Relapse Rate

The rate an injured worker is paid Workers’ Compensation benefits is known as the “compensation rate”.  A worker’s compensation rate is determined by using his or her average weekly wage for the 52 weeks prior to the date of injury.  The average weekly wage is then plugged into a table that gives the compensation rate.

A worker may be able to use an adjusted compensation rate to reflect his or her current wages in specific circumstances.  This adjuster compensation rate is called a “relapse rate”.  A worker may be eligible to get paid according to their current wages under Connecticut General Statutes 31-307b if:

1.     He or she received temporary total disability benefits for a work related injury;

2.     Recovered from the initial period of total disability to return to work without restriction; and

3.     Experienced a second period of total disability.

This law helps a worker who has had a recurrence or relapse of an injury to get paid Workers’ Compensation benefits according to his or her wages at the time of the second period of disability, rather than the original compensation rate.  This protects a worker from being locked into an older and lower compensation rate that does not reflect his or her current earnings.

Unfortunately, a higher relapse rate only applies to temporary total disability benefits and not other types of benefits such as permanent partial disability.

A worker who meets the above listed requirements is eligible for higher, relapse rate benefits even if he or she has changed jobs.