Hartford Workers' Compensation Attorney

When you are injured on the job in Hartford or develop an illness due to workplace conditions, you may be entitled under Connecticut law to receive workers’ compensation benefits. These benefits can provide you with resources you need during your recovery, including coverage of medical treatment, partial wage replacement, vocational rehabilitation, and job placement.

If your employer shirks its responsibility to provide you with the workers’ compensation benefits you are entitled to, Kocian Law Group is ready to fight for your rights. Our attorneys believe that every worker deserves these benefits if they’ve been hurt.

Our lawyers and support staff are residents of the Hartford community. We are committed to helping our friends and neighbors get back on their feet after workplace accidents.

Call us to discuss your situation and how we can help you with your claim. The call is free and so is the consultation. Contact us today.

How to File a Workers’ Compensation Claim in Hartford

Although we advise you to notify your employer if you’ve suffered a work-related illness or injury, doing so is not the same as filing a workers’ compensation claim. Your employer will simply file a notice with their workers’ compensation insurer.

To pursue a formal workers’ compensation claim, you are required to file a 30C Form with the Connecticut Workers’ Compensation Commission. The form must be sent to both the Commission and your employer, or you may deliver it in person, in which case you should have your employer provide proof of receipt.

How Our Hartford Workers’ Compensation Lawyers Can Help You

If you’ve suffered an occupational illness or injury and your employer is not paying you workers’ compensation benefits, or paying only a portion of what you believe you’re entitled to, the Hartford workers’ compensation attorneys at Kocian Law Group can help you pursue the full amount of benefits you need and deserve.

Our attorneys can help you with filing your 30C Form to formally preserve your workers’ compensation claim under the law. Our attorneys can also contact your employer and its workers’ compensation insurer to try to resolve disputes over benefits.

If we must engage the Workers’ Compensation Commission to get you the benefits you need, our attorneys will be by your side throughout the entire claim process. We will collect your medical evidence and put together a persuasive case to demonstrate your legal entitlement to full benefits. We will represent you at informal hearings before a workers’ compensation commissioner and advocate on your behalf during formal hearing if necessary.

If a commissioner denies your claim, we are prepared to pursue the commission’s appeals process and, if necessary, take your claim to court. We can also help you preserve your right to benefits if your employer files a notice to reduce or terminate your benefits.

What Do Workers’ Compensation Benefits Cover?

Workers’ compensation can provide a worker who is injured or made ill on the job with various benefits, such as:

• Medical treatment coverage includes payment or reimbursement for medical treatment of a work-related injury or illness. Typically, an employer or its insurer can designate a facility for treatment, although the employee is always permitted to choose a physician at the designated facility.
• Temporary disability benefits that provide partial wage replacement while a worker is disabled from their regular job. They are calculated by several factors, such as the worker’s average wages and whether they are earning income from restricted or light-duty work.
• Permanent disability benefits include compensation for a worker who has suffered permanent loss or lost mobility of a body part based on the body part affected, the percentage of loss, and the worker’s base wages.
• Relapse or recurrence benefits that are paid when a worker has a relapse or recurrence of symptoms from a work-related illness or injury.
• Discretionary benefits that are additional benefits that may be granted in a workers’ compensation commissioner’s discretion when other benefits have been exhausted.
• Job retraining through vocational rehabilitation and job placement services that can be provided if a worker cannot return to their pre-injury or illness work.
• Death benefits provide wage replacement and funeral and burial expenses to the family of a worker who passes away due to a work-related illness or injury.

Deadlines for Workers’ Compensation Claims in Hartford

You should notify your employer as soon as possible if you have suffered a work-related illness. To preserve a formal claim for workers’ compensation benefits, you are required to file a 30C Form with the Workers’ Compensation commission within one year of the date of your injury, or within three years of the first manifestation of symptoms of an occupational illness. You must also provide your employer with a copy of the 30C Form.

Your employer has 28 days from its receipt of your form 30C to either accept responsibility to pay workers’ compensation benefits, deny responsibility, or make payment of workers’ compensation benefits without prejudice to its right to contest its responsibility within one year.

If your employer does nothing within the 28-day period, your claim is deemed accepted and your employer loses the right to contest its responsibility for workers’ compensation benefits.

What to Do If You’ve Been Hurt at Work in Hartford

If you’ve been hurt at work, you need to immediately inform your employer of your work-related injury. This will allow your employer to file the required notice of injury with their workers’ compensation insurer. In addition to notifying your employer, there are a few other steps you should take to protect your rights and put yourself in the best position to receive the workers’ compensation benefits you deserve.

If you are able, you should take photographs or video of the accident scene. Document whatever it was that caused your injury, along with any warning signs, lighting conditions, and weather conditions if applicable. You should also obtain the contact information for any eyewitnesses to your workplace accident as you may need them to provide a statement.

Get the medical treatment you need. You should follow all instructions you receive from your treating physicians.

Talk to Our Hartford Workers’ Compensation Attorneys Now

If you have been injured or made ill on the job and you are not receiving the benefits you’re entitled to by law, contact the Hartford workers’ compensation attorneys at Kocian Law Group today to schedule a free consultation. We can discuss your rights and options and form a plan of action for getting you the workers compensation benefits you deserve.