WERE YOU INJURED AT WORK?
TOM BLAKE CAN HELP WITH YOUR WORKERS COMPENSATION CLAIM IN GRAND JUNCTION, CO
A WORKER’S COMPENSATION CLAIM CAN BE A LENGTHY PROCESS
From date of injury to date of maximum medical improvement and final admission of liability can take more than a year, sometimes years, particularly if there are one or more surgeries or a complicated course of medical treatment and a persistent medical problem. Sometimes medical care for a worker hurt on the job can be required for years after a workplace injury. During the course of time that a worker’s compensation claim is under way, a number of circumstances can arise where an attorney can help the injured worker to properly navigate the process and to obtain the worker’s compensation benefits provided by law.
OUR EXPERIENCED GRAND JUNCTION WORKERS’ COMPENSATION ATTORNEY HAS THE KNOWLEDGE TO HELP
There can be any number of situations that arise for an injured worker during the course of a workers’ compensation claim for which our attorney may be able to help. Consider a free consultation with our attorney to see if the attorney thinks he may be able to help. Attorney Tom Blake serves all of Western Colorado from Grand Junction.
If you were injured on the job, here are a few of the situations where our workers' comp attorney may be able to help. 1. Your work comp claim has been denied for any reason. 2. Your claim has been denied because you did not report an injury immediately or within 4 days. 3. Your employer says you are an independent contractor not entitled to workers’ compensation benefits. 4. Your employer has no workers’ compensation insurance. 5. You had a preexisting condition or weakness made worse by an accident or situation at work and you wonder what your rights are. 6. You wonder if the admitted average weekly wage on your workers compensation claim is too low because it does not include a recent raise, overtime, earnings from concurrent employment, or some other remuneration of your employment. 7. You are considering quitting your job after a workplace injury and/or you are considering turning down a post-injury offer from your employer of modified duty work. 8. The Final Admission of Liability filed by the insurance company on your claim has not admitted liability for ongoing medical care after the date on which you reached maximum medical improvement. 9. You wonder if the permanent impairment rating from the rating doctor is too low and therefore if the dollar amount of admitted permanent partial disability benefits is too low. 10. You are concerned that you may never be able to work again because of the effects of your workplace injury combined with your age, education, work history, and/or other personal circumstances or pre-existing conditions. 11. You are concerned that a general admission of liability or final admission of liability filed by the insurance company on your worker’s compensation claim may not have admitted for all the benefits provided for by Colorado’s Workers’ Compensation Act. 12. The insurance adjuster on your claim is not handling the claim and paying benefits in what you believe to be a fair, timely, and responsive manner. 13. You want to request a new treating doctor or pursue in an administrative hearing a denied request to change your treating doctor. 14. The insurance company on your worker’s compensation claim has denied some medical treatment which you believe to be necessary. |
For more details, read the text below, keeping in mind the disclaimer below and the fact that information on these webpages is general and not a substitute for proper legal advice. If any of these circumstances apply to you, call our office at (907) 256-9559 and request a free consultation.
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Colorado’s Workers’ Compensation Act Provides Benefits for a Worker Injured on the Job
Workers injured during the course and scope of their employment are entitled to benefits under Colorado’s Workers’ Compensation Act. Benefits may vary depending on the factual circumstances of each case, and this webpage text does not cover all such circumstances. Benefits typically include reasonable and necessary medical treatment by authorized medical providers to cure and relieve the injured worker from the effects of the workplace injury.
Temporary disability benefits are available to replace lost wages under many circumstances when the injured worker is disabled from his/her regular job as the result of a workplace injury and while he/she is recovering and has not has reached maximum medical improvement. Permanent partial disability benefits are available if at maximum medical improvement an injured worker has permanent impairment as determined by a physician accredited to rate impairment. Permanent total disability benefits are payable if after maximum medical improvement the injured worker is unable to return to work and earn wages in his commutable labor market in the same or other employment because of the workplace injury.
Under certain circumstances penalties can be awarded against the insurance carrier if the insurance carrier does not follow the Workers’ Compensation Rules of Procedure in adjusting and handling the claim and paying benefits in a timely manner. Benefits are available for scarring or other disfigurement. Reimbursement for mileage and/or other reasonably incident travel expenses is available for driving one’s vehicle and/or traveling to obtain authorized related medical care. This list of potential benefits is not complete and does not cover every situation.
See the following for a discussion of some situations that may arise on an injured worker’s claim and where our attorney may be able to help.
Temporary disability benefits are available to replace lost wages under many circumstances when the injured worker is disabled from his/her regular job as the result of a workplace injury and while he/she is recovering and has not has reached maximum medical improvement. Permanent partial disability benefits are available if at maximum medical improvement an injured worker has permanent impairment as determined by a physician accredited to rate impairment. Permanent total disability benefits are payable if after maximum medical improvement the injured worker is unable to return to work and earn wages in his commutable labor market in the same or other employment because of the workplace injury.
Under certain circumstances penalties can be awarded against the insurance carrier if the insurance carrier does not follow the Workers’ Compensation Rules of Procedure in adjusting and handling the claim and paying benefits in a timely manner. Benefits are available for scarring or other disfigurement. Reimbursement for mileage and/or other reasonably incident travel expenses is available for driving one’s vehicle and/or traveling to obtain authorized related medical care. This list of potential benefits is not complete and does not cover every situation.
See the following for a discussion of some situations that may arise on an injured worker’s claim and where our attorney may be able to help.
1. Report of Injury. Notices are required to be posted at the work site advising of the law that an injured worker is required to report injuries in writing within 4 days to the employer. The failure to timely report a workplace injury could have adverse consequences to the injured worker, such as loss of one day of temporary disability benefits for each day late in reporting the injury and/or the insurance carrier may question the credibility of a late report of injury. So, a timely report of injury to the employer is generally wise. However, the failure to report a workplace injury within 4 days often has a reasonable explanation and does not prevent pursuit of a worker’s compensation claim. If you were hurt on the job, and your claim has been denied, you should discuss the facts with our attorney as well as any reasons for a late report to the employer of the injury, and we may be able to help.
2. Your Employer Says You Are an Independent Contractor. The law generally does not allow a worker and the person or company contracting out work to agree or characterize a worker as an independent contractor if the true facts are otherwise. So, even if it was discussed before the work began that you were to work as an independent contractor, the law generally states that you are an employee unless you were engaged in an independent trade, occupation, profession, or business and you were free from control and direction in the performance of the service. A judge can look at a number of factors to determine whether you were an employee rather than an independent contractor. The judge can consider whether you were paid by the hour, whether you worked full time, whether you had other jobs, who provided the tools and supplies, the nature of the work, and a number of other factors in determining whether you were an employee or an independent contractor. So, if your employer or insurance carrier is disputing a worker’s compensation claim on the basis that you were an independent contractor rather than an employee, you should discuss the particular facts of your situation with our attorney to determine whether we can help. Volunteer firefighters, volunteer search and rescue members, and other volunteers in public service should also consult with an attorney if injured during the course of their service in order to evaluate whether they are entitled to worker’s compensation benefits. 3. Your Employer Has No Workers’ Compensation Insurance. The law generally requires employers to obtain workers compensation insurance to cover its employees. If your employer had no workers’ compensation insurance and you were injured on the job, you should discuss the situation with our attorney. Sometimes, with this type of situation, our attorney may be able to obtain a recovery from the assets of the uninsured employer, from the landowner on which work was done, from a general contractor that hired your employer, or from a negligent third party who caused an accidental injury. 4. You had a Preexisting Condition or Weakness. Colorado law states that a workplace injury which aggravates or worsens a preexisting weakness, injury, or condition is a compensable workers’ compensation claim. So, you may be entitled to benefits under this type of situation. If your claim has been denied on the basis of a pre-existing condition, but you believe the condition was worsened by a workplace injury, discuss the facts with our attorney. Under some circumstances we may be able to help have your claim found compensable and to obtain medical benefits, temporary disability benefits, and possibly permanent disability benefits, depending on the facts and evidence of your particular situation. 5. Has the Insurance Carrier Admitted for an Accurate Average Weekly Wage? Sometimes an insurance carrier files an admission of liability and pays benefits based on an admitted average weekly wage that is too low and is not accurately calculated. Temporary Disability benefits, Permanent Total Disability benefits, and some Permanent Partial Disability benefits are payable based on a calculation of the injured worker’s average weekly wage up to a maximum rate which varies depending on the year in which the injury occurred. Sometimes these benefits are paid at too low a rate because the insurance carrier has not included in the admitted average weekly wage overtime pay, has not considered a recent raise in pay, has not considered earnings from another job, or for other reasons. Our attorney can assess the facts and circumstances of your earnings and employment history and provide assistance in determining whether efforts should be made to increase the admitted average weekly wage on your claim. 6. Should you quit your job or return to work at modified duty employment offered by your employer after an injury? In general, it would be wise for an injured worker not to quit his/her job after an injury without getting advice from an attorney. Likewise, in general, it would be wise to accept an offer to return to modified duty work offered by the employer after an injury unless an attorney has advised that you may do so without negative consequences on your workers’ compensation claim. If an injured worker quits his/her job or refuses to accept modified duty work offered by an employer within the injured worker’s physician stated physical capacities, the injured worker could lose his or her entitlement to temporary disability benefits. If there are problems with employment or with modified-duty work offered after a workplace injury, an attorney may be able to help resolve these problems and/or avoid loss of temporary disability benefits resulting from the injured worker making an uninformed decision about quitting a job or declining modified duty employment. 7. Has the Insurance Carrier’s Final Admission of Liability admitted for continuing medical benefits after MMI? If a treating doctor has stated in writing that an injured worker is probably or certainly going to need additional medical treatment after the date of maximum medical improvement to maintain, cure, or relieve the condition arising from the workplace injury, then generally the insurance carrier should admit liability in its Final Admission of Liability on the claim for medical care after the date of maximum medical improvement. If under these circumstances the Final Admission of Liability filed by the insurance carrier does not admit liability for medical benefits after maximum medical improvement, the injured worker should immediately consult with an attorney about timely contesting the Final Admission of Liability, applying for hearing, and pursuing an award of ongoing medical care. 8. If a General Admission of Liability or Final Admission of Liability Does Not Admit for All the Benefits to Which a Worker is Entitled. There are deadlines for an injured worker to object in writing and request a hearing on the approved forms when a final admission of liability has not properly admitted liability for all the benefits to which an injured worker is entitled. An attorney, if consulted timely, can help to evaluate and rectify the failure of an insurance carrier to admit all the benefits set forth by law in Colorado’s Workers’ Compensation Act. 9. Has the Doctor Performing the Permanent Impairment Rating for the Injured Worker Included all Ratable Impairment and Properly Applied the Textbook for Rating an Injured Worker’s Medical Impairment When the Injured Worker has Reached Maximum Medical Improvement? In many circumstances the employer’s designated treating physician rates an injured worker’s medical impairment. Sometimes questions arise regarding whether the doctor has properly rated the injured worker’s medical impairment and included all ratable impairment. Permanent Partial Disability benefits are calculated based on the impairment rating determined by the appropriate doctor. So, if the impairment rating is incorrectly low, the dollar award of permanent partial disability benefits is often also low. An attorney can often help an injured worker determine if the impairment rating seems proper or whether the rating could be low. If low, the attorney may be able to help obtain the medical evidence or opinions necessary to increase the impairment rating and therefore the dollar amount of permanent partial disability benefits. |
WARNING/DISCLAIMER: The above is not intended to be legal advice. The above general information cannot properly cover and describe all of the infinite number of factual and legal situations that can arise in a workers compensation claim. To get proper legal advice, an injured worker should promptly contact an attorney, and provide the attorney with all the pertinent facts and circumstances, as well as written medical records and claim documents. It is only under those circumstances that an attorney can give informed legal advice. Relying solely on the foregoing webpage information without explaining all the facts and circumstances to an attorney could result in an injured worker taking an uniformed and mistaken course of action. Also, there are a number of different time deadlines on a workers compensation claim during which action must be taken or an objection to an admission must be filed. Failure promptly and timely take action can result in serious consequences and/or loss of benefits. So, prompt action and/or consultation with an attorney may be necessary. Viewing these webpages is not a substitute for proper legal advice.