An Act To Extend the Notice of Injury Period in the Maine Workers' Compensation Act of 1992

Sec. 1. 39-A MRSA §301,  as amended by PL 2011, c. 647, §16, is further amended to read:

§ 301. Notice of injury

For claims for which the date of injury is prior to January 1, 2013, proceedings for compensation under this Act, except as provided, may not be maintained unless a notice of the injury is given within 90 days after the date of injury. For claims for which the date of injury is on or after January 1, 2013 and prior to January 1, 2020, proceedings for compensation under this Act, except as provided, may not be maintained unless a notice of the injury is given within 30 days after the date of injury. For claims for which the date of injury is on or after January 1, 2020, proceedings for compensation under this Act, except as provided, may not be maintained unless a notice of the injury is given within 180 days after the date of injury. The notice must include the time, place, cause and nature of the injury, together with the name and address of the injured employee. The notice must be given by the injured employee or by a person in the employee's behalf, or, in the event of the employee's death, by the employee's legal representatives, or by a dependent or by a person in behalf of either.

The notice must be given to the employer, or to one employer if there are more employers than one; or, if the employer is a corporation, to any official of the corporation; or to any employee designated by the employer as one to whom reports of accidents to employees should be made. It may be given to the general superintendent or to the supervisor in charge of the particular work being done by the employee at the time of the injury. Notice may be given to any doctor, nurse or other emergency medical personnel employed by the employer for the treatment of employee injuries and on duty at the work site. If the employee is self-employed, notice must be given to the insurance carrier or to the insurance carrier's agent or agency with which the employer normally does business.

SUMMARY

Under current law governing workers' compensation, an employee must provide notice of injury to an employer within 30 days after the date of injury. This bill provides that, for claims for which the date of injury is on or after January 1, 2020, an employee must provide to the employer notice of the injury within 180 days after the date of injury.