Lost Wages and Workers’ Compensation Benefits
When workers sustain an on-the-job injury, Colorado workers’ compensation laws stipulate that they are entitled to compensation for their lost wages, regardless of whether their injury puts them out of work for days, weeks or months at a time or the injury permanently prevents them from being able to earn a living. Injured workers’ rights to compensation for their lost wages is set forth in Colorado Code sections 8-42-101 through 8-42-125, which specifically stipulates (among other things) that:
- Injured workers who are temporarily totally disabled and, as a result, unable to work can be compensated for up to 67
percent of their weekly income immediately prior to their injury. - Injured workers who are temporarily partially disabled and can still work can be compensated for up to 67 percent of the difference in their income prior to their injury and their income on their subsequent restricted work schedule.
- These lost wages benefits will continue to be paid until the injured worker is:
- Deemed ready to return to work fulltime
- Deemed ready to return to work part-time in a job that offers similar compensation and hours to the job that the individual had before the injury
- Deemed to have achieved his maximum medical improvement (in which case the injured person should pursue permanent disability benefits)
- Fired (justly).
How Lost Wages Benefits Can Be Undercut by Employers
Despite such stipulations for lost wage compensation, employers may try to significantly undercut these benefits to limit the amount they are paying out by trying to:
- Claim that an injured worker is ready to return to work before he is actually able to do so
- Find a “legitimate” reason to fire the injured worker
- Undercut the injured worker’s stated salary prior to the injury by, for example, omitting part of his income (such as his bonuses or commissions).
How the Denver Workers’ Compensation Lawyers at the Bisset Law Firm Can Help You
Have you been injured at work? If so, you will need an experienced attorney on your side to help you fight for the compensation you need. The skilled Denver workers’ compensation attorneys at the Bisset Law Firm want you to know that we are here to defend your rights and help you secure the benefits you deserve. Our experienced legal professionals are dedicated to providing each of our clients with the highest quality legal representation and, ultimately, to helping them obtain the best possible resolutions to their cases.
When you work with our Denver workers’ compensation lawyers, you can trust that we will work diligently to keep your case moving forward and that we will keep you advised of every development in your case as soon as it happens. While this means that you can rely on us to promptly return every one of your phone calls, it also means that we will work relentlessly to meet all of your case deadlines so that you have the best chances of securing the maximum possible compensation for your injuries and losses.
While we offer knowledgeable, superior counsel to anyone seriously injured on the job, some of our additional key strengths include our fierce negotiating skills, our extensive trial experience and our readiness to take decisive action when the denial or delay of a workers’ compensation claim is finally overruled. Contact the Denver workers’ compensation lawyers at the Bisset Law Firm by calling (303) 894-8900 to learn more about your rights and receive a professional evaluation of your case.
