Michigan Workers Comp Statute of Limitations
The clock on a Michigan workers comp claim starts the day you're injured, not the day you get around to filing. Understanding exactly when it runs out matters more than almost anything else in the process.
Filing Deadline
2 years
From the date of injury. Some exceptions apply — see tolling rules below. Not legal advice.
Why This Deadline Exists
Filing deadlines exist to give employers and insurers a reasonable window to investigate a claim while evidence and memories are still fresh. Michigan balances that against giving injured workers enough time to understand the full extent of an injury before locking in a filing date.
When the Deadline Can Be Extended
Michigan, like most states, recognizes that not every injury announces itself immediately. Occupational diseases discovered well after the triggering exposure typically get a modified deadline tied to diagnosis rather than exposure date. Similar flexibility sometimes applies to minors or where an employer actively concealed a workplace injury. None of these exceptions are automatic — they require specific facts to invoke.
What Happens If You Miss It
Once Michigan's deadline has passed, reopening the claim is rarely possible through the normal process. A small number of narrow exceptions exist (see tolling rules above), but for most missed deadlines, the right to benefits for that injury is gone.
Michigan Workers Comp Rules
- Waiting period: 7 days
- Attorney contingency fee: 20% of first $100,000, then 15% on the remainder
- State agency: Michigan Workers' Disability Compensation Agency