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How to Maximize Your Recovery Under Workers’ Compensation

If you or a loved one has been injured while performing job-related duties, Colorado law entitles you to workers’ compensation benefits. As Denver injury lawyers, we are experienced in navigating our clients through the worker’s compensation process and helping them to maximize their recovery. 

Employee and Employer Deadlines in Colorado Workers’ Compensation Claims

When you get injured at work, the clock starts ticking on your workers’ compensation claim. While this means that you can start receiving benefits fairly quickly, it also means that you need to be aware of the deadlines that apply to your claim. If you wait to long to report your injury or appeal a denial of your claim, you could lose your right to collect workers’ compensation benefits.

Workers’ Compensation Issues: Worker Safety Concerns on the Rise in Denver

The construction business is booming in Denver.  In fact, construction has increased by 50 percent since 2015, with a number of projects taking place, including a several office and residential buildings and the FasTracks light rail project. With all the new construction taking place, it is important for workers and their employers to keep safety in mind, as construction work is still some of the most dangerous work in the country.

Workers’ Compensation Fraud

Filing a workers’ compensation claim involves a great deal of paperwork, several rules to be followed, and a number of requirements to be met, all to ensure that your claim is handled properly and that you receive the compensation you deserve after an on-the-job injury or accident. Because each person’s injury and medical history is different, and each injury or accident can vary between employees and workplace environments, it’s often difficult to regulate exactly how each claim should be handled and what should be provided in order to make a case.

Notifying Your Employer About an At-Work Injury

If you’ve been injured at work or diagnosed with an illness as a result of your job, it can be difficult to think even a few steps ahead of your immediate needs — medical assessments, treatment and recovery. You need a plan to pay your bills and handle your household and personal responsibilities.  But in addition to all that, you need to let your boss know if you’ll be filing paperwork to receive workers’ compensation.

A Look at Workers' Compensation: Opting Out

NPR and ProPublica recently launched an investigation into the changing workers’ compensation system across the country, and their efforts uncovered a new trend — companies are opting out of the traditional workers’ compensation system and using their own personalized plans. In the article, Inside Corporate America’s Campaign to Ditch Workers’ Comp, NPR identifies the leader of this campaign, lawyer Bill Minick, who believes that companies should be able to make their own decisions when it comes to their employees’ compensation after an accident.

Is Your Employer Working to Keep You Safe?

Everyone hopes to go into a workplace and find that their boss wants to do what’s best for them in various aspects of their work environment, to include treating employees fairly, providing fun incentives for getting tough jobs done or simply keeping the environment positive and friendly no matter how stressful the position. At the very least, people go to work believing that their employers will provide a safe space for them to spend the majority of their days.

Notice of Contest

When you’re injured at work, there are many things you need to do to ensure that you and your family are properly taken care of during your recovery period. Typically, your employer’s insurance company will require you to provide thorough proof of your injuries, as well as information regarding the extent of your medical costs and expenses. You may be hospitalized or partially immobilized for an extended period of time, but your claim will need to be filed quickly to comply with the state’s requirements. That said, it is important for you to stay on top of all your paperwork and required dates of submission so that you don’t miss any steps that could compromise your workers’ compensation award.

Disfigurement Awards

If you have been injured at work and your injury left permanent disfigurements, such as scarring, loss of a finger and/or a limb, you may be entitled to a disfigurement award as part of your workers’ compensation claim. Scars and disfigurements that are exposed to the public can be traumatic and can serve as a painful reminder of what you went through. Additionally, people often comment and remark on unusual things, no matter how rude it may be to point them out, and you may be forced to re-tell your story and explain your scars again and again.

Work Injuries: A Brief Look at Permanent Partial Disability vs. Permanent Total Disability

On-the-job injuries require a great deal of paperwork and negotiation between the injured employee and the employer.  During the course of these negotiations, many different terms will be used to describe specific conditions, injuries and coverage limitations. If you have been injured at your job and are unable to return to work for an extended period of time, or you have limited abilities due to your injuries, you should know what terms do and do not apply to your specific situation.