Learn how Colorado determines the amount of compensation you may be entitled to for a work-related accident or sickness, as well as how workers’ compensation eligibility laws apply to infectious illnesses such as COVID-19.
If you were injured or were ill on the job in Colorado, you may be entitled to benefits from the state workers’ compensation system, including medical care. The benefits you get will be determined by the type of your injuries, your ability to return to work, your typical earnings, and other considerations specific to your situation. This article describes how the most significant workers’ compensation payouts in Colorado are calculated. (To get these benefits, you must submit a workers’ compensation claim and demonstrate that your injury or sickness was caused by your job.)
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Is it possible to get workers’ compensation in Colorado if you get COVID-19 on the job?
Workers’ compensation coverage for an occupational condition is available in Colorado if the cause of the illness can be traced back to your employment, but not if the disease is caused by a danger to which you would have been equally exposed outside of work. Colorado companies, especially meatpacking operations in states with major outbreaks, have frequently denied most COVID-19 workers’ compensation claims. Employees have the right to challenge such rejections. However, in the context of the coronavirus pandemic, it would be very difficult for most workers to demonstrate that they got COVID-19 at work due to the nature of their profession.
In response to the epidemic, numerous states have passed legislation that makes it easier for certain employees to get workers’ compensation payments for COVID-19 by assuming that the illness is work-related until the employer shows otherwise. A similar measure was postponed indefinitely by the Colorado legislature in June 2020.
Colorado Temporary Disability Benefits
If you can’t work at all or can’t complete your usual job tasks while healing from your injuries, you may be eligible for benefits that replace a portion of your lost pay. Temporary disability payments are not provided in Colorado for the first three days off work unless your condition lasts more than two weeks. 8-42-103 (Colo. Rev. Stat., 2020).
Total Temporary Disability
If you are unable to work because of your injuries, you will get temporary total disability (TTD) payments equivalent to two-thirds of your average weekly salary when you were injured or became ill. However, these benefits are subject to a ceiling based on a percentage of the statewide average pay at the time of your accident. The maximum TTD compensation for injuries occurring between July 1, 2020, and June 30, 2021 is $1,074.22 per week. To reach that limit, your pre-injury weekly earnings would have had to be at least $1,611.33. (The Colorado Workers’ Compensation Benefits Calculator will provide the maximum compensation rate for subsequent years.)
TTD payments will end when the earliest of the following occurrences occurs, unless you are getting vocational rehabilitation services:
You return to work, either in your usual employment or with reduced responsibilities that account for your restrictions.
You haven’t returned to work after your doctor has cleared you to do so, and if that clearance was for modified duties, your employer has offered you that type of work; or you’ve reached “maximum medical improvement” (MMI), which means your condition has stabilized and is unlikely to improve even with additional treatment.
Colorado Revised Statutes 8-42-102, 8-42-105 (2020).)
Partial Disability on a Temporary Basis
If you work while recovering but aren’t earning as much as you used to due to your injuries, you may be eligible for temporary partial disability payments. These payments are computed by taking two-thirds of the difference between your pre-injury salary and your present earnings. For example, if you used to make $900 per week and now make $600 for light-duty or part-time employment, you would get $200 in benefits. These benefits have the same limit as TTD and cease when you achieve MMI or decline a modified employment offer. 8-42-106 (Colo. Rev. Stat., 2020).
Colorado Permanent Partial Disability Benefits
Once you’ve achieved MMI, a doctor will examine you to see whether your job accident or sickness has resulted in any permanent loss of function or disability to a portion of your body, and if so, how severe it is. In most circumstances, if you have a long-term handicap, you will be eligible for permanent partial disability compensation. You will get a planned loss award and/or an award for nonscheduled whole person impairment depending on the afflicted portion or parts of your body.
You may request a lump sum payment of up to $10,000 of your permanent partial disability compensation (less a discount). If you are due any outstanding benefits, you will be paid in installments. 8-42-107 (Colo. Rev. Stat., 2020).
Awards for Scheduled Loss
If you’ve permanently lost any use of a bodily part listed in a Colorado law schedule, you’ll be eligible for a scheduled loss reward (mostly covering the extremities, eyes, and ears). The schedule illustrates how many weeks of compensation you would get for each of the listed body parts if you had an amputation or total loss of use. You would be compensated for a number of weeks according to the percentage of your impairment if your loss of use was less than complete. For example, the entire loss of an arm is shown as 208 weeks on the plan. If you’ve lost 50% of your arm’s usage, you’d get compensated for 104 weeks.
The weekly amount of compensation for scheduled injuries is a fixed sum that fluctuates every year and is not dependent on your pre-injury wages. The planned impairment rate for injuries in the fiscal year starting July 1, 2020 is $337.11 per week. 8-42-107 (Colo. Rev. Stat., 2020).
The above-mentioned Colorado benefits calculator will show you the impairment rate for your date of injury, as well as the suitable number of weeks for the scheduled body part and the percentage of your impairment.
Impairment of the Entire Person
You will get nonscheduled whole person impairment benefits if you suffer a permanent impairment to a portion of your body that is not specified in the schedule, such as your back, neck, or an internal organ. These advantages are calculated using a variety of parameters. First, your doctor will give you an impairment rating in the form of a percentage. Following that, you will be allocated an age factor depending on your age when you attained MMI. Your benefit will be computed by multiplying your impairment rating by 400 weeks and then by your age factor. You will be paid at the TTD rate for the number of weeks that resulted. (Once again, after entering the necessary information, the online benefits calculator will provide the amount and duration of your benefits.) 8-42-107 (Colo. Rev. Stat., 2020).
Disfigurement Awards
You may be eligible for an extra reward if your accident resulted in a major, permanent disfigurement on an area of your body that is generally visible to the public. The maximum value of this prize fluctuates each year as well. Colorado Revised Statute 8-42-108 (2020).)
Colorado’s Combined Benefits Cap
Colorado also has a cap on the amount of combined temporary disability and permanent partial disability compensation you may receive. This limit is adjusted each year. The maximum for injuries occurring in the fiscal year starting July 1, 2020 is $99,094.93 if you have a whole person impairment rating of 25% or less, or $198,187.35 if your whole person impairment rating is more than 25%. 8-42-107.5 (Colo. Rev. Stat., 2020).
Total and Permanent Disability
If your accident or sickness prohibits you from doing any sort of job indefinitely, you will be eligible to permanent total disability payments at your TTD rate for the duration of your total disability—potentially for life. Colorado Revised Statute 8-42-111 (2020).)
Other Colorado Workers’ Compensation Benefits
Additional benefits provided under Colorado workers’ compensation include:
Medical attention. Workers’ compensation covers all reasonable and necessary medical care for a work-related accident or sickness, with no copays or deductibles. (Learn how to seek medical care via workers’ compensation.) You may also get compensated for travel costs such as mileage and parking to medical visits. 8-42-101 (Colo. Rev. Stat., 2020).
Rehabilitation for the workforce. Although Colorado law does not compel you to obtain vocational rehabilitation, many insurance companies do. If you decline an offer of vocational rehabilitation that would allow you to earn income, you will be ineligible for permanent total disability payments. Colorado Revised Statute 8-42-111 (2020).)
Benefits upon death. When an employee dies as a consequence of a work-related accident, the surviving dependents may be entitled for TTD death payments. These payments will be offset in part by other benefits that the survivors may be receiving, such as Social Security survivors’ benefits. Death benefits for surviving spouses terminate when they remarry; payments for dependent children terminate when they reach the age of 18 (or 21 if they are full-time students), unless they are unable to earn their own livelihood. Colorado Revised Statutes 8-42-114, 8-42-115, and 8-42-120 (2020).)
Funeral and burial expenses. Workers’ compensation also covers up to $7,000 in appropriate funeral and burial costs for an employee killed on the job. 8-42-123 (Colo. Rev. Stat., 2020).
Obtaining Assistance in Collecting Workers’ Compensation Benefits
If your employer’s insurance carrier has dismissed your workers’ compensation claim, is delaying or refusing to pay benefits, or refuses to permit necessary medical care, you should consult with a workers’ compensation attorney. A local attorney with knowledge in this area can review your case, advise you on whether to pursue an appeal, ensure your rights are preserved in a settlement agreement, and assist you in obtaining all of the benefits you are entitled to. (Learn more about how a competent workers’ compensation lawyer may assist you.)