Filing a Workers' Comp Claim in Mississippi

Notify your supervisor or the person your employer designates immediately. By law, the employer (or an officer, manager or designated representative) must receive actual notice within 30 days after the injury. Lack of notice does not bar recovery if the employer knew of the injury and was not harmed by the failure to give notice.

If no compensation (other than medical treatment or burial expense) has been paid and no application for benefits has been filed with the Commission within two years from the date of injury or death, the right to compensation is barred. The two-year limit does not run for a minor or mentally incompetent person until a guardian or representative is appointed (or, for a minor without a guardian, until he or she comes of age).

Report the injury to your employer, which must report it to its insurer and/or the Commission. If you have a problem with your claim, first contact the employer or insurance representative; you can also call the Commission at 601-987-4200 and ask for a Claims Representative. To dispute a claim, a worker files a Petition to Controvert (Form B-5,11) with the Commission; a worker without an attorney mails it to the Commission, while attorneys file electronically. In claims where no benefits have been paid, the worker must file supporting medical records within 60 days. The claim is assigned to an Administrative Judge 23 days after the petition is filed.

A party seeking Commission review of an Administrative Judge's decision must file a written request or petition for review within 20 days of the decision; other parties may cross-appeal within 10 days after that. A party appealing a Commission order must file a notice of appeal with the Commission within 30 days of the order; the record is then sent to the Clerk of the Appellate Courts. These review and appeal deadlines may not be waived unless the law provides otherwise.

Mississippi workers' compensation claims are handled by the Mississippi Workers' Compensation Commission. The employer or its insurance carrier files the First Report of Injury (Form B-3) with the Commission. If benefits are disputed, the injured employee starts a contested claim by filing a Petition to Controvert (Form B-5) with the Commission (original and two copies); attorneys may file it electronically through the Commission's Attorney Transmittal Online System (ATOS). The Commission website has a First Report of Injury portal and a Proof of Coverage portal for checking whether a claim file exists and whether the employer had coverage.