Montana Code Annotated 2003

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     39-72-403. Time when claims must be presented. (1) When a claimant seeks benefits under this chapter, the claimant's claims for benefits must be presented in writing to the employer, the employer's insurer, or the department within 1 year from the date the claimant knew or should have known that the claimant's condition resulted from an occupational disease. When a beneficiary seeks benefits under this chapter, claims for death benefits must be presented in writing to the employer, the employer's insurer, or the department within 1 year from the date the beneficiaries knew or should have known that the decedent's death was related to an occupational disease.
     (2) The insurer may, upon a reasonable showing by the claimant or a decedent's beneficiaries that the claimant or the beneficiaries could not have known that the claimant's condition or the employee's death was related to an occupational disease, waive the claim time requirement up to an additional 2 years.
     (3) Any dispute regarding a claim filing time is considered a dispute that, after mediation pursuant to department rule, is subject to jurisdiction of the workers' compensation court.

     History: En. 92-1312.1 by Sec. 3, Ch. 208, L. 1977; R.C.M. 1947, 92-1312.1; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 112, L. 1985; amd. Sec. 64, Ch. 613, L. 1989; amd. Sec. 25, Ch. 243, L. 1995; amd. Sec. 21, Ch. 442, L. 1999.

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