Work injury

Workmans comp in Nevada: your deadlines after a work injury

Workmans comp in Nevada runs on three clocks: tell your employer in writing within 7 days, file your claim within 90 days, and appeal a denial within 70 days. Miss the first two and you can lose your benefits (NRS 616C.015, 616C.020, 616C.025).

Hurt at work? Get medical care first. Then work through the steps below, in order.

What to do first

1. Write down what happened. Put the date, the place, what you were doing and who saw it on paper today. You must give your employer written notice of an injury that arose out of and in the course of your work, as soon as practicable and within 7 days after the accident (NRS 616C.015(1)).

2. Give your employer the notice form. The notice goes on a form the state Administrator prescribes. You or someone acting for you must sign it, and it is made in duplicate so you keep a copy. Your employer must keep a supply of the forms (NRS 616C.015(2), (4)).

3. Get the signature. Your employer, your supervisor or the person in charge of that work must sign the notice when they receive it. Their signature only proves they got it. It does not give up any of their defenses (NRS 616C.015(3)). Keep your copy.

4. File your claim with the insurer. If you got medical treatment for the injury, or missed work because of it, you or someone acting for you must file a claim for compensation with the insurer within 90 days after the accident, on the Administrator's form (NRS 616C.020(1), (3)). If your employer is insured by a private carrier, the employer does not file your notice with that carrier (NRS 616C.015(5)). The claim is your job.

Deadlines Nevada law sets

Situation	Deadline	Source
You were hurt at work	Written notice to your employer within 7 days after the accident	NRS 616C.015(1)
You got treatment or missed work	File a claim with the insurer within 90 days after the accident	NRS 616C.020(1)
A worker died from the injury	A dependent files the claim within 1 year after the death	NRS 616C.020(2)
The insurer was told of the accident	It must accept or deny the claim within 30 days	NRS 616C.065(1)
Your claim was denied, or the insurer ignored your written request for 30 days	Request a hearing within 70 days of the date the notice was mailed	NRS 616C.315(3)
You lost at the hearing officer level	File a notice of appeal with an appeals officer within 30 days after the decision	NRS 616C.345(1)

Checked on November 11, 2026 against the Nevada Revised Statutes, chapter 616C (Industrial Insurance: Benefits for Injuries or Death), revision stamped April 15, 2026. Some exceptions to these deadlines are written into the sections cited. Read them before you assume a deadline has passed.

What if you missed a deadline?

Do not give up. If you do not file the notice or the claim, Nevada law bars you from recovering compensation (NRS 616C.025(1)). But the insurer may excuse the failure when an injury or another cause beyond your control kept you from filing. It may also excuse it when you made a mistake about the facts or the law, when you were physically or mentally unable, or when fraud or deceit caused the delay (NRS 616C.025(2)). File anyway and explain why you are late.

The 70-day hearing deadline can also be stretched. It can be extended by 90 more days if you were diagnosed with a terminal illness, or learned that your spouse, parent or child died or was diagnosed with one. It is paused if the insurer never mailed its decision. It may be excused if you never received the decision and the hearing forms (NRS 616C.315(4), (5)). Tell the insurer if your address changes.

When the insurer answers

Accepted. The insurer must tell you and start paying the claim. Payment is not an admission of liability (NRS 616C.065(1), (3)).

Denied. Ask the insurer for the hearing request form. It must give you the forms without cost (NRS 616C.315(1)). Then file within 70 days. Your hearing is supposed to be run as quickly and informally as practical (NRS 616C.315(6)).

Delayed. If an insurer unreasonably delays or refuses to pay within 30 days, it can be ordered by the Administrator to pay three times the amount that was refused or delayed. That extra amount goes to you (NRS 616C.065(4)).

What the claim pays

Benefit	What the law says	Source
Medical care	You are entitled to accident benefits promptly, as reasonably required at the time of injury and within 6 months after. They can be extended	NRS 616C.245(1)
Lost wages while totally disabled	66 2/3 percent of your average monthly wage	NRS 616C.475(1)
First wage payment	Within 14 working days after the insurer gets the first certification of disability	NRS 616C.475(3)
Waiting period for wage pay	Wage pay is not paid unless you are out for 5 consecutive days, or 5 days within a 20-day period. If you reach that, pay counts from the date of injury. The wait does not apply to medical care	NRS 616C.400(1), (2)

Wage payments stop when a physician finds you able to do any gainful work you are suited for, or when your employer offers light-duty or modified work that fits your limits (NRS 616C.475(5)). Read subsection 5 of that section before you turn down a light-duty offer.

If your employer has no insurance

You may still be paid. An employee can receive compensation from the state's Uninsured Employers Claim Account if you were hired in Nevada or regularly work here, you were hurt in Nevada (or on a temporary assignment outside the state for 12 months or less), you file a claim with the Division, and you assign the Division your right to go after the responsible party (NRS 616C.220(2)). There are more conditions in that section.

Programs and help that apply

Your insurer's claim contact — the claim number and the adjuster's name are on the acceptance or denial letter. Write them on your notice copy.

211 — if you need food, rent or utility help while your wage checks are late or short.

Good to know

Keep one folder: your signed notice, the claim form, every letter from the insurer with its envelope, and every doctor's note. The mailing date on a denial letter starts your 70 days. Write that date on the front of the folder the day it arrives.

This page explains the statutes. It is not legal advice. For your own claim, check with the Nevada Division of Industrial Relations, or a lawyer. Call 211 if you need help.