Tennessee § 50-6-203 - Limitation of time, claims and actions.

§ 50-6-203. Limitation of time, claims and actions.

No request for a hearing by a workers' compensation judge under this chapter shall be filed with the court of workers' compensation claims, other than a request for settlement approval, until a workers' compensation mediator has issued a dispute certification notice certifying issues in dispute for hearing before a workers' compensation judge. In instances when the employer has not paid workers' compensation benefits to or on behalf of the employee, the right to compensation under this chapter shall be forever barred, unless the notice required by § 50-6-201 is given to the employer and a petition for benefit determination is filed with the bureau on a form prescribed by the administrator within one (1) year after the accident resulting in injury. In instances when the employer has voluntarily paid workers' compensation benefits, within one (1) year following the accident resulting in injury, the right to compensation is forever barred, unless a petition for benefit determination is filed with the bureau on a form prescribed by the administrator within one (1) year from the latter of the date of the last authorized treatment or the time the employer ceased to make payments of compensation to or on behalf of the employee. For purposes of this section, the issuing date of the last payment of compensation by the employer, not the date of its receipt, shall constitute the time the employer ceased making payments and an employer or its insurer shall provide the date on request. In case of physical or mental incapacity, other than minority, of the injured person or the injured person's dependents to perform or cause to be performed any action required within the time specified in this section, then the period of limitation in the case shall be extended for one (1) year from the date when the incapacity ceases. Unless a claim for death benefits is settled or voluntarily paid, the dependent or dependents of a deceased employee shall file a petition for benefit determination on a form prescribed by the administrator within one (1) year after the date of the employee's death. In the event the deceased employee was a native of a foreign country and leaves no known dependent or dependents within the United States, it shall be the duty of the administrator to give written notice forthwith of the death to the duly accredited consular officer of the country of which the beneficiaries are citizens. If the employee fails to appear and participate in alternative dispute resolution as scheduled by the bureau, a workers' compensation judge shall have the authority to dismiss the employee's claim by sending a copy of the order of dismissal by certified mail with return receipt requested to the employee's last known address. The order of dismissal for failure to participate in alternative dispute resolution shall become final and the claim shall be forever barred, unless the employee contacts the bureau to schedule mediation and attends mediation within sixty (60) days after the date on which the workers' compensation judge enters the order of dismissal. If the employee complies with the requirements of this subsection (f) within the timeframe provided, the workers' compensation judge shall rescind the order dismissing the employee's claim for failure to participate in alternative dispute resolution. [Deleted by 2013 amendment, effective July 1, 2014.] [Deleted by 2013 amendment, effective July 1, 2014.] Proceedings to obtain a judgment in the case of the failure of the employer for thirty (30) days to pay any compensation due under any settlement or determination shall be filed within one (1) year after the default. In any case where an employer has paid permanent partial disability benefits to an employee in an attempt to settle a claim for workers' compensation benefits but the employee and employer have not entered into a settlement agreement that has been approved by a workers' compensation judge, the statute of limitations for filing a claim to recover workers' compensation benefits pursuant to this chapter shall be extended for two (2) years from the date the last payment of permanent partial disability benefits was made to the employee. Acts 1919, ch. 123, § 24; Shan. Supp., § 3608a173; Code 1932, § 6874; Acts 1947, ch. 139, § 4; C. Supp. 1950, § 6874; impl. am. Acts 1980, ch. 534, § 1; T.C.A. (orig. ed.), § 50-1003; Acts 1996, ch. 944, § 13; 1998, ch. 1024, §§ 1, 2; 1999, ch. 520, § 41; 2004, ch. 962, § 14; 2005, ch. 390, §§ 5, 6; 2008, ch. 1183, § 10; 2013, ch. 282, § 1; 2013, ch. 289, §§ 31-34; 2015, ch. 341, §§ 4, 15. Compiler's Notes. Acts 1996, ch. 944, which amended this section, is known and may be cited as the “Workers' Compensation Reform Act of 1996.” Acts 2004, ch. 962, § 42 provided that: The general assembly recognizes that significant cost savings will result from the implementation of this bill. It is in the best interest of the citizens of Tennessee that the cost savings be passed to the entities that have paid faithfully workers' compensation premiums in order to ensure the economic well-being of their employees. It is the intent and purpose of the general assembly that workers' compensation premiums be adjusted downward within fifteen (15) months of July 1, 2004 to reflect the cost savings resulting from the provisions of the act. If a workers' compensation policy is subject to renewal during the fifteen (15) month period, adjustments to the policy may be made at that time. It is the intent of the general assembly that the savings of the act shall routinely be reflected in future filings through the advisory prospective loss cost filing system, pursuant to §§ 56-5-106(b) and 50-6-402. Nothing in this section shall be construed as amending or affecting the procedures for filing and approval of rates set forth in title 56, chapter 5. Acts 2004, ch. 962, § 51 provided, in part, that § 14 shall apply to accidents or injuries occurring on or after January 1, 2005. Acts 2013, ch. 289, § 103 provided that the act, which amended this section, shall be known and may be cited as the “Workers' Compensation Reform Act of 2013.” Acts 2015, ch. 341, § 19 provided that section 4 of the act, which added subsection (j), shall apply to injuries occurring on or after May 4, 2015. Amendments. The 2013 amendment by ch. 282, effective July 1, 2014, substituted “administrator” for “commissioner” in (e)(2). The 2013 amendment by ch. 289, effective July 1, 2014, rewrote (a) and (b) which read: “(a)(1) No claim for compensation under this chapter shall be filed with a court having jurisdiction to hear workers' compensation matters, as provided in § 50-6-225 , until the parties have exhausted the benefit review conference process provided by the division of workers' compensation.“(2) Notwithstanding this section, if the parties have mutually agreed to a compromise and settlement of a claim for workers’ compensation, the parties shall not be required to exhaust the benefit review conference process before filing a claim and submitting the compromise and settlement to the appropriate court for approval pursuant to § 50-6-206(a) or to the commissioner or the commissioner’s designee pursuant to § 50-6-206(c) . If the settlement is not approved, the parties shall then exhaust the benefit review conference process.“(b)(1) In those instances where the employer has not paid workers' compensation benefits to or on behalf of the employee, the right to compensation under this chapter shall be forever barred, unless the notice required by § 50-6-202 is given to the employer and a benefit review conference is requested on a form prescribed by the commissioner and filed with the division within one (1) year after the accident resulting in injury.“(2) In those instances where the employer has paid workers’ compensation benefits, either voluntarily or as a result of an order to do so, within one (1) year following the accident resulting in injury, the right to compensation is forever barred, unless a form prescribed by the commissioner requesting a benefit review conference is filed with the division within one (1) year from the latter of the date of the last authorized treatment or the time the employer ceased to make payments of compensation to or on behalf of the employee.”; substituted “file a petition for benefit determination on a form prescribed by the administrator within one (1) year after the date of the employee’s death” for “request a benefit review conference within one (1) year of death of the employee” in (e)(1); rewrote (f) which read: “(f) If the employee fails to appear and participate in alternative dispute resolution as scheduled by the division, a workers' compensation judge shall have the authority to dismiss the employee’s claim by sending a copy of the order of dismissal by certified mail with return receipt requested to the employee’s last known address. The order of dismissal for failure to participate in alternative dispute resolution shall become final and the claim shall be forever barred, unless the employee contacts the division to schedule mediation and attends mediation within sixty (60) days after the date on which the workers’ compensation judge enters the order of dismissal. If the employee complies with the requirements of this subsection within the timeframe provided, the workers’ compensation judge shall rescind the order dismissing the employee's claim for failure to participate in alternative dispute resolution.”; and deleted (g) and (h) which read: “(g)(1) If the parties are not able to reach a compromise and settlement of all issues at the benefit review conference held pursuant to this section, the parties shall have ninety (90) days, after the date a written agreement or a written report regarding the conference is filed with the commissioner pursuant to § 50-6-240 , to file a complaint with a court of competent jurisdiction as provided in § 50-6-225 . The division of workers’ compensation shall maintain an official record of the date on which a written agreement or written report is filed with the commissioner and supply the information to the parties or the appropriate court upon request of either the parties or the court.“(2) Notwithstanding subdivision (g)(1), in no event shall an employee have less than the latter of:“(A) One (1) year from the date of the accident resulting in injury; or“(B) One (1) year from the latter of the date of the last authorized treatment or the time the employer ceased to make payments of compensation to or on behalf of the employee in which to file a complaint with a court of competent jurisdiction, as provided in § 50-6-225.“(h) In the event a workers’ compensation’s complaint is filed with a court of competent jurisdiction pursuant to this section by the employer or the employer’s agent and the employer or agent files notice of non-suit of the action, either party shall have ninety (90) days from the date of the order of dismissal to institute an action for recovery of benefits under this chapter.” The 2015 amendment substituted “bureau” for “division” throughout and added (j). Effective Dates. Acts 2013, ch. 282, § 10. July 1, 2014. Acts 2013, ch. 289, § 106. July 1, 2014; provided, that, for purposes of promulgating rules and regulations, making appointments and making necessary provisions for the implementation of the act, the act shall take effect April 29, 2013. Acts 2015, ch. 341, § 19. May 4, 2015. Workers' Compensation Appeals Board Decisions. The trial court erred in denying an employer's motion for partial summary judgment. Following a physical assault upon an employee in the workplace, the employer voluntarily provided medical care to the employee for shoulder and back injuries. More than one year after the date the employer made its last payment for medical treatment for the injuries, the employee filed a petition requesting medical care for a mental injury she alleged arose out of the same workplace assault. Regardless of when the employee became aware that particular injuries diagnosed subsequent to an assault were causally related to the assault, she knew she had an injury from the time of the assault. Moreover, she believed she was suffering from mental conditions due to the incident and requested care for such conditions soon after the assault. Her psychologist diagnosed her with posttraumatic stress disorder the same month in which the assault occurred. Therefore, the employee's statute of limitations was not tolled as to her alleged mental injury and her November 20, 2017 petition was untimely. Linsey v. Acadia Healthcare Company, 2019 TN Wrk Comp App Bd LEXIS 17. In a compensation appeal, the trial court concluded the employee's petition for benefits was untimely and granted the employer's motion for summary judgment. The employee appealed, arguing the trial court erred in concluding there were no genuine issues of material fact regarding the timeliness of the petition for benefits. The trial court's order granting summary judgment was affirmed. It was undisputed that the employee's last authorized medical appointment was October 8, 2015, the last voluntary payment was issued either November 12, 2015 or November 12, 2016, and no further benefits were paid until January 2018. Therefore, unless the employee's attempt to file a petition on November 2, 2016 tolled the statute of limitations, the eventual filing of her petition in January 2018 was untimely. However, the employee's attempt to submit a petition for filing by attaching it to an email addressed to a Bureau ombudsman did not constitute a “filing” and did not toll the applicable statute of limitations. Vickers v. Amazon, 2019 TN Wrk Comp App Bd LEXIS 52. An employee, a truck driver, alleged suffering work-related injuries to his wrists while working for the employer, a trucking company. The employee admitted giving notice of his alleged November 2016 work injuries in April 2017 and, further, admitted attending an unauthorized medical evaluation for his wrists in February 2017. His petition for benefits was filed in October 2018, which the employer claimed was more than one year after its last voluntary payment of benefits. The trial court properly granted the employer's motion for summary judgment and dismissed the case as untimely. Judy v. Covenant Transport, Inc., 2019 TN Wrk Comp App Bd LEXIS 74.