What to Do After a Shelton Workplace Injury

If you face a work injury in Shelton, you should do three things right away.

First, report your injury to your employer. Let them know what happened. Be sure to report all your workplace injuries, even the “little” ones. If you don’t report your injury, your employer may later claim that you were not actually injured on the job.

Second, get prompt medical care and treatment. This seems obvious, but in practice, many injured workers wait and work out their day’s shift before they seek treatment. Don’t wait. Get treated immediately after you report your injury. Your employer must pay you for a full day of work for the date of your injury.

Third, file an official workers’ compensation claim. Simply reporting it to your employer, or receiving medical treatment, is not enough. You must file your case with the Workers’ Compensation Commission. You must document your claim. Failure to do this means that you lose your eligibility for certain benefits. Neither the employer’s report of injury nor an accident report satisfies this requirement. You must use the official form.

How to File for Worker’s Compensation

That said, it is easy to file. You need to complete a written Form 30C. This form, which is formally entitled, “Notice of Claim for Compensation,” needs to be completed and filed with the Workers’ Compensation District Office for the location where the injury occurred. It also needs to be sent to your employer. You must file your official claim within one (1) year of the date of your injury. If you don’t file within the one-year deadline, you will lose your right to bring a claim. If injured in a workplace accident in Shelton, our workers’ compensation lawyers can assist you in filing your official 30C claim notice.

Many of our Shelton clients get confused over where to file their workers’ compensation claims. There is a very simple answer to this question: You must file your official workers’ compensation claim in the District Office for the location where you were injured. This might be different from where you live or even from where your employer’s facility is located. It’s the place where you were hurt that determines where you file.

For example, if a worker lives in Middletown and is dispatched from her usual place of employment in Waterbury to Bridgeport, and she is injured in a workplace accident in Bridgeport, she must file her workers’ compensation claim in the District Office in Bridgeport. She would not file in Waterbury (where her employer’s facility is located) or in Middletown (where she lives). Rather, she must file where she was hurt (Bridgeport).

Connecticut has eight District Offices, each of which represents several cities and towns within its geographical area. The District Offices are in Hartford, Norwich, New Haven, Bridgeport, Waterbury, New Britain, Stamford, and Middletown. You should file your claim in the correct District Office. Our attorneys can assist any worker injured in a workplace accident in Shelton in filing their official workers’ compensation claim.

What to Expect From a Claim

Once you file your workers’ compensation claim, the “typical” case, where the employer does not contest responsibility, usually flows in an organized manner. Here is a brief outline of the flow of a workers’ compensation claim:

1. Injured on the Job and Initial Medical Treatment. The employee is injured, reports the injury, receives initial medical care, and files an official workers’ compensation claim. The employee should follow all physician treatment recommendations. The injured employee should retain legal counsel to represent their interests. The treating physician must determine the employee’s present work capacity.
2. Continued Medical Care and Total Incapacity from Work. The employee selects an attending physician and follows treatment recommendations. Possible consultation with a specialist care provider and/or surgery, depending on the extent of the injury. The employer must pay Temporary Total Disability wage replacement benefits. The treating physician must provide appropriate medical care and continue to evaluate the employee’s work capacity.
3. Improvement and Light Duty Return to Work. The employee receives continued medical care, and injury conditions improve. The employee can return to work, at least in partial capacity. If no light duty work is available, the employee is eligible to receive Temporary Partial Disability wage replacement benefits.
4. Maximum Medical Improvement. The employee’s injured conditions resolve, or injuries reach a point of maximum improvement. The employee is eligible for compensation for permanent injuries based upon the treating physician’s evaluation. If the employee can’t return to work, they could be eligible for further discretionary benefits. They may resolve the claim through final settlement.

As you can see, even uncontested workers’ compensation claims can be complex. Our workers’ compensation attorneys stand ready to assist any workers injured in Shelton workplace accidents. We are here to help.