Connecticut western news., 1913-12-25
WORKMEN'S COMPENSATION

Provisions which Every Employer and
 Employe Ought to Know
 In an interview with the Waterbury American. Thursday, Compensation Commissioner F. Nj. Williams, of the Fifth Congressional district, gave n some. what exhaustive exposition of the Work mems Compensation Act, from which we quote:
 "On January 1. 1914. every person in the state of Connecticut who is employed by another for hire, or who in the course of his business employs any others for hire, will occupy status entirely differ ent from that which he now occupies or eyer has occupied if long time rest. dent of this state. Probably everyone knows in general way about suits brought by an employe against an em. ployer for personal injuries. These have always been more or less frequent and were always based upon some fault of the employer, either real or fancied. In such suits as resulted in judgment in favor of an employe 1t must have shown to the satisfaction of the court hearing the same that the employer had been at fault. These suits were usually defend ed with one of three well.kDown de- lenses: ta) That the person injured re. ceived hls injury as result in part of hls own negligence; (bl That the injury was caused by the negligence of fellow employe; to) That the injured employe had assumed the risk of the injury. These three defenses are ordinarily spoken of as the oontritutory negligence defense. the fellow servant defense. and the assumption of risk defense.
 After the first of January, if any per- son employed by another for hire has a case of action against his employer. in which the employer Is at fault either by doing something which he ought not to have done, or by emitting to do sotne- thing which he should have done. these three defenses are no louger available. Instead of the heretofore existing right to bring snits at law, there is substituted the right to make claims for compensa- tion. This in a brief way may be under stood by calling attention to certain of the more prominent results of the new law. An injury sustained by an em- ploye, arising out of and in the course of his employment, and resulting in. death, may result in an award against him of sum equal to oue-half of his average weekly wage, payable to his legal repre- sentative each week for period of 3l2 weeks after death. In addition thereto, there may be also the sum of sl00 for burial expenses. and the cost of medical. surgical and hospital services for the first 30 days after the injury. provided the injured person survives that length of time.
 "The amount of the payment to be made each week may vary between &5 and BIO Tn case an employe receives in- juries arising out of and in the course of his employment of such character as to make him totally incapable of perform ing work of any character, and an award may be rendered against the employer embracing payments between S5 and si0 week for the term of 520 weeks. For any industrial accident, the result of in- juries received by a workman arising out of and Tn the course of his employ ment and which incapacitates him from performing labor for more than IA days. he has right to compensation begin. ming on the fifteenth day.
 Until the first of January every per- son has his own choice as to what he will do in relation to accepting or rejecting the terms of this law SO far as they apply to him. On January 1 he will occupy such position as he has seen fit to place himself in. either by rejecting the act, which he has to do in writing, or he will have been conclusively presumed to have accepted it if he keeps still and does nothing. It is impossible for me to see everybody in Waterbury, or in the Fifth Congressional district, and give them personal information. My time will be practically all taken up in answering letters and reading correspondence that comes in. But l do not want people after January 1 to say that their at- tention has not been called to this act.
 "As to no statute ever enacted by tho Legislature of Connecticut has so much pains been taken that every person in the state should not only have that knowl. edge of it which the law presumes each one to have, but that it should also be actually brought to the attention of every one. The act is Chapter l3s of the Pub lie Acts of 1913. Every person engaged in business to any great extent ought to study this act carefully. Every person who employs another ought to realize
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