860 236-9350 / Text 860 977-0660
690 Flatbush Avenue, West Hartford, CT 06110-1308
Text 860 977-0660
860 236-9350 / Text 860 977-0660
690 Flatbush Avenue, West Hartford, CT 06110-1308
Text 860 977-0660
At the Serrano Law Firm, we know what it is like for you to have a work injury because we have over 30 years experience helping injured workers get the benefits they deserve under Connecticut Workers' Compensation law. We have handled cases for a variety of injuries, including back injuries, stress and heart claims, lung ailments, and hand, elbow and knee injuries.
We will use this experience and our skill and determination to get you the compensation you deserve, either in weekly payments or by settlement of your case. Contact us at 860 236-9350 for a free consultation with an attorney who will give you the legal information you need to understand your rights. If you cannot travel to our offices, we will travel to your home or hospital to see you.
If your work accident leaves you disabled and you qualify for Social Security Disabilty, your workers' compensation case can affect your right to receive your full disability benefits.
Although the workers' compensation system was meant to be simple and quick, the law and process has become complicated. Clients often come to us after becoming frustrated trying to represent themselves against their employer's insurance companies and their lawyers.
Under Connecticut Workers' Compensation law, an injury at work is handled differently than a personal injury case, such as a car accident.
Personal injury cases are handled in the court system. Workplace accidents are handled by the Connecticut Workers' Compensation Commission.
In a personal injury case, fault must be proven. In a workers' compensation case, fault does not matter (except if the injury was caused intentionally, by intoxication, or by horseplay).
If you slip on a puddle of olive oil while shopping and get injured, you must prove that the store employees acted carelessly by not cleaning up the oil, that they knew the oil was there or had enough time to know it was there, and that you were being careful but still slipped.
If you are a store employee and slip on the same patch of oil and get hurt, it does not matter whether you or your employer was careless. To have a workers' compensation case, you only need to show you were injured at work while doing something related to your employment.
In a personal injury case, you can get compensated for medical bills, lost wages, pain, suffering, surgery, permanent disability, and scars.
In a workers' compensation case, what you receive is limited by law. You cannot collect for pain and suffering. You can only receive part of your lost wages (about 75% of your after-tax income), payment for permanent disability based at set amounts, and for some scars.
In workers' compensation, the amount you receive for permanent disability depends on which part of your body is hurt and what percentage of disability the doctors say you have.
The Connecticut workers' compensation law has a list of the parts of the body that most commonly are hurt. Each of these parts is given a value in number of weeks. For example, the back is "worth" 374 weeks. If you suffer 10% permanent disability of the back, you will receive 37.4 weeks of payments.
If you do not settle a personal injury case, there will be a trial and the amount you receive depends on what a jury decides your entire case is worth.
In a workers' compensation case, you cannot have a trial for the entire value of your case. You can only have trials (called formal hearings) to get paid specific benefits. Workers' compensation cases can stay open forever. Neither you nor the insurance company is required to settle your workers' compensation case. You can only get the full value of your case if you and the insurance company enter into a "full and final stipulation" for a lump sum payment. A commissioner has to approve this settlement of your case.
If you are injured on the job, call us to put our experience and knowledge on your side. If you cannot come to our office, we will travel to your home or hospital room to answer your questions and give you the information you need to know your rights.
Most employers have workers' compensation insurance companies that handle accidents that happen at work. These companies are also large organizations that are often difficult to deal with. When you call them, you usually get a computer. You'll find yourself entering numbers and speaking to the computer trying to reach someone to talk to about your case. You get put on hold, you often have to leave messages, and you often have to wait a day or two, if not longer, before someone calls you back.
Like all businesses, these insurance companies exist to make a profit. The less they pay you for your job injury, the more profit they make. That's why they have adjustors and lawyers to handle their cases.
You know you've been hurt and that you have the right to be compensated for your work injury. The insurance companies and their lawyers know the law. They are not on your side. They may seem helpful but they are trying to pay you as little as possible. They are also trying to provide you with as little medical care as possible.
Focus on getting better and leave the battles to us. We've been doing this for 30 years. We know the law, we know your rights as an injured worker, and we know how to get you the benefits you deserve — all the benefits.
The payments you get for being hurt on the job depend on the stage you are in your recovery. If your job injury keeps you from being able to work, you will be paid for the days that you miss while you are recovering. These payments are known as temporary total disability benefits. If you can do lighter work than your regular job but earn less, you will be paid part of the difference. If your injury leaves you with permanent impairment of part of your body, you will be paid for that permanent impairment. You may also be able to get paid if your injury keeps you from doing the job you did before and you earn less at another job. The medical bills related to your injury are also paid.
These are the benefits you get in a workers' compensation case:
Money paid weekly or bi-weekly to an injured employee who is unable to perform any type of work because of injury. The amount paid depends on your tax filing status (single, joint, head of household) and the number of dependents you claim on your taxes. You have the right to receive Temporary Total Disability Benefits for as long as the doctor authorized to treat you for your workers' compensation injury says you cannot do any type of work.
Money paid for permanently losing some of the function of part of the body. The amount paid depends on the part of the body affected and the amount of disability. Connecticut's workers' compensation law has a list of the parts of the body that most commonly are hurt. Each of these parts is given a value in number of weeks. (Example: Your doctor says you have lost 10% of your right shoulder function. You are right-handed. The law says the master arm is worth 208 weeks. You will get 20.8 weeks of checks.) You will start to get these benefits as of the date your doctor says you have maximum medical improvement, usually 10 to 12 months after an accident or surgery.
Your employer's workers' compensation insurance company pays all medical, hospital, physician, surgical and prescription bills for all authorized treatment related to your work injury. "Authorized" treatment generally means emergency care, such as ambulance or hospital emergency room treatment immediately after your accident; treatment by the doctor that you are sent to for your injuries; x-rays, CT Scans, MRI studies, and laboratory tests requested by your authorized doctor; and treatment by specialists that you are referred to by your authorized doctor. The commissioner resolves arguments over whether treatment is necessary and related to your injury. Treatment deemed just palliative (designed to make you feel better but not to improve your condition) is not covered.
Money paid weekly or bi-weekly to an employee who is not able to do his or her regular work but can do easier work for less pay. Formally known as Temporary Partial Disability Benefits. The amount paid is 75% of the difference between what you would be earning at your regular job and what you are able to earn now. These payments will stop once your doctor says you can return to regular work. If your company does not have an easier job for you, you may have to look for work each week and send the insurance company proof of your work searches to keep getting paid these benefits.
Money paid weekly or bi-weekly to an employee who is fully recovered and cannot do his or her regular work but is doing some type of easier work for less pay. These benefits are paid after Permanent Partial Disability benefits run out. These benefits are discretionary - they are only paid if the workers compensation commissioner feels they should be paid. These Reduced Work Capacity benefits are called § 308a benefits because of the law that makes them available. If paid, § 308a benefits are usually paid only for the same number of weeks as were paid for permanent partial disability.
Unless you have closed your case through a final settlement, you will be paid for any increase in your permanent disability rating. For example, if you previously received 20.8 weeks of payments for 10% permanent disability of your right shoulder and your doctor says that your shoulder disability has increased by 5%, then you will be paid an additional 10.4 weeks by the insurance company responsible for the original case. However, if the increase in disability is caused by a new injury, then you will not be paid as part of your first case. If the new injury happened at work, then you will be paid the additional 10.4 weeks as part case for the new injury.
How much is my workers' compensation case worth? Each case is different.
The following factors would affect the value of your work injury case:
Si ha sido lesionado en el trabajo, llámenos para hablar con un abogado que hable su idioma. No hay costo a menos que obtengamos dinero para usted.
Se você foi ferido no trabalho, ligue-nos para falar com um advogado que fala a sua língua. Não há custo a menos que obtenhamos dinheiro para você.
The following example shows what can happen if have an accident at work and can sue someone else for causing the accident.
(You cannot sue your boss or a co-worker for the accident unless it was a car accident or they hurt you on purpose.)
Liz is a visiting nurse. While leaving a patient's apartment, she slips on an icy walkway, falls and fractures her ankle. She is out of work for eight weeks while recovering from her slip and fall accident.
Liz's Cases: Workers Compensation and Personal InjuryLiz has a Connecticut workers compensation case. She will be paid while she is out of work and for any permanent disability. Her doctor's bills will also be paid.
Liz’s lawyer tells her she can also file a personal injury claim against the owners of the apartment building. Her lawyer also tells her that if she gets money from the personal injury case, she will have to pay back the workers' compensation insurance company what they have paid her and her doctors on her claim plus what they are likely to pay in the future.
Liz’s lawyer has recommended that she settle her personal injury case against the owners of the apartment building and she agrees.
Liz’s lawyer tries to work out a deal with the workers compensation insurance company about how much Liz will have to pay them from her personal injury case. If a deal cannot be worked out, the workers compensation commissioner will decide how much should be paid from Liz's personal injury claim to the workers compensation insurance company by calculating what Liz's doctors bills and payments for lost work and permanent disability have been and will be in the future.
At trial, the jury decides that the building’s owners are not responsible for her fall. Liz will not get any money for her personal injury claim. She will not have to pay back the workers compensation company anything. She will not owe any lawyers fees for her personal injury case.
Liz and her lawyer win her personal injury claim against the building's owners in court. Her lawyer tries to work out a deal with the workers compensation insurance company about how much they will be paid. If they cannot agree, then the court will decide.
