Form 30C: The Filing That Decides Whether You Have a Claim

Most Connecticut workers' compensation claims that fail do not fail because the injury was fake, or because the worker was at fault, or because the employer fought hard.

They fail on a form.

Under C.G.S. § 31-294c, if a valid Form 30C does not reach the right district office within the deadline that applies to your injury, the Workers' Compensation Commission has no jurisdiction over your claim. Not a smaller claim. No claim, regardless of how badly you were hurt or how obviously it happened at work.

This page explains which deadline applies to you, how the form has to be filed, and the specific mistakes that end otherwise valid claims.

If you would rather not work it out alone, we review these situations at no charge and no obligation. If we take your case, preparing and filing the 30C is part of the representation and you pay nothing up front. If we do not think you need a lawyer, we will tell you that instead of signing you up.

Three Deadlines, Not One

This is the part most articles get wrong, and getting it wrong costs people their claims in both directions. Some file too late. Others give up when they still had time.

Nearly every article on this subject says "one year from the date of injury" and stops.

But a worker whose hands went numb gradually over a decade at a keyboard has no date of injury. Neither does a machinist with hearing loss, or a nurse whose back gave out over four hundred patient transfers.

Those workers read "one year," count backward, decide it is hopeless, and never file. Some of them still had time.

If You Think You Are Already Past the Deadline

Do not assume the claim is dead.

Section 31-294c(c) contains what practitioners call the medical care exception. In general terms, a late notice may not bar the claim if, within the deadline period, your employer furnished medical treatment for the injury or a voluntary agreement was filed.

The Compensation Review Board has decided a long line of cases about where this exception applies and where it does not. It is fact-specific and it is contested.

It is also a short phone call. Make it before you conclude you have nothing.

What Does Not Count as Filing

This is the most common misunderstanding we encounter, and the people who have it are usually confident they filed.

• Telling your supervisor is not filing a claim.
• Getting treated at the company clinic is not filing a claim.
• Your employer's First Report of Injury is not filing a claim.
• An accident report is not filing a claim.

None of these satisfy § 31-294c. Every one of them can happen while your deadline quietly runs out.

If your employer told you they would "take care of the paperwork," that may have meant their paperwork. It does not mean yours was filed.

How to File Form 30C

You can do this yourself. Here is how it works.

1. Get the form. Form 30C, "Notice of Claim for Compensation," is published by the Connecticut Workers' Compensation Commission and available free on the state's website.
2. Identify the right district office. You file where the injury occurred, not where you live and not where your employer is headquartered. A worker who lives in Middletown, reports to a Waterbury facility, and gets hurt on a job in Bloomfield files in Hartford. Connecticut has eight district offices: Hartford, Norwich, New Haven, Bridgeport, Waterbury, New Britain, Stamford, and Middletown.
3. List every injured body part. All of them, even the ones that do not hurt today. Body parts left off the form are difficult to add later, and a knee that seems minor next to a back injury has a way of becoming the surgery two years on.
4. Check the right boxes. The form has separate checkboxes for occupational disease and repetitive trauma, for post-traumatic stress injury under § 31-294k, and for claims involving more than one employer. These affect which deadline and which rules apply.
5. Serve it correctly. Send it by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, to both your employer and the district office. Keep the green card. It is your proof of the filing date. You can also hand-deliver, in which case have your employer sign and date a copy and keep it. Regular mail or email may not satisfy the statute.
6. Keep a copy of everything. The form, the receipts, and the date.

That is the whole process. It is not complicated once you know it, and plenty of workers do it successfully on their own.

It is also easy to get wrong at 9pm, on a laptop, with a bad back, looking at a form you have never seen before, three days before a deadline you are not certain about.

What Happens After You File

Once your 30C is in, your employer or its insurer has a decision to make.

They either accept the claim or file a Form 43 contesting it, generally within one year of receiving your notice. For post-traumatic stress injury claims the window is 180 days.

If they fail to contest in time, you may be able to file a Motion to Preclude, which can bar them from contesting compensability at all. This is a real strategic advantage, and it is routinely missed by unrepresented workers who do not know the deadline is running against the employer too.

From there, an accepted claim moves through a defined sequence: a three-day waiting period, temporary total or temporary partial wage benefits, treatment, maximum medical improvement, a permanent impairment rating, and either a return to work or a settlement.

Each of those stages has a point where a decision gets made that you cannot undo. The largest is a Stipulation, a full and final lump-sum settlement that closes your claim permanently, including future medical treatment. If your condition worsens afterward, there is generally no reopening it.

Where We Come In

We review Connecticut work injury situations at no charge and no obligation.

That review is a real conversation, not a screening call. We will work out which deadline applies to your injury, whether anything has actually been filed, and what your employer has done so far.

Then you get a straight answer, which comes in one of two forms.

If we think we can add value to your case, we will say so and explain why. If you retain us, preparing and filing your Form 30C is part of the representation. We do it immediately, usually the same week and faster if a deadline is close, so the filing is protected while the rest of the case gets organized. Connecticut workers' compensation fees are contingent and must be approved by an Administrative Law Judge, so you pay nothing up front and our fee comes out of the recovery.

If we do not think you need a lawyer, we will tell you that too. Some claims are accepted, uncontested, and moving along exactly as they should. Signing you up for one of those would take money out of your recovery for work you do not need done. You will leave the call knowing your deadline, your district office, and how to file, and you are welcome to call back if the situation changes.

We would rather give you an accurate answer you did not expect than a retainer agreement you did not need.

Call Us Sooner Rather Than Later If

• Your injury developed gradually and you are not sure which deadline applies
• You reported it and your employer said they would handle everything
• You are treating but nobody has mentioned a Form 30C
• You already filed and are not certain you did it right
• You have been told you missed the deadline
• Your claim was denied and the reason does not make sense
• You have received a settlement offer
• You are approaching maximum medical improvement
• You were hurt in a crash while driving for work, which involves a second claim entirely, and the two interact under C.G.S. § 31-293 in ways that affect how much you keep

If your deadline is close, say so when you call. Those get handled first.

About This Firm

Attorney James F. Aspell has practiced since 1986 and founded this firm in 2006 to represent injured workers.

He is Board Certified as a Workers' Compensation Specialist by the Connecticut Bar Association's Standing Committee on Specialty Certification, a designation held by a small fraction of attorneys in the state, and has held it since the certification program began.

We have tried and argued cases before the Workers' Compensation Commission, the Compensation Review Board, Connecticut state and federal courts, and the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Court.

Our office is in Farmington, just off I-84, and we represent injured workers throughout Connecticut and in all eight district offices.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Form 30C?

Form 30C is the Notice of Claim for Compensation, the document that formally starts your Connecticut workers' compensation claim. It is filed with the Workers' Compensation Commission district office covering where you were injured, and served on your employer. Without a valid, timely 30C, the Commission generally lacks jurisdiction over your claim.

How long do I have to file?

It depends on the injury. One year from the date of injury for an accident, one year from your last date of exposure for repetitive trauma, and three years from the first manifestation of a symptom for occupational disease, under C.G.S. § 31-294c.

My employer already reported my injury. Do I still need to file?

Yes. An employer's First Report of Injury does not satisfy your notice requirement. This is one of the most common ways Connecticut workers lose otherwise valid claims.

Can I file Form 30C myself?

Yes, and this page explains how. The form is free from the Commission. Get the district office right, list every injured body part, and send it by registered or certified mail with return receipt requested.

Does it cost anything to have you look at my situation?

No. The review is free and there is no obligation. If we take your case, workers' compensation fees in Connecticut are contingent and approved by an Administrative Law Judge, so you pay nothing up front.

What if you don't take my case?

You will still leave the conversation knowing which deadline applies to you, which district office to file in, and how to file correctly. Some claims genuinely do not need a lawyer, and we will say so rather than sign you up.

I think I already missed my deadline. Is it worth calling?

Yes, for two reasons. The deadline that applies to your injury may not be the one you assumed, and the medical care exception under § 31-294c(c) sometimes preserves a late claim. It costs nothing to find out.

Where do I file if I work in one town and live in another?

Where the injury happened. Not your home, not your employer's headquarters. If you were hurt on a job site in a different town than either, that town's district office is the correct one.

This page provides general information about Connecticut workers' compensation law and is not legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is formed by reading this page or submitting a web form. Representation begins only upon a signed written agreement. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.