Deadlines for filing a workers' compensation claim

The right to compensation under this chapter shall be barred unless a written claim therefor is made to the director of labor and industrial relations[:] (1) Within two years after the date at which the effects of the injury for which the employee is entitled to compensation have become manifest; and (2) Within five years after the date of the accident or occurrence which caused the injury. The foregoing limitations of time shall not apply to a claim for injury caused by compressed air or due to occupational exposure to, or contact with, arsenic, asbestos, benzol, beryllium, zirconium, cadmium, chrome, lead, fluorine, or other mineral or substance with carcinogenic properties, as incorporated in the Hawaii Occupational Safety and Health Standards, or to exposure to X-rays, radium, ionizing radiation, or radioactive substances, but such claim shall be barred unless it is made to the director, in writing, within two years after knowledge that the injury was proximately caused by, or resulted from the nature of, the employment. The claim may be made by the injured employee or the employee's dependents or by some other person on the employee's or their behalf. The claim shall state in ordinary language the time, place, nature, and cause of the injury. [L 1963, c 116, pt of §1; Supp, §97-91; HRS §386-82; am L 1979, c 114, §1; gen ch 1985] Revision