requirements for giving notice of injury and filing claim for compensation. Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 93–416, § 14(3), substituted “(a) and (b)” for “(a)–(c)”, and added cl. (3).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 1974 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 93–416 effective Sept. 7, 1974, and applicable to any injury or death occurring on or after Sept. 7, 1974, see section 23(a) of Pub. L. 93–416, set out as a note under section 8101 of this title. Personnel Not Affected by 1967 IncreaseIncreases authorized under amendment by section 1(57) of Pub. L. 90–83 not applicable to specified personnel, see section 7 of Pub. L. 90–83, set out as a note under section 8103 of this title.

§8122 Time for making claim