Supreme Court of Connecticut

Esposito v. Stamford

August 2, 2024350 Conn. 209

Summary

The court held that a finding of a permanent injury supporting total-incapacity benefits does not, by itself, establish entitlement to permanent partial disability benefits. Entitlement to those benefits requires a finding of maximum medical improvement supported by a permanent partial disability rating or an agreement establishing the degree of permanency, and the record did not contain that proof before the decedent’s death. The court therefore affirmed the Compensation Review Board’s denial of the surviving spouse’s claim. ECKER, J., dissenting, joined by McDONALD and ALEXANDER, Js., would have deferred to the administrative law judge’s finding that the injury became permanent by June 9, 1998, and would have reversed.