What to Do After a Stratford Workplace Injury

When you are injured at work in Stratford, there are three things that you should do right away. Learn what they are on this page.

Take These Three Steps!

First, report your injury to your employer. Tell them what happened, even if it seems like a minor issue to you. If you don’t report your injury, your employer may later claim that you are making it up or that you weren’t injured at work.

Second, get prompt medical treatment. This seems obvious, but in practice, many injured workers wait to follow up with a doctor. Don’t wait. Get treated immediately after you report your injury. And don’t worry –  under the law, 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 even receiving medical treatment, is not enough. File your case with the Workers’ Compensation Commission. You must document your claim. Failure to do this means 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.

Our attorneys stand ready to assist an injured Stratford worker in filing their claim. You must complete a written Form 30C. You have to file this form 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 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. Don’t wait. File right away.

Where to File

Many of our Stratford 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. The place where you were hurt determines where you file.

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. File your claim in the correct District Office. Our attorneys can assist any worker injured in a workplace accident in Stratford in filing their official workers’ compensation claim.

For example, if Susan lives in Derby and is sent on a delivery from her usual place of employment in Waterbury to Stratford, and she is injured in Stratford while making the delivery, she must file her workers’ compensation claim in the 4th District Office in Bridgeport. She would not file in Waterbury (where her employer’s facility is located) or in Derby (where she lives). Rather, she must file where she was hurt (Stratford, which files at the 4th District Office located in Bridgeport).

A Timeline to Expect

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:

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.

Continued Medical Care and Total Incapacity from Work

The injured employee selects an attending physician and follows treatment recommendations. Possible consultation with a specialist care provider and/or surgery may be necessary. 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.

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 a partial capacity. If no light duty work is available, the employee is eligible to receive Temporary Partial Disability wage replacement benefits.

Maximum Medical Improvement

The employee’s injured conditions resolve, or injuries reach the point of maximum improvement. The employee is eligible for compensation for permanent injuries based upon the treating physician’s evaluation. If an employee is unable to return to work, they could be eligible for further discretionary benefits. The claim could be resolved 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 Stratford workplace accidents. We are here to help.