Hurt at Work in Connecticut? Workers' Comp May Be Just the Beginning.

Most people who get hurt on the job do the same thing: report the injury, file a workers' comp claim, and assume that's the process. Workers' comp pays the bills, replaces part of their wages, and closes out.

Except sometimes that's not the whole story — and workers who don't know can leave significant money on the table permanently.

The Bargain at the Heart of Workers' Compensation

Connecticut's 1913 Workers' Compensation Act established a trade-off that still governs today. Workers gave up the right to sue their employer in civil court. In exchange, they received guaranteed benefits — medical care, wage replacement, compensation for permanent injury — regardless of fault. No proving negligence. No jury.

That trade-off is largely a good one. But workers' comp does not pay for pain and suffering, and it replaces only a portion of wages. It was built for speed and certainty — not for making you fully whole.

The critical question after any workplace injury: is workers' comp your only remedy? Very often, it isn't.

The Trade-Off Only Applies to Your Employer

The bargain applies specifically and exclusively to your employer. If someone other than your employer contributed to your injury, Connecticut law does not require you to accept workers' comp as your only remedy.

This is called a third-party claim, written into Connecticut law under C.G.S. § 31-293.

When a workplace injury involves negligence by someone other than the employer, the injured worker may collect workers' compensation benefits and bring a separate civil action against that third party — including for pain and suffering and full lost wages.

Two claims. Two sources of recovery. Running at the same time.

Who Counts as a Third Party?

A third party is any person or entity — other than your employer or a coworker — whose negligence contributed to your injury. Common examples:

• A delivery driver struck by another motorist. The at-fault driver is a third party. A civil claim recovers what workers' comp won't.

• A construction worker injured by another company's crew. If someone from a different company causes your injury, their employer is a third party.

• A worker hurt by defective equipment. If a machine was defectively designed or manufactured, the maker may carry civil liability entirely separate from your workers' comp claim.

• A worker struck by a vehicle on the job. Another driver who hits you while you're working is a third party — regardless of the fact that you were on the clock.

• Workers' comp and a third-party civil claim are not competing options. They address separate legal obligations on separate tracks.

A Built-In Protection Worth Knowing

When you bring a third-party claim, your employer's workers' comp insurer has a right to be reimbursed from any recovery. That lien is real. But under C.G.S. § 31-293, if you bring the action yourself, the insurer's reimbursement is reduced by one-third — and that reduction goes directly to you.

Negotiating that lien is one of the most concrete ways legal representation adds value — not just winning the claim, but making sure the lien doesn't consume the recovery.

Do Not Wait — and Do Not Settle First

Third-party claims are subject to Connecticut's personal injury statute of limitations — generally two years from the date of injury — running independently of your workers' comp case.

Settling your workers' comp claim without accounting for a third-party claim can complicate or foreclose your ability to pursue one later. These decisions must be managed together from the start. The most important time to call an attorney is immediately — before anything is signed.

Ask Yourself These Questions

Does a third-party claim apply to your situation?

• Was anyone besides your employer or a coworker involved?

• Were you on a public road, a client's property, or a shared job site?

• Was the equipment that hurt you owned by someone other than your employer?

• Could a defective product have played a role?

If the answer to any of these is yes — or even possibly yes — talk to an attorney before you do anything else.

We Look for This in Every Case

At Guendelsberger Law Offices, we've been handling workers' compensation and personal injury cases in New Milford and across Litchfield County since 1983. We've seen how often third-party claims go unpursued — not because they don't exist, but because no one thought to look.

When you call us, we don't just ask what workers' comp covers. We ask who else may be responsible and whether there's a civil claim workers' comp was never designed to replace.

That conversation is free, protected by attorney-client privilege from the moment you call, and could be worth far more than the workers' comp claim alone.

Call us at (860) 354-4444 to schedule your free consultation. When you call the Guendelsberger Law Offices, a real person picks up the phone.