Denver Assessment of Impairment Ratings
Whenever a worker suffers an injury on the job, they are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits. These benefits provide short-term income for people while they recover from an injury. They also reimburse employees for any loss of future work ability sustained in the incident. Depending upon the total percentage of future earnings capacity lost in the accident, Colorado limits the maximum available benefits.
This applies to all injuries suffered in Denver, regardless of the setting. These Denver assessment of impairment ratings are key to determining the benefits that an injured worker should receive. Know that a skilled injury lawyer will be dedicated to helping workers receive the full compensation that they deserve following an accident.
What are the Denver Assessment of Impairment Ratings?
Denver assessment of impairment ratings are issued to any injury suffered in the workplace. Many injuries have a rating of zero since the employee will make a full recovery. A rating is only assigned when a worker suffers a permanent decrease in their future earning potential. It is the job of the treating doctor to declare that an employee’s functionality has suffered a permanent loss. These values are on a one to 100 percent scale.
In many cases, this is obvious. For example, if a factory worker loses a hand in machinery, they clearly have lost use of that extremity. However, many other situations are more nuanced. If that same worker has the hand crushed in machinery, it may be possible they will make a full recovery.
The treating doctor’s opinion on future recovery is a point in workers’ compensation cases that often leads to disagreements between insurance companies and employees.
Which Ratings are Given to Particular Injuries?
Colorado law specifically places limits on the amount of workers’ compensation that an employee can collect after an injury. Beginning in July of 2015, new laws went into effect that provides maximum compensation for specific situations. For example, if a worker suffers extensive facial or body disfigurement, they cannot collect more than $9,678.66 according to Colorado Revised Statute §8-42-108.
In a similar vein, the maximum total compensation for a loss of bodily function above 25 percent is $168,677.59. These values are calculated according to the average weekly wages of all workers across Colorado extrapolated across the expected length of the disability.
The Significance of a Proper Evaluation
Perhaps the most important part of a workers’ compensation case is a proper evaluation of an employee’s capacity to return to work. This is by the treating doctor who places a percentage of disability on a worker after they reach maximum medical improvement. This percentage determines the maximum level of benefits than an employee can receive under Colorado law.
A dedicated workers’ compensation attorney helps injured workers understand Denver assessment of impairment ratings and how they affect their benefits packages. When an employee wishes to appeal these findings, a lawyer stands ready to defend their rights during the process. Contact an attorney today to learn more about impairment ratings and how they affect your workers’ compensation claim.
