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The one-year deadline: Labor Code §5405

By the Work Injury Compass editorial team · Last updated November 2026 · How we write and check guides

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Two different things: the claim form and the Application

People mix these up all the time. The DWC-1 claim form goes to your employer and opens a claim with the insurer (see how to file a claim). The Application for Adjudication of Claim is filed with the WCAB, the workers' comp court, and opens a case there. Section 5405 is about starting "proceedings" at the WCAB. Filing the Application within the time limit is what protects you if the insurer denies the claim, stops paying, or simply never acts.

When the year starts, and what restarts it

Under Labor Code §5405, the year runs from the latest of:

• the date of injury;
• the end of any period covered by disability payments (temporary disability, and the other indemnity payments in that article of the Labor Code); or
• the last date the employer furnished medical treatment for the injury.

So if the insurer accepted your claim and paid benefits, the year usually doesn't begin until those benefits stop. Example: you were hurt in March 2025, the insurer paid TD until August 2025 and authorized physical therapy until December 2025. Your one year to file the Application generally runs from December 2025. If in doubt, file sooner. There's no benefit to waiting.

Cumulative trauma and occupational disease: Labor Code §5412

For injuries that build up over time, such as repetitive strain, hearing loss, lung disease or many back problems, the "date of injury" isn't the day symptoms started. It's the date you first suffered disability from it and knew, or reasonably should have known, that your work caused it (Labor Code §5412). "Disability" here generally means lost time from work or a need for medical treatment. Often the key moment is when a doctor first tells you the condition is work-related. See cumulative trauma claims.

When the deadline may not have run

Several rules can stop or delay the clock:

• The employer never told you your rights. Employers must post workers' comp notices and, once they know about an injury, give you a claim form and a notice of potential eligibility within one working day (Labor Code §5401). California courts have held that an employer's failure to give required notice can toll (pause) the one-year limit for a worker who didn't otherwise know their rights. Whether it applies depends on the facts.
• You asked DWC Information & Assistance for help. Submitting a matter to an I&A officer tolls any statute of limitations while it's under consideration and for 60 days after the officer's recommendation (Labor Code §5454).
• The employer has to raise it. The statute of limitations is a defense that the employer must raise before the case is submitted for decision. If it doesn't, the defense is waived, and the rule bars the remedy without extinguishing the right itself (Labor Code §5409).
• Benefits paid later. If the insurer furnishes benefits again, a new one-year period can run from the last date they were provided.

Don't rely on an exception if you don't have to. They're argued case by case, and the burden of proving them usually falls on you.

The five-year rule: new and further disability

Once you've filed a timely case or received benefits, Labor Code §5410 lets you go back to the WCAB within five years of the date of injury if the original injury causes new and further disability. Examples: your knee gets worse and needs surgery, or you need more time off. The WCAB keeps continuing jurisdiction during that period. This matters most with a Stipulated Award, which leaves future medical care open: a petition to reopen for increased disability generally has to be filed within five years of the injury date.

Other deadlines that are often confused with this one

• 30 days to tell your employer about the injury (Labor Code §5400); see how to report a work injury.
• 90 days for the insurer to decide after the claim form (Labor Code §5402); see the 90-day rule.
• Death claims: generally one year from death, never more than 240 weeks after the injury (Labor Code §5406); see death benefits.
• Serious and willful misconduct claims against the employer: 12 months from the date of injury, not extended by benefit payments (Labor Code §5407).
• Discrimination claims under §132a: see fired for filing.

How to file the Application

The Application for Adjudication is filed with the DWC district office where venue is proper. That's generally the county where you live, where the injury happened (or the last injurious exposure, for cumulative trauma), or, if you have a lawyer, where the lawyer's principal office is (Labor Code §5501.5). Unrepresented workers can get help filing from the Information & Assistance officer at any district office. Find yours on our WCAB offices page, and see DWC's guide to filing an Application. Once a case is open, its number (an "ADJ" number) appears on everything.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Every case is different. For free help from the state, call the DWC Information & Assistance unit at 1-800-736-7401.