As the COVID-19 vaccine begins to roll-out across the state of Connecticut, more and more employers are mandating that their employees become vaccinated for both the safety of the workplace and of the worker. If this is the case and you experience an adverse reaction after getting the vaccine, you may be able to file a Connecticut workers’ compensation claim.
While there is limited case law to point to in this situation, there are rulings that can inform how the courts might rule on this issue. The case law for Lemlin v. New Britain General Hospital indicates that when an employee experienced an adverse reaction to an employer encouraged Hepatitis B vaccination the Workers’ Compensation Commission ruled that the employee should be compensated for the adverse reaction.
The state Supreme Court has ruled time and time again on the Workers’ Compensation Act that it “is to be construed with sufficient liberality to carry into effect the beneficent purpose contemplated in that legislation, and not to defeat that purpose by narrow and technical definition.”
The long story short is that even though there is some case law that indicates that reactions to employer mandated COVID-19 vaccinations would be compensable, there is of course no specific case law relating to this vaccine itself. If you do experience an adverse reaction to the vaccine you may want to speak to a board certified Connecticut workers’ compensation attorney to review your case.
