Workers' comp deadlines in Connecticut: tell your employer and file

Tell your employer in Connecticut

Counted from

The date of the injury

In writing?

The law does not require writing

If you are late

If you do not report the injury immediately, an administrative law judge may reduce your award in proportion to any harm the delay caused your employer; your employer has to prove that harm.

Source: prejudice

Illness that develops over time

For an occupational disease, report it as soon as you know of it; the written notice of claim is due within 3 years from the first manifestation of a symptom of the disease.

Report the injury to your employer, or someone representing your employer, immediately. The law does not set a number of days for this first report. Separately, you must file a written Notice of Claim within 1 year (see the claim deadline).

Source: Form 30C

Law: Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-294b(a)

Source: portal.ct.gov

File your claim in Connecticut

Time limit

1 year

Counted from

The date of the accident (for an occupational disease: 3 years from the first manifestation of a symptom)

What to file

Form 30C, Notice of Claim for Compensation, sent to your employer (or the claim address your employer posted) and to the WCC district office for the town where you were injured, by personal delivery or registered or certified mail (return receipt requested), or electronically to the WCC through its GovQA portal

Claim form

Notice of Claim for Compensation

Who files it

You fill out Form 30C and send it both to your employer (or to the claim address your employer has posted at work and with the WCC) and to the WCC district office for the town where you were injured. Get a signed and dated receipt or use registered or certified mail with a return receipt. Your employer files a First Report of Injury with its insurer and the WCC; after that, the WCC mails you a copy of Form 30C within 5 business days.

What your employer must do

Your employer must provide initial medical treatment as soon as it knows of the injury, and if it uses an approved provider list it must give you the list within 2 business days after you report the injury. It must pay you full wages for the day of the injury. It must report injuries that cause you to miss a day or more of work to the Workers' Compensation Commission, send the WCC any notice of claim you served within one week, and forward your claim to its insurer.

When the insurer decides

After receiving your Form 30C, the employer or insurer has 28 days to either start paying or file a Form 43 notice contesting the claim (and send you a copy). If it does neither, the injury is conclusively presumed to be covered. If it starts paying within the 28 days, it has up to 1 year to contest. Payments not started within 35 days after the notice of claim are presumed unduly delayed unless the claim was contested, and a judge can add interest and attorney fees.

Illness that develops over time

File the notice of claim within 3 years from the first manifestation of a symptom of the occupational disease. If the worker dies within 2 years of the accident or first symptom, dependents may file within that 2-year period or within 1 year after the death, whichever is later.

You must file a written notice of claim within 1 year from the date of the accident. Form 30C is the official form. Your employer's First Report of Injury or accident report does not count as your claim. Send the 30C to your employer and to the WCC district office that covers the town where you were injured (not where you live), and keep proof of the date. If you miss the deadline, the claim may still go forward if within the same period there was a hearing or written request for a hearing, a voluntary agreement, or your employer provided medical care for the injury.

Law: Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-294c(a), (c)

Law: Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 31-294b(b), 31-294c(b), 31-294d(a), 31-295(b), 31-300, 31-316(a)

Source: portal.ct.gov

Waiting period and first payment in Connecticut

Waiting period

No compensation is paid unless the injury keeps you from earning full wages for more than 3 days. If the incapacity lasts more than 3 days but less than 7, payments start after the first 3 days. Your employer must pay full wages for the day of the injury, and that day does not count as a day of incapacity.

Paid back for the waiting days

If you are unable to work for 7 days, compensation is paid from the date of the injury.

First payment

If your claim is approved, the WCC says to expect your first check within two weeks of filing the claim with your employer; if you do not get one, call the insurance carrier. Payments not started within 35 days after the notice of claim are presumed unduly delayed (unless contested), and the judge can award 12% yearly interest and attorney fees. Benefits for total incapacity cannot be stopped or reduced without notice and the judge's written approval.

Source: Form 36

How often you are paid

Weekly

Law: Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 31-295(a), (b), 31-300

Source: portal.ct.gov

Deadline helper

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