Justices Require State, not Federal, Claim for Notice

An employee's failure to file a state workers' compensation claim precludes his wife from receiving death benefits, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled. The justices found that the decedent's timely filing of a federal workers' compensation claim did not satisfy the statutory requirements. "Accordingly, far from evincing an intent to pursue a claim under the state act, the decedent's decision to pursue benefits under the federal act, at the time, would have been seen as an election not to pursue benefits under the state act." Section 31-294c(a) of the Workers' Compensation Act read...