§ 42-15-40 — Time for filing claim; filing by registered mail.

The right to compensation under this title is barred unless a claim is filed with the commission within two years after an accident, or if death resulted from the accident, within two years of the date of death. However, for occupational disease claims the two-year period does not begin to run until the employee concerned has been diagnosed definitively as having an occupational disease and has been notified of the diagnosis. For the death or injury of a member of the South Carolina National Guard, as provided for in Section 42-7-67, the time for filing a claim is two years after the accident or one year after the federal claim is finalized, whichever is later. The filing required by this section may be made by registered mail, and the service within the time periods set forth in this section constitutes timely filing. For a "repetitive trauma injury" as defined in Section 42-1-172, the right to compensation is barred unless a claim is filed with the commission within two years after the employee knew or should have known that his injury is compensable but no more than seven years after the last date of injurious exposure. This section applies regardless of whether the employee was aware that his repetitive trauma injury was the result of his employment.

Legislative History

HISTORY: 1962 Code SECTION 72-303; 1952 Code SECTION 72-303; 1942 Code SECTION 7035-27; 1936 (39) 1231; 1955 (49) 319; 1974 (58) 2265; 1978 Act No. 522 SECTION 6; 1979 Act No. 194 Part III SECTION 6; 1990 Act No. 612, Part II, SECTION 15C, eff June 13, 1990 (became law without the Governor's signature); 2007 Act No. 111, Pt I, SECTION 26, eff July 1, 2007, applicable to injuries that occur on or after that date.