2025 Session Last amended: 2025 session

§ 176.151 — Time Limitations

Plain-Language Summary

This section sets the deadlines for bringing workers' compensation claims in Minnesota. An injured employee generally must act within three years after a written report of the injury is made to the commissioner of the Department of Labor and Industry, and in no event more than six years from the date of the accident. Dependents seeking death benefits have a parallel three-year period running from the commissioner's receipt of written notice of death, subject to a six-year outer limit. If the injured person or a dependent is physically or mentally incapacitated, the deadline is extended for three years after the incapacity ends. For injuries from radiation (x-rays, radium, radioactive substances, ionizing radiation) or other occupational disease, the usual limits do not apply: the employee must give notice and start an action within three years after learning the cause of the injury, once it has resulted in disability.

176.151 TIME LIMITATIONS.

The time within which the following acts shall be performed shall be limited to the following periods, respectively:

(a) Actions or proceedings by an injured employee to determine or recover compensation, three years after a written report of the injury has been made to the commissioner of the Department of Labor and Industry, but not to exceed six years from the date of the accident.

(b) Actions or proceedings by dependents to determine or recover compensation, three years after the receipt by the commissioner of the Department of Labor and Industry of written notice of death, given by the employer, but not to exceed six years from the date of injury, provided, however, if the employee was paid compensation for the injury from which the death resulted, such actions or proceedings by dependents must be commenced within three years after the receipt by the commissioner of the Department of Labor and Industry of written notice of death, given by the employer, but not to exceed six years from the date of death. In any such case, if a dependent of the deceased, or any one in the dependent’s behalf, gives written notice of such death to the commissioner of the Department of Labor and Industry, the commissioner shall forthwith give written notice to the employer of the time and place of such death. In case the deceased was a native of a foreign country and leaves no known dependent within the United States, the commissioner of the Department of Labor and Industry shall give written notice of the death to the consul or other representative of the foreign country forthwith.

(c) In case of physical or mental incapacity, other than minority, of the injured person or dependents to perform or cause to be performed any act required within the time specified in this section, the period of limitation in any such case shall be extended for three years from the date when the incapacity ceases.

(d) In the case of injury caused by x-rays, radium, radioactive substances or machines, ionizing radiation, or any other occupational disease, the time limitations otherwise prescribed by Minnesota Statutes 1961, chapter 176, and acts amendatory thereof, shall not apply, but the employee shall give notice to the employer and commence an action within three years after the employee has knowledge of the cause of such injury and the injury has resulted in disability.

History:

1953 c 755 s 16; 1965 c 419 s 1; Ex1967 c 40 s 14; 1973 c 388 s 39; 1973 c 643 s 10; 1975 c 359 s 17; 1986 c 444; 2025 c 27 art 1 s 5

History: History: 1953 c 755 s 16; 1965 c 419 s 1; Ex1967 c 40 s 14; 1973 c 388 s 39; 1973 c 643 s 10; 1975 c 359 s 17; 1986 c 444; 2025 c 27 art 1 s 5

Practical Notes

If you are hurt at work, do not assume you have unlimited time to file. For a typical injury, the clock generally runs from when a written report of the injury reaches the state, and there is a hard outer cutoff of six years from the date of the accident, so the safest course is to report promptly and act well before either limit. Dependents pursuing death benefits face a similar three-year window with a six-year ceiling. For occupational diseases or radiation-related harm, the three-year deadline starts when you learn the harm is work-related and it has caused disability. If you were unable to act because of a physical or mental incapacity, an extension may apply. Because these rules turn on specific dates and triggers, consult the current statute or an attorney before relying on any single deadline.

Source: Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes