New Mexico Workers' Compensation: Deadlines, Benefits and How to File

Employers with three or more workers must carry workers' compensation coverage. Employers engaged in work that requires a license under the Construction Industries Licensing Act must carry coverage regardless of the number of employees (a construction sole proprietor may exempt himself or herself). Paid family members count as employees, and corporate or LLC officers who own 10% or more ('executive employees') are counted toward the three-employee threshold even if they choose to be excluded from coverage. Agricultural employers with three or more employees must also carry coverage, because the New Mexico Supreme Court ruled in 2016 that the farm and ranch labor exclusion was unconstitutional. Employers that fail to comply can face penalties of up to $1,000 per day and a court order stopping operations.

In general, the worker must give the employer or supervisor written notice within 15 days after the worker knew the injury was connected to the job accident. If the injury or another cause beyond the worker's control prevents it, the period may be extended up to 60 days. Written notice is not required if the employer already has actual knowledge of the injury (for example, a supervisor witnessed the accident). Employers must post the WCA poster and make the standard Notice of Accident form available.

A worker must file a claim (complaint) with the WCA within one year after the worker knew or should have known of the work-related injury, or within one year after the employer or insurer refuses or fails to pay compensation. Claims for death benefits on behalf of dependents must be filed within one year of the worker's death. The deadline may be extended if the employer or insurer led the worker to believe compensation would be paid.

Temporary total disability benefits begin on the 8th day the worker is unable to work (the days need not be consecutive). The first 7 days are not paid unless the worker is off work for more than 4 weeks.

Temporary total disability benefits are up to 66 2/3% of the worker's average weekly wage, subject to the state maximum and minimum. They stop when the worker reaches maximum medical improvement, when the employer offers work at the pre-injury wage, or when the worker accepts other employment at the pre-injury wage.

For injuries in 2026 (January 2026 table), the maximum weekly benefit is $1,146.66 (100% of the state average weekly wage) and the minimum is $36.00. The table lists a total maximum of $573,275 for 500 weeks and $802,585 for 700 weeks.

The employer may choose the initial treating doctor or let the worker choose, and should tell the worker its decision promptly. Whoever did not make the first choice has an automatic right to switch to a doctor of its own choosing after 60 days of treatment, by sending the other side a 'Notice of Change of Healthcare Provider' form. Any later change requires agreement of both parties or an order from a workers' compensation judge.

After maximum medical improvement, a worker with a permanent impairment (rated by a health care provider under the AMA Guides) may receive permanent partial disability benefits. Scheduled injuries to specific body parts are paid for a set number of weeks listed in the statute (for example, 115 weeks for a foot at the ankle, up to 200 weeks for an arm). Whole-body injuries are generally paid up to 500 weeks minus weeks of temporary total disability, or up to 700 weeks if the disability rating is 80% or more; the amount depends on the impairment rating and whether the worker returns to work at the pre-injury wage. Permanent total disability, which applies to a brain injury or the loss or loss of use of two hands, arms, feet, legs or eyes (or any two of them), pays lifetime benefits at the compensation rate.

If a worker dies as a result of a workplace accident, benefits are paid to dependents up to the full compensation rate, depending on their relationship to the worker and the number of eligible dependents, up to what the worker would have received in temporary total disability for 700 weeks. The law covers workers who die within up to two years after the injury. Funeral expenses are paid separately, up to $7,500.

After reporting the injury to the employer, the employer must notify its insurer within 72 hours, and the employer/insurer decides whether to accept the claim. In a dispute, the worker (or employer) files a workers' compensation complaint form with the WCA, along with summonses (and, for a worker, the required accompanying form) from the WCA complaint packet; there is no filing fee. A mediation conference is usually scheduled within about 4 weeks, and the mediator issues a recommended resolution that the parties have 30 days to accept or reject; if rejected, the case goes to a workers' compensation judge for trial. The WCA Ombudsman Bureau (1-866-967-5667) helps unrepresented workers and employers.

If a workers' compensation judge decides a case, either party may appeal within 30 days of notice of the judge's final order. The appeal goes first to the New Mexico Court of Appeals, which reviews the record for legal error and whether the evidence supports the decision; it is not a new trial.

It is illegal for an employer to retaliate against a worker for filing or trying to file a workers' compensation claim, such as by firing the worker or creating a hostile work environment. If a judge finds retaliation, the employer may be required to rehire the worker and may face other penalties. An employer may replace a worker who cannot perform the job because of the injury, but once the worker reaches maximum medical improvement and is released to work, the employer may be required to offer to rehire the worker if it is hiring, the worker asks, and a suitable job is available.

Temporary disability benefits last until the worker reaches maximum medical improvement (MMI) or returns to work at the pre-injury wage, and the maximum time a worker could receive temporary benefits is capped at 700 weeks. Permanent partial disability for whole-body injuries is typically paid for up to 500 weeks minus any weeks of temporary total disability; a worker with a disability rating of 80% or higher may receive benefits for up to 700 weeks. Scheduled injuries to listed body parts are paid for a set number of weeks depending on the body part (for example, 115 weeks for a foot at the ankle). Permanent total disability, which applies to a brain injury or the permanent total loss or loss of use of both hands, arms, feet, legs or eyes (or any two of them), provides lifetime benefits.

New Mexico law favors periodic benefit payments, and lump-sum payments and settlements happen only when all parties agree; any payment agreement must be approved by a workers' compensation judge. In a lump-sum settlement, the worker, employer and insurer may resolve all or part of past, present and future compensation benefits, medical benefits or both, and the worker releases the employer from further liability within the scope of the settlement. The proposed settlement is presented to a workers' compensation judge at a hearing and is approved if the worker and employer agree, the worker fully understands its terms and consequences, and it is fair and provides substantial justice to both sides. Other judge-approved options include a return-to-work lump sum (after at least six months back at work earning at least 80% of the pre-injury average weekly wage; medical benefits are not affected), a partial lump sum to pay genuine debts after MMI, and quarterly installments when weekly benefits are under $50. A Petition for Lump-Sum must be filed with the WCA Clerk of the Court for all lump-sum requests.

New Mexico workers' compensation is overseen by the Workers' Compensation Administration (WCA). Give your employer or supervisor written notice within 15 days of connecting your injury to the accident (extendable up to 60 days in some cases); your employer must report the accident to its workers' compensation insurer within 72 hours after you notify it. The WCA's Ombudsman Bureau helps workers and employers who do not have attorneys, including help filing forms, free of charge; ombudsmen are not attorneys and cannot give legal advice. WCA forms and e-services are on its website. Toll-free helpline: (866) 967-5667; in-state toll-free (800) 255-7965; main (505) 841-6000, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday; 2410 Centre Ave SE, Albuquerque, NM 87106. The WCA does not charge fees to receive benefits.

New Mexico caps attorney fees for a worker's lawyer's work before the Workers' Compensation Administration per injury under NMSA 1978, Section 52-1-54(I); the section was amended in 2025. In 2025 the New Mexico Supreme Court (Pena v. State) upheld the cap for work before the WCA but held it unconstitutional as applied to fees for work on appeal to the courts. Under the statute, fees are generally shared between the worker and the employer, with fee-shifting to the employer possible under the offer-of-judgment rules in Section 52-1-54(F). An attorney charges a fee only if a benefit is obtained and does not charge an upfront fee. Free help for unrepresented workers is available from the WCA Ombudsman Bureau at 1-866-967-5667.

Generally no. When an employer is subject to the Workers' Compensation Act and has complied with it, including insurance, both employer and worker surrender all other causes of action for the worker's injury or death, and no suit outside the Act may be brought against the employer or its insurer; complying employers and their employees, including managers and supervisors, are not subject to any other liability. The exclusive remedy applies only when the employer has complied with the insurance requirements; in a negligence suit against an employer, the employer cannot use the defenses of assumption of risk, a co-worker's negligence, or the worker's own non-willful negligence.

Yes. The Act does not affect a worker's right to recover damages from someone other than the employer or a co-employee, but the worker cannot both recover those damages and keep compensation for the same injuries. Receiving compensation operates as an assignment to the employer or its insurer of the worker's claim against the third party, to the extent of compensation and benefits paid. The worker may keep uninsured motorist benefits only if the worker paid the premium for that coverage.

New Mexico's Uninsured Employers' Fund, run by the Workers' Compensation Administration, pays benefits to an injured worker whose employer failed to carry coverage, for injuries in New Mexico that would be compensable (workers who elected out of the Act are not eligible), and acts as payor of last resort. The fund is subrogated to the worker's rights against the employer, and the director or a judge must order the uninsured employer to reimburse the fund with interest, costs and attorney fees and pay a penalty of 15% to 50% of the total award. Because the exclusive-remedy protection applies only to employers that complied with the insurance requirements, an uninsured employer can also be sued in court, without the defenses of assumption of risk, co-worker negligence or the worker's non-willful negligence.

If the employer or insurer fails or refuses to pay compensation due, the worker must file a claim with the Workers' Compensation Administration no later than one year after that failure or refusal (tolled up to one year while still employed by the same employer), and not sooner than 31 days after the injury. The director attempts informal resolution and issues a recommendation within 60 days; each party has 30 days to accept or reject it, and a timely rejection sends the claim to a workers' compensation judge. Any party may appeal the judge's final order by filing a notice of appeal with the New Mexico Court of Appeals within 30 days of mailing of the order.