Thornton Workers’ Compensation Lawyer
Have you been involved in a Colorado workplace injury? If so, keep in mind that you generally have only a few days days in which to report the incident to your employer to start the workers’ compensation benefit process.
If your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance carrier has denied you valid benefits, contact a Thornton worker’s compensation lawyer to discuss your injury, review your denial, and determine what legal or procedural options might be available to you. Speak with a determined personal injury attorney that can fight for you.
Common Colorado Workplace Accidents
Although Colorado employers have a duty to keep their workplaces safe and must adhere to strict guidelines set forth by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), workplace accidents simply happen. Some of the most common Colorado workplace injuries include:
- Hearing loss
- Back injuries
- Head injuries
- Broken bones
- Cuts and lacerations
- Spinal cord injuries
- Burn injuries
- Repetitive motion injuries
What are the Colorado Laws Regarding Workers’ Compensation?
According to OSHA, many of these injuries can be caused by faulty machinery including forklifts, trucks, and other commercial vehicles; slipping and falling from ladders, unprotected roofs, or other high places; and from employers simply failing to provide employees with proper warning of workplace dangers such as water leaks, hazardous chemicals, and more.
Colorado law requires employers to carry workers’ compensation insurance for just that reason. This insurance paid for by employers provides employees with benefits to cover lost wages and expenses related to the accident in lieu of filing negligence lawsuits.
Colorado workers’ compensation benefits are generally two-thirds of someone’s average weekly wage that they were receiving on the date of their injury. This can include gross wages/salary, overtime, commissions, tips, and much more. If an individual is not receiving these benefits, they should consult a worker’s compensation attorney in Thornton that can help them take legal action.
How Does Someone Apply for Workers’ Compensation Benefits?
In order to receive Colorado workers’ compensation benefits, injured victims must notify their manager or supervisor of their injury within four days of when the accident occurred. Employers then have 10 days in which to report the injury to their workers’ compensation insurance provider. This becomes difficult in situations where there was no single injury, but where an employee begins to suffer pain from repetitive movements or soft-tissue injuries to the back, neck, or spine.
Whatever the case, it is best to notify employers in writing as soon as possible and keep copies of all correspondence in case it becomes an issue later. Once a claim for compensation has been filed with the Division of Workers’ Compensation, the insurance company must accept or reject such claim within 20 days.
While Colorado workers’ compensation should be available to anyone who injures themselves at work, sometimes those benefits are difficult to obtain. That is where having the assistance of an experienced Thornton workers’ compensation attorney can help the most.
How a Thornton Workers’ Compensation Attorney Can Help
Injured Colorado workers are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits until their doctor believes they can safely return to work. However, employers and insurance companies sometimes deny those benefits or terminate them too early for a number of reasons including not having adequate medical documents, not agreeing with a doctor’s opinion about your injury, or simply for no reason whatsoever.
Any type of workplace injury can leave a family financially and emotionally fragile. If you are not receiving the workers’ compensation benefits you are entitled to, it is time to contact an experienced Thornton workers’ compensation lawyer to understand what courses of action may be available and get the help that you and your family need.
