Florida · workers' compensation
Florida workers' comp filing deadline
Talk to a workers' comp attorney in Florida.
Free, confidential consultation. Statute-of-limitations rules have many exceptions — a lawyer can confirm your specific deadline.
Recent change
ALERT: Statutory interpretation altered by 1st DCA en banc Estes ruling (2026-03-23). All pre-2026 commentary on §440.19 tolling/extension is now superseded.
Notice to employer
Employee shall give notice to employer within 30 days of injury or initial manifestation per §440.185(1)
Filing with the state
POST-2026 ESTES RULING: Petitions for benefits barred unless employee advised employer of injury and petition filed within 2 years after employee knew or should have known injury arose out of employment (§440.19(1)). The 2026-03-23 First DCA opinion in Estes v. Palm Beach County School District (en banc) clarified that §440.19(2)'s 1994 amendment created a SUSPENSION-based tolling regime: payment of indemnity benefits or furnishing remedial care SUSPENDS the 2-year clock, which restarts 1 year after the last benefit. This replaced the prior extension-based interpretation.
Compute your Florida deadline
Pick your state, your injury type, and the trigger date. We'll show notice + filing deadlines.
Exceptions and tolling
Statute-of-limitations rules have many exceptions that can extend or pause the clock. The most common in Florida:
Occupational disease — Discovery rule
Statute itself codifies discovery rule — clock runs from when employee knew or should have known the injury arose from employment.
Minor tolling
Pending
Mental / disability tolling
Pending
Death claim deadline
Survivors filing for death benefits typically have 2 years from date of death. This calculator does not yet handle death claims; consult a lawyer for those.
Leading case
Estes v. Palm Beach County School District
Fla. 1st DCA, March 23, 2026 (en banc); official reporter citation: Pending
Reinterprets §440.19(2) post-1994 amendment as suspension/tolling regime rather than extension regime; provision of benefits suspends the 2-year SOL, restarting 1 year after last benefit. Reverses JCC; petition filed 17 months after last benefit (within the 1-year suspension window plus restart) is timely.