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Connecticut injury rights, deadlines, and help

This page covers Connecticut injury deadlines and what to do right now.

Are you in an emergency right now?
Check yourself and others for injuries, breathing, and bleeding.
Call 911 if anyone is hurt or the road is not safe.
Move away from traffic if you can do it safely.
Get medical care even if you feel fine. Some injuries hide for days.
This page is for after you are safe.

We are the injured person's advocate. We connect you with a lawyer who handles cases like yours, so you get the full settlement your recovery deserves. Always free. Talk to an advocate. We usually reply within minutes, at most one business day.

The deadline box: Connecticut's key time limits

Connecticut's clocks look ordinary at first glance, but two details matter: the lawsuit clock has a hard outer cap, and the workers compensation claim window is only 1 year.

Personal injury lawsuit: 2 years, with a 3-year outer cap. Under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-584, you have 2 years from when the injury is first sustained or discovered (or reasonably should have been discovered). But there is a hard limit: no lawsuit more than 3 years from the act that caused the harm, even if you discovered the injury late. (Source)
Work injury, report to your employer: immediately. Under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-294b, you report the injury right away. There is no fixed day count, but a late report can reduce your award if the employer proves the delay hurt its ability to respond. (Source)
Work injury, file the claim: 1 year. Under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-294c, written notice of a workers compensation claim (the state system that pays for work injuries) is due within 1 year of the accident. Occupational disease: 3 years from the first symptom. Death claims have their own timing rules. One year is short. (Source)
Injury involving the state: 1 year to the Claims Commissioner. Under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 4-148, a claim against the State of Connecticut must be presented to the Office of the Claims Commissioner within 1 year of when you discovered it, with an outer limit of 3 years from the event. Towns and cities can have their own separate notice rules, some of them much shorter, so check early if local property like a road or sidewalk is involved. (Source)

Warning: don't wait! Connecticut's 2-year injury clock is a trap, and the 1-year workers comp claim window is even shorter, so people wait, and waiting kills cases. The longer you wait, the fuzzier memories get and documents get lost. Collect and save what you can, then talk to an advocate immediately. And important: medical claims against doctors or hospitals can have different, often shorter deadlines. Do not assume the standard rule covers a hospital or doctor case.

Protect your case

Talk to an advocate at WeHelpInjured. It is free.
If it happened at work, report it today, in writing, and keep a copy. Then calendar the 1-year claim deadline. Reporting to your employer and filing the claim are two different steps.
Write down what happened while it is fresh: date, time, place, people, and conditions.
Take photos of the scene, your injuries, and anything involved (a vehicle, a stair, a machine, a dog).
Get names and contact information for witnesses.
Note who owns the place where you were hurt. State property, town roads, and city sidewalks each have their own claim paths and short clocks.

Never do these

Never give a recorded statement to an insurance company, even your own. Talk to an advocate first.
Never sign a release or accept a first settlement offer before you talk to an advocate. Once you sign, you may not be able to undo it.
Never admit fault at the scene. Stick to facts only.
Never post about your injury or recovery on social media. Insurers use these posts against you.

Common situations in Connecticut

Hurt at work. The trap here is the difference between telling your employer and filing the claim. Many people report the injury, get some treatment, and assume the system is handling it. The written claim notice under § 31-294c is a separate step with a 1-year deadline. Know that a report is not the same as a filed claim.

Hurt on the road. Connecticut uses modified comparative fault. Under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-572h, you can recover if your share of fault is not greater than the combined fault of the others, and your recovery is reduced by your share. Past that point, you recover nothing. (Source)

Early photos and witness names keep the fault math honest.

Hurt on someone's property. Falls and unsafe conditions follow the 2-year clock with the 3-year cap.

Dog bites are more protective here: under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 22-357, the owner or keeper is liable for any damage a dog does to your body or property, unless you were trespassing, committing another wrong, or teasing the dog. Children under 7 are presumed not to have provoked the dog. (Source)

A true story: the veteran who waited too long to ask why

In 1968, Charles Kubrick was treated for a leg infection at a veterans hospital in Pennsylvania. Doctors washed the wound with an antibiotic. Weeks later he started losing his hearing, and by early 1969 a doctor told him the antibiotic had likely caused it. He did not file his claim until 1972, after another doctor told him the treatment should never have been given. The deadline was two years from when he knew of the injury and its cause, not from when he learned it might be malpractice. He won in the lower courts, and then the US Supreme Court ruled his claim was filed too late. He lost everything the lower courts had awarded. (Source: Justia Supreme Court Center)

That case was federal, but the lesson fits Connecticut exactly, because § 52-584 also starts the clock when the injury is discovered, and it adds a hard 3-year cap on top. The clock can be running before anyone tells you someone was at fault. That is not your fault. It is simply why asking questions early protects you.

Talk to an advocate. You do not have to sort out deadlines and lawyers alone.

What we can help with

We are on your side, and our help is free to injured people. We can help you:

Understand which Connecticut deadlines apply to your situation
Know the difference between reporting an injury and filing the claim itself.
Know what records, photos, and timeline details to keep
Connect with a lawyer who handles cases like yours, so you get the full settlement your recovery deserves

We do not give legal advice, and we never take money from injured people. We explain your rights in plain language and help you connect with a lawyer who handles cases like yours.

Talk to an advocate

If you or someone you love was hurt in Connecticut, you do not have to sort this out alone. Start the form or open the chat. Talk to an advocate. It is free and private.

Sources

Last reviewed: 2026-08-17

This is general information, not legal advice. Deadlines can change or vary with the facts. A licensed attorney can confirm the rule for your situation.

Injury types we cover in Connecticut

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