                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

LIMITATION UPON CLAIM; DISEASES COVERED BY LIMITATION (§ 65.2-406)

A. The right to compensation under this chapter shall be forever barred unless a
claim is filed with the Commission within one of the following time periods:

   1. For coal miners&#8217; pneumoconiosis, three years after a diagnosis of the
   disease, as category 1/0 or greater as classified under the current
   International Labour Office Classification of Radiographs of the
   Pneumoconiosis, is first communicated to the employee or the legal
   representative of his estate or within five years from the date of the last
   injurious exposure in employment, whichever first occurs;

   2. For byssinosis, two years after a diagnosis of the disease is first
   communicated to the employee or within seven years from the date of the last
   injurious exposure in employment, whichever first occurs;

   3. For asbestosis, two years after a diagnosis of the disease is first
   communicated to the employee;

   4. For symptomatic or asymptomatic infection with human immunodeficiency virus
   including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, two years after a positive test
   for infection with human immunodeficiency virus;

   5. For diseases directly attributable to the rescue and relief efforts at the
   Pentagon following the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001, two years after
   a diagnosis of the disease is first communicated to the employee;

   6. For cancers listed in subsection C of &#xA7; 65.2-402, two years after a
   diagnosis of the disease is first communicated to the employee or within 10
   years from the date of the last injurious exposure in employment, whichever
   first occurs; or

   7. For all other occupational diseases, two years after a diagnosis of the
   disease is first communicated to the employee or within five years from the
   date of the last injurious exposure in employment, whichever first occurs.

B. If death results from an occupational disease within any of such periods, the
right to compensation under this chapter shall be barred, unless a claim
therefor is filed with the Commission within three years after such death. The
limitations imposed by this section as amended shall be applicable to
occupational diseases contracted before and after July 1, 1962, and § 65.2-601
shall not apply to pneumoconiosis. The limitation on time of filing will cover
all occupational diseases except:

   1. Cataract of the eyes due to exposure to the heat and glare of molten glass
   or to radiant rays such as infrared;

   2. Epitheliomatous cancer or ulceration of the skin or of the corneal surface
   of the eye due to pitch, tar, soot, bitumen, anthracene, paraffin, mineral
   oil, or their compounds, products or residues;

   3. Radium disability or disability due to exposure to radioactive substances
   and X-rays;

   4. Ulceration due to chrome compound or to caustic chemical acids or alkalies
   and undulant fever caused by the industrial slaughtering and processing of
   livestock and handling of hides;

   5. Mesothelioma due to exposure to asbestos; and

   6. Angiosarcoma of the liver due to vinyl chloride exposure.

C. A claim for benefits pursuant to subdivision A 6 made as a result of the
diagnosis of a disease listed in subsection C of &#xA7; 65.2-402 shall be barred
if the employee is 65 years of age or older, regardless of the date of
diagnosis, communication, or last injurious exposure in employment.

D. When a claim is made for benefits for a change of condition in an
occupational disease, such as advance from one stage or category to another, a
claim for change in condition must be filed with the Commission within three
years from the date for which compensation was last paid for an earlier stage of
the disease, except that a claim for benefits for a change in condition in
asbestosis must be filed within two years from the date when diagnosis of the
advanced stage is first communicated to the employee and no claim for benefits
for an advanced stage of asbestosis shall be denied on the ground that there has
been no subsequent accident. For a first or an advanced stage of asbestosis or
mesothelioma, if the employee is still employed in the employment in which he
was injuriously exposed, the weekly compensation rate shall be based upon the
employee&#8217;s weekly wage as of the date of communication of the first or
advanced stage of the disease, as the case may be. If the employee is
unemployed, or employed in another employment, the weekly compensation rate
shall be based upon the average weekly wage of a person of the same or similar
grade and character in the same class of employment in which the employee was
injuriously exposed and preferably in the same locality or community on the date
of communication to the employee of the advanced stage of the disease or
mesothelioma. The weekly compensation rates herein provided shall be subject to
the same maximums and minimums as provided in &#xA7; 65.2-500.

HISTORY: Code 1950, § 65-49; 1952, c. 205; 1960, c. 297; 1962, c. 588; 1968, c.
660, § 65.1-52; 1970, c. 470; 1972, c. 612; 1974, c. 201; 1975, cc. 27, 471;
1979, cc. 80, 201; 1982, c. 82; 1983, c. 469; 1984, c. 411; 1985, c. 191; 1989,
c. 502; 1990, c. 417; 1991, c. 355; 1992, c. 475; 1995, c. 324; 2005, c. 433;
2011, c. 513; 2022, cc. 497, 498.