Connecticut General Statutes 31-306b – Written notice of potential eligibility for death benefits
(a) Not later than thirty days after the date an employer or insurer discontinues paying weekly disability benefits to an injured employee under the provisions of this chapter due to the death of the injured employee, the employer or insurer shall send by registered or certified mail to the last address to which the injured employee’s workers’ compensation benefit checks were mailed, a written notice stating, in simple language, that dependents of the deceased employee may be eligible for death benefits under this chapter, subject to the filing and benefit eligibility requirements of this chapter.
Terms Used In Connecticut General Statutes 31-306b
- Administrative law judge: means the administrative law judge who has jurisdiction in the matter referred to in the context. See Connecticut General Statutes 31-275
- Commission: means the Workers' Compensation Commission. See Connecticut General Statutes 31-275
- Compensation: means benefits or payments mandated by the provisions of this chapter, including, but not limited to, indemnity, medical and surgical aid or hospital and nursing service required under section 31-294d and any type of payment for disability, whether for total or partial disability of a permanent or temporary nature, death benefit, funeral expense, payments made under the provisions of section 31-284b, 31-293a or 31-310, or any adjustment in benefits or payments required by this chapter. See Connecticut General Statutes 31-275
- Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
- Dependent: means a member of the injured employee's family or next of kin who was wholly or partly dependent upon the earnings of the employee at the time of the injury. See Connecticut General Statutes 31-275
- Employee: means any person who:
(i) Has entered into or works under any contract of service or apprenticeship with an employer, whether the contract contemplated the performance of duties within or without the state. See Connecticut General Statutes 31-275
- Employer: means any person, corporation, limited liability company, firm, partnership, voluntary association, joint stock association, the state and any public corporation within the state using the services of one or more employees for pay, or the legal representative of any such employer, but all contracts of employment between an employer employing persons excluded from the definition of employee and any such employee shall be conclusively presumed to include the following mutual agreements between employer and employee: (A) That the employer may accept and become bound by the provisions of this chapter by immediately complying with section 31-284. See Connecticut General Statutes 31-275
(b) Not later than October 1, 1998, the chairperson of the Workers’ Compensation Commission shall develop a standard form that may be used by employers and insurers to provide the notice required under subsection (a) of this section.
(c) The failure of an employer or insurer to comply with the notice requirements of subsection (a) of this section shall not excuse a dependent of a deceased employee from making a claim for compensation within the time limits prescribed by subsection (a) of section 31-294c unless the dependent of the deceased employee demonstrates, in the opinion of the administrative law judge, that he was prejudiced by such failure to comply. Each dependent who, in the opinion of the administrative law judge, demonstrates that he was prejudiced by the failure of an employer or insurer to comply with the notice requirements of subsection (a) of this section shall be granted an extension of time in which to file a notice of claim for compensation with the deceased employee’s employer or insurer pursuant to section 31-294c, but such extension shall not exceed the period of time equal to the interim between the end of the thirty-day period set forth in subsection (a) of this section and the date the notice required under said subsection was actually mailed.