N.Y. Volunteer Firefighters’ Benefit Law § 41

§ 41. Claim for benefits. The right to claim benefits under this\nchapter shall be barred, except as hereinafter provided, unless within\ntwo years after the injury, or, if death results therefrom, within two\nyears after such death, a claim for the benefits under this chapter\nshall be filed with the chairman of the workmen's compensation board and\na copy of such claim shall be filed with the same officer to whom a\nnotice of injury must be given under section forty of this chapter. The\nright of a volunteer fireman or his dependents to claim benefits under\nthis chapter for disablement or death, as the case may be, caused by\ndisease shall not be barred by the failure of the volunteer fireman or\nhis dependents to file a claim within either such period of two years,\nprovided such claim shall be filed after either such period of two years\nand within ninety days after disablement or ninety days after knowledge\nthat the disease is or was due to service as a volunteer fireman,\nwhichever is the later date. The claim shall be in substantially the\nsame form and shall give substantially the same information as is\nrequired to be given in a claim under the provisions of section\ntwenty-eight of the workmen's compensation law. Notwithstanding the\nprovisions of any other law, any such claim need not be sworn to,\nverified or acknowledged. No case in which an advance payment is made to\na volunteer fireman or to his dependents in case of death shall be\nbarred by the failure of the volunteer fireman or his dependents to file\na claim, and the workmen's compensation board may at any time order a\nhearing on any such case in the same manner as though a claim for\nbenefits had been filed.\n The date of injury caused by disease shall be the date of contracture\nof such disease as determined by the workmen's compensation board on the\nhearing of the claim and the responsibility of the political subdivision\nliable for the payment of benefits and its insurance carrier shall be\nfixed by the date of injury as so determined.\n