If you have been unfortunate enough to have been injured or become while sick while working in any kind of employment in Colorado, you may benefit from the state’s compulsory workers’ compensation insurance legislation. If you file a workers’ comp. claim in time and through the correct channels you should at least eventually obtain a payment which reimburses medical expenses and lost earnings related to your injury or illness. If problems arise, contact an experienced attorney. Employment in Colorado There are nearly two and a half million people gainfully employed doing something in Colorado according to the latest statistics available. The average hourly income earned in 2015 (latest year where data is available) in Colorado was $24.61 and the average yearly income was $51,180. Of course there were significant differences between the highest and lowest paid workers in the state. Over a third of a million people in Colorado were working in offices or similar occupations, more than any other occupation. Nine other occupational categories had more than 100,000 employed in them, including: Sales staff Food preparation and serving Business and financial occupations Education, training and library jobs Transportation and movement of materials Healthcare and Technical Construction and extraction Production Management Colorado Division of Workers Compensation Requirements Colorado takes workers’ compensation insurance seriously. There are very few exceptions to the general rule that an employer must provide cover, however many employees they have, even if they are part time or they only have a single employee. If they are a sole proprietorship and do not employ anyone other than themselves, then they are exempt from providing insurance for themselves but are strongly advised to do so. This insurance may be in the form of health or disability insurance rather than workers’ compensation. Employers in Colorado must take out insurance with a commercial carrier unless they are a large corporation and are in a position to provide self-insurance. The state of Colorado or its Division of Workers Compensation does not provide insurance itself, although it can advise of a suitable carrier on request. Other Workers’ Compensation Insurance Provisions in Colorado The only real exception to insurance coverage is if it is demonstrated that an employee was not injured while on the job. For example, if they had an injury while skiing and sought workers’ compensation, this would be denied. Workers’ compensation claims must be filed within a period of 2 years from the time of the injury or from the point that a work related illness was diagnosed. Are You Happy With Your Workers’ Comp Claim? If Not, See a Lawyer It’s unlikely that you have to file a workers’ compensation claim more than once, so it’s probable that you will not find the whole process easy and familiar. Frequently, it’s not a straightforward procedure. There may be several reasons why you might decide to contact an experienced workers’ comp lawyer about your claim. You may have had your claim denied altogether, or the payment awarded was totally inadequate. You may just find the whole process too hard to deal with, especially if you have been seriously injured.
