Workers' Compensation Lawyer in Hartford

A car accident, a dog bite, or a fall on someone else's property can change your finances as fast as it changes your health. Connecticut law gives you a limited window to act, and the rules that apply depend on which kind of case you have.

Injured at work? Let our workers' compensation attorney in Hartford, CT, fight for you. Call 860-431-2102 to schedule a free consultation.

Car Accidents in Hartford and Enfield

Connecticut follows a modified comparative negligence rule under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-572h. You can recover damages as long as you are found less than 51 percent at fault for the accident, though your award is reduced by your percentage of fault. Insurance companies routinely try to shift blame onto the injured driver specifically to push that percentage toward the bar.

Under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-584, you generally have two years from the date you discovered, or reasonably should have discovered, your injury to file a claim, and never more than three years from the date of the accident itself. Waiting to report the accident or delaying medical treatment gives the insurer an opening to argue your injuries are unrelated to the crash.

Dog Bites in Connecticut: A Strict Liability State

Connecticut does not require you to prove a dog had a history of aggression. Under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 22-357, the owner or keeper of a dog is liable for any damage the dog causes, regardless of whether they knew the dog was dangerous. The only defenses are that the victim was trespassing or was teasing, tormenting, or abusing the dog at the time, and Connecticut courts read those exceptions narrowly. If the victim is under seven years old, the law presumes they did not provoke the dog, and the burden falls on the dog owner to prove otherwise.

Dog bite claims under the statute carry a three-year statute of limitations under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-577. Reporting the bite to animal control creates the official record that documentation of the dog's vaccination status and the owner's identity depends on.

Slip and Fall Claims: What You Have to Prove

Connecticut premises liability law requires showing the property owner had actual or constructive notice of the hazard, meaning they knew about it or it existed long enough that reasonable inspection should have caught it. A spill that sat uncleaned for an hour is different, legally, than one mopped up within minutes.

Winter cases add a layer most people do not expect. Under Connecticut's ongoing storm doctrine, first articulated in Kraus v. Newton, a property owner is not required to clear snow or ice while a storm is actively in progress. Their duty to clear walkways begins only after the storm ends and a reasonable amount of time has passed. That doctrine does not protect an owner from liability for ice or snow that was already there before the storm started. The same two-year filing deadline under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-584 applies, and the same 51 percent comparative negligence rule determines whether your own footing or attentiveness reduces your recovery.

Other Personal Injury Cases We Handle

Beyond car accidents, dog bites, and slip and falls, the firm also handles truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, construction accidents, catastrophic injuries, and workers' compensation claims for clients throughout the Hartford and Enfield area.

Why Hartford and Enfield Clients Choose David A. Zipfel and Associates

David A. Zipfel has personally handled over 3,000 injury cases since 1978 from offices in East Hartford and Enfield. Learn more about the firm's background or why clients choose to work with David Zipfel directly. The firm works on a contingency fee basis, so there is no cost unless compensation is recovered, and offices are reachable 24 hours a day, including weekends and holidays.

Injured at work? Our Hartford workers' compensation lawyer can be contacted online or call 860-431-2102 for a free consultation.