Massachusetts Workers' Compensation Lawyer Blog
In 1999, a church custodian was injured falling off a ladder and later received a total knee replacement in 2003. By the summer of 2004, he was laid off and could no longer work. The custodian filed a workers’ compensation claim in December of that year, roughly five years after the original accident.
Massachusetts law provides a four-year window for filing workers’ compensation claims, though it’s recommended that workers file claims as soon as possible after their workplace injury. The custodian appealed, arguing that he was not actually “disabled” until several years after the original accident.
However, a Massachusetts Appeals Court ruled that he will not be allowed to collect benefits, because the statute of limitations had expired. A review of medical records also revealed that there was no documentation of a work-related injury.
Source: Massachusetts Court: No Workers’ Comp for Custodian’s 1999 Injury, ClaimsJournal.com, December 23, 2009
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