§ 65-05-01 — Claims for benefits - When and where filed

All original claims for benefits must be filed by the injured employee, or someone on the
injured employee's behalf, within one year after the injury or within two years after the death.
The date of injury for purposes of this section is the first date that a reasonable person knew or
should have known that the employee suffered a work-related injury and has either lost wages
because of a resulting disability or received medical treatment. Notwithstanding a statute of
limitations assertion, the claimant bears the burden of proving any entitlement to benefits. If the
organization is estopped from applying the statute of limitations in this section because an
employer's willful conduct prevented an injured employee from filing a claim in a timely manner,
that employer shall reimburse the organization for the full amount of all benefits paid during the
first five years of that claim. Benefits may not be allowed under this title to any person, except
as provided in section 65-05-04, unless that person, or someone on that person's behalf, files a
written claim for benefits within the time specified in this section. A claim must be filed by:
1. Delivering it at the office of the organization or to any person the organization
designates by rule; or
2. Depositing it in the mail properly stamped and addressed to the organization or to any
person the organization designates by rule.