If you were hurt on the job in Connecticut, workers' compensation is there to pay for your medical treatment and replace part of your lost wages while you recover. It is a no-fault system: you do not have to prove your employer did anything wrong, and benefits are paid even if the accident was your own fault. But the system runs on deadlines, and missing one can cost you the claim. Here is what to do, in plain English.
The deadlines, up front
Two dates matter more than anything else on this page:
Report the injury to your employer immediately. The law requires it (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-294b(a)), and the Workers' Compensation Commission's own guide to injured workers warns that delay in reporting increases the chance your claim will be disputed. But late reporting to your employer does not, by itself, destroy your claim. The statute says only that an Administrative Law Judge may reduce an award “proportionately to any prejudice” the employer suffered from the delay — and it puts the burden of proving that prejudice on the employer. If you reported late, report now and file anyway.
File a written notice of claim within one year of an accidental injury — or within three years from the first manifestation of a symptom of an occupational disease (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-294c(a)). This is the statute of limitations, and it is the one to protect. File it even if your employer already knows you were hurt.
Do not assume you are too late. Connecticut's statute contains a savings clause (§ 31-294c(c)): failure to file the notice of claim does not bar your case if, within the same one-year or three-year period, (1) there was a hearing, a written request for a hearing, or an assignment for a hearing, (2) a voluntary agreement was submitted, or (3) you were furnished medical or surgical care for that injury under § 31-294d. Connecticut courts have treated an insurer's payment of your medical bills within the one-year period as the furnishing of medical treatment. So a worker who never filed a Form 30C, but whose employer or its carrier paid for treatment of the injury inside the deadline, may still have a live claim. The same subsection adds that a defect or inaccuracy in your notice does not bar the case unless the employer shows it was ignorant of the facts and was prejudiced by the defect. If you think you are out of time, ask the WCC district office for a hearing rather than giving up.
And if a decision goes against you later: an appeal to the Compensation Review Board must be filed within 20 days of the award or decision.
What to do first
Tell your employer right away. Report it to a supervisor as soon as you can, and put it in writing if possible (an email or text is good proof of the report — but note that the formal notice of claim in step 3 has its own stricter service rules). Your employer should get you medical treatment and file a First Report of Injury with its insurance carrier and with the Commission.
Get prompt medical attention. If your employer sends you to a company medical facility, walk-in clinic, hospital, or designated physician for your initial treatment, you must accept that initial treatment. After that first visit, you generally get to choose your own doctor (details below).
File an official written notice of claim. The Commission's Form 30C is the standard way to do this, and it is available free from any WCC District Office or the Commission's Education Services. Filing it is what puts your claim on the record and protects the statute of limitations — and how you deliver it matters, so read the next point carefully.
Serve the Form 30C the way the form tells you to. The form itself says the notice must be served on the Administrative Law Judge and on the employer “by personal presentation or by registered or certified mail” (see also Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 31-294c(a), 31-321). Emailing or texting a 30C to your employer may not count as valid service, and bad service can also cost you the 28-day protection described below. Special rules: state employees must serve the employer by serving the notice on the Commissioner of Administrative Services; municipal employees must serve the town clerk of the municipality where they work; and if your employer has posted a statutory location for filing claim notices, file it there by certified mail. Keep a copy and keep proof of the date it was served.
Connecticut's workers' compensation agency
Connecticut's system is administered by the Workers' Compensation Commission (WCC). The Commission does not pay benefits itself — private insurance carriers and self-insured employers do. What the WCC does is administer the Workers' Compensation Act, approve voluntary agreements between workers and employers, hold hearings before Administrative Law Judges to resolve disputes, and issue findings and awards. Its official site is portal.ct.gov/wcc, and its Education Services line is toll-free in Connecticut at 1-800-223-WORK (9675). There are eight district offices around the state; the one for the town where you were injured is the one that handles your case.
Who is covered
Connecticut's law covers almost all employees — including minors, non-citizens, and part-time workers — regardless of occupation, the size of the business, how long you have worked there, or how many hours you work per day. There is no minimum employee count that lets a small employer off the hook.
The limits are narrow. Under the Act's definition of “employee” (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-275(9)(B)), the people left out include: someone doing service in or about a private dwelling who is not regularly employed there more than 26 hours per week; a worker whose employment is casual and is for something other than the employer's trade or business; a member of the employer's family living in the employer's house; and a corporate officer who elects in writing to be excluded. Sole proprietors and business partners are not automatically covered but may opt in.
“Independent contractor” is not on that list. Being labeled a contractor — paid on a 1099, called a subcontractor, told you are “not an employee” — does not by itself put you outside the system. Whether you are an employee is a legal question the Commission decides (largely by looking at who had the right to control the work), not something your employer settles by choosing a label. Misclassified workers are exactly the people who need to file a claim and let an Administrative Law Judge decide their status. If you are unsure, file and ask. And whatever your status, the Commission's guide is blunt about coverage: it cannot be signed away.
Coverage is not optional for Connecticut employers, and Connecticut is not a monopolistic state-fund state — employers buy coverage from private insurers or qualify to self-insure, rather than buying from a single state-run fund.
Filing the claim, and the 28-day rule
To preserve your right to benefits, a written notice of claim (Form 30C) must be filed within one year from the date of an accidental injury, or within three years from the first manifestation of a symptom for an occupational disease.
For an accident, the clock starts on the date of the injury. For an occupational disease, the trigger is about recognition, not the first ache. The statute defines “manifestation of a symptom” as manifestation to the employee “in a manner that is or should be recognized by him as symptomatic of the occupational disease for which compensation is claimed” (§ 31-294c(a)). Connecticut courts have held that a causal connection between the disease and the workplace is a prerequisite to the limitation period even starting, and that a stray abnormal reading or a symptom you had no reason to connect to a disease is not enough — ordinarily the clock runs from when a medical professional informs you of the diagnosis. So an old cough or an elevated reading years ago does not automatically mean you are barred. If your dates are murky, file and let the Commission sort it out.
Once your claim is filed, the employer or its insurer has 28 calendar days from receiving the written notice of claim to do one of two things: file official written notice that it is contesting the claim (a Form 43, stating the specific grounds), or start paying benefits “without prejudice” while it investigates.
If it does neither, the consequence is serious — in your favor. An employer that neither contests liability nor commences payment by the 28th day “shall be conclusively presumed to have accepted the compensability of the alleged injury or death” (§ 31-294c(b)). The way you cash that in is a Motion to Preclude, filed with your district office, asking the Administrative Law Judge to bar the employer from contesting the claim. It is the strongest tool an injured Connecticut worker has, and Connecticut courts have held there is no fixed time limit for filing one. Two conditions matter, and they are both reasons to use the actual Form 30C and serve it correctly: the notice of claim must have been properly served under § 31-321 (personal presentation or registered/certified mail), and it must contain the statutory warning to the employer about the 28-day preclusion — language the WCC's Form 30C already prints on its face. If the 28 days pass with no Form 43 and no payment, call your district office and ask about filing a Motion to Preclude.
If your claim is accepted, contact the insurance carrier if you have not received a benefit check within about two weeks of becoming disabled. To start payments, the carrier needs the First Report of Injury and a wage statement from your employer, a medical report confirming the injury is work-related and disabling, and your federal tax filing status.
Who picks your doctor
This is one of the most misunderstood parts of the Connecticut system:
Initial treatment: if your employer has a designated medical provider — a company facility, walk-in clinic, hospital, or specific physician — you must accept that initial treatment.
After that first visit: you have the right to select your own attending physician. Only Connecticut-licensed physicians may provide treatment in Connecticut workers' compensation cases.
The big exception: if your employer or its carrier has a medical care plan approved by the Chairman of the Workers' Compensation Commission, you must get your care from a provider inside that plan. Treating outside the plan without approval can lead an Administrative Law Judge to suspend your right to benefits — so ask your employer, in writing, whether an approved plan exists before you pick a doctor.
Any physician who examines or treats you must give you all medical reports about your injury free of charge. Medical bills go to the insurance carrier or self-insured employer — never to you. Prescriptions should be paid directly by the carrier, and mileage to and from necessary treatment is generally reimbursable.
Wage replacement benefits
If your injury keeps you out of work, you may receive Temporary Total Disability (TT) benefits — the "wage replacement" part of the system.
The rate: for injuries on or after July 1, 1993 (which covers current claims), weekly TT benefits equal 75% of your after-tax average weekly earnings — after federal and state taxes and FICA — based on the 52 weeks before the injury.
Waiting period: benefits begin on the fourth calendar day of disability from work. If your disability lasts seven or more calendar days, you are paid retroactively for all the days you were out. The day of the injury does not count as a day of disability — you should receive your full pay for the day the injury happened.
There is a cap. The weekly TT benefit may not exceed 100% of the State Average Weekly Wage — a figure the state recalculates every year. Because that dollar cap changes annually, do not rely on any figure you see on a website: check the WCC's current benefit rate table or call your district office.
If you are released to light duty and your employer has no such work, Temporary Partial benefits may be available while you look for suitable work. If you return to a lower-paying job because of the injury, wage differential benefits may be available.
Permanent disability, scarring, and rehabilitation
When your attending physician determines you have reached maximum medical improvement and finds a permanent loss, or loss of use, of a body part, the doctor issues a percentage disability rating — usually on a Form 42 or in a medical report. That rating ends other benefits and makes you eligible for weekly Permanent Partial Disability (PPD) benefits for a set number of weeks tied to the body part and the percentage of impairment. PPD is also subject to a statutory maximum that adjusts annually — ask the WCC for the current figure.
Additional awards may be available for significant permanent scarring or disfigurement, though for current injuries this is limited to scars on the face, head, or neck, or scars elsewhere that handicap you in getting or keeping work — and a scar award cannot be requested more than two years after the injury or the surgery that caused it. Call your district office to request a scar evaluation. If a permanent impairment keeps you from returning to your usual work, you may be entitled to vocational rehabilitation through the Commission's Rehabilitation Services.
If the carrier intends to stop or reduce your benefits, it must notify you by certified mail, usually on a Form 36. You have 15 days to contest it by calling your district office and asking for an emergency informal hearing — and if you do request one, payments must generally continue at least until the hearing.
If your claim is denied or disputed
If the employer or insurer disputes your claim, it must send you written notice of the denial and its reasons (or begin paying without prejudice) within that same 28-day window. From there:
Informal Hearing. Request one from the WCC District Office for the town where you were injured. You will need to show the injury or illness is work-related, using medical reports, witness statements, and other evidence. Most matters are resolved at this stage.
Formal Hearing. If the dispute does not resolve informally, it proceeds to a Formal Hearing before an Administrative Law Judge, who takes evidence and issues a Finding and Award (or Finding and Dismissal).
Compensation Review Board. Either side may appeal that decision to the Compensation Review Board — within 20 days of the award or decision (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-301). Missing that window can end your appeal, so if you disagree with a decision, act immediately rather than waiting.
Connecticut Appellate Court. The Review Board is not the end of the road. Any party aggrieved by a decision of the Compensation Review Board on a question of law may appeal to the Connecticut Appellate Court (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-301b) — whether or not the Board's decision is a “final” one. Appellate deadlines are short and are governed by the rules of appellate procedure, so ask about them the day a decision issues.
While a claim is being disputed, you can file for benefits under your group health insurance or disability plan; that coverage carries you until compensability is resolved.
Free help, retaliation, and lawyers
You do not need a lawyer for most straightforward, undisputed claims, and free help exists:
WCC Education Services, toll-free in Connecticut at 1-800-223-WORK (9675), and your local District Office both provide free information about your rights. (They cannot give legal advice or pay benefits.)
Retaliation is illegal. Employers may not discharge or discriminate against you for exercising your rights under the Workers' Compensation Act. A complaint can be filed with the Chairman of the Workers' Compensation Commission, and an Administrative Law Judge can order reinstatement, lost wages, and attorney's fees; you may also file a civil suit.
You always have the right to hire an attorney at your own expense. Attorney's fees are generally a percentage of your settlement, and any question about fees should be raised with the Administrative Law Judge at your district office, who reviews them. If an Administrative Law Judge believes counsel would help your case, they will tell you.
One more thing worth saying plainly: workers' compensation fraud is prosecuted in Connecticut, and it works both ways — report your injury honestly and completely, describe your symptoms accurately, and let the medical record do the work. An accurate claim is the strongest claim.
This article provides general legal information about Connecticut law, not legal advice for your specific situation. Deadlines and benefit rates can change — confirm anything you are relying on with the Workers' Compensation Commission or your district office.
Frequently asked questions
How long do I have to report a work injury and file a claim in Connecticut?
Report the injury to your employer immediately - the law requires it, and the Workers' Compensation Commission's guide warns that delay increases the chance your claim will be disputed. But late reporting does not end your claim: an Administrative Law Judge may only reduce an award in proportion to prejudice the employer proves it suffered (Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 31-294b(a)). Separately, you must file a written notice of claim (Form 30C) within one year of an accidental injury, or within three years from the first manifestation of a symptom of an occupational disease.
I never filed a Form 30C and the deadline has passed. Is my Connecticut claim dead?
Not necessarily. Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 31-294c(c) says failure to give notice of claim does not bar the proceedings if, within the one-year or three-year period, there was a hearing, a written request for a hearing, or an assignment for a hearing; or a voluntary agreement was submitted; or you were furnished medical or surgical care for that injury (Connecticut courts have treated an insurer's payment of your medical bills as furnishing medical treatment). The same subsection says a defect or inaccuracy in a notice does not bar the case unless the employer shows it was ignorant of the facts and was prejudiced. For an occupational disease, the three-year clock runs from a symptom you knew or should have recognized as symptomatic of that disease - ordinarily from a diagnosis you were told about - not from any stray early symptom. Ask your district office for a hearing rather than giving up.
Who chooses my doctor for a Connecticut workers' comp injury?
If your employer has a designated provider, you must accept that initial treatment. After the first visit you have the right to select your own attending physician, who must be licensed in Connecticut. The exception: if your employer has a medical care plan approved by the Chairman of the Workers' Compensation Commission, you must treat within that plan, and going outside it can put your benefits at risk.
How much does Connecticut workers' comp pay in wage benefits?
For injuries on or after July 1, 1993, temporary total disability benefits equal 75% of your after-tax average weekly earnings (after federal and state taxes and FICA) for the 52 weeks before the injury. Benefits start on the fourth calendar day of disability, and are paid retroactively to the first day if the disability lasts seven or more calendar days. There is a state maximum that is recalculated each year - check the Commission's current benefit rate table or call your district office rather than relying on a figure you find online.
What happens if my Connecticut workers' comp claim is denied - or ignored?
The employer or insurer must file written notice contesting the claim, stating its specific grounds (or start paying without prejudice), within 28 calendar days of receiving your written notice of claim. If it does neither, it is conclusively presumed to have accepted compensability (Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 31-294c(b)) - ask your district office about filing a Motion to Preclude, which asks the Administrative Law Judge to bar the employer from contesting the claim. That remedy depends on your notice having been properly served under Sec. 31-321 and carrying the statutory 28-day warning, which the WCC's Form 30C prints on its face. If you are denied, request an Informal Hearing at the WCC District Office for the town where you were injured. Unresolved disputes go to a Formal Hearing before an Administrative Law Judge; either side may appeal to the Compensation Review Board within 20 days, and a party aggrieved by the Board's decision on a question of law may appeal to the Connecticut Appellate Court (Sec. 31-301b).
Do I need a lawyer to file a Connecticut workers' comp claim?
Not for most undisputed claims. The WCC's Education Services line (1-800-223-WORK, toll-free in Connecticut) and your local district office provide free information about your rights, though not legal advice. You always have the right to hire an attorney at your own expense; attorney's fees are generally a percentage of a settlement, and questions about fees can be raised with the Administrative Law Judge at your district office.
This article is general legal information, not legal advice, and may not reflect the most current law or the law in your jurisdiction. Laws vary by state and change over time. For advice about your specific situation, consult a licensed attorney.
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