What Is a Claim Petition in Minnesota Workers' Comp?
A Claim Petition turns a denied or unpaid Minnesota comp claim into a case at the Office of Administrative Hearings. What it asks for and what to attach.
A Claim Petition is how a Minnesota workers' compensation fight becomes a contested case at the Office of Administrative Hearings. When the insurer denies that the injury is work-related, or never starts a benefit you claim, the petition is filed under Minn. Stat. § 176.271 and § 176.291.
It is not the same paper as a NOID. A NOID stops checks on a claim the insurer already accepted. A Claim Petition is for the claim that was denied or never paid.
What the petition has to say
The form names the employer, the insurer, the date of injury, and how you were hurt. It also lists every benefit you want the judge to decide:
- wage loss (TTD or TPD),
- medical treatment and mileage,
- permanency (PPD),
- rehabilitation,
- penalties or interest, if those are in play.
A medical report that ties the condition to work should go with it. A petition with no medical support is how cases stall.
What happens after it is filed
The insurer answers. The file is assigned to a compensation judge. Most cases then move through discovery, a settlement conference, and often mediation before anyone tries the claim. Intervenors (health plans, hospitals) can join if they paid bills.
Deadlines still matter. The deadline calculator will count notice and filing dates. Reporting the injury to the employer is a different clock: 180 days under § 176.141.
When you do not need one yet
If the claim is admitted and the fight is a discontinuance, start with the NOID and the short .239 window. Filing a petition on the wrong problem wastes weeks.
If the claim is denied, read denied workers' comp claim in Minnesota and decide whether you are ready to put every benefit in writing. Do I need a lawyer covers that fork. Or skip the fork and call me at (651) 283-8747. A denied claim is the situation where a lawyer earns the fee, and the petition is better written once than fixed later. Or skip the fork and call me at (651) 283-8747. A denied claim is the situation where a lawyer earns the fee, and the petition is better written once than fixed later.
Want Dan to look at this?
Call or text Dan Swenson, the Minnesota work comp attorney who wrote this guide. He will tell you whether the pattern here fits your claim and what the next step is. If there is nothing to do, you will hear that too.
You will reach Dan Swenson, Minnesota workers' comp attorney at Robert Wilson & Associates and the person who built this site. The call is free. The tools stay free either way.
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