Common Denver Workers Compensation Claim Terms to Know
After experiencing an accident on the job, you will immediately need to file your report and get the process started. As you go through a Denver workers' compensation claim, you may encounter words and terms you don't know. Don't fret; this is where your human resources department and go-to local workers compensation attorney excel. Get to know more about the top terms you may hear when filing your claim.
Average Weekly Wage
The average weekly wage is a calculation of salary when a person is working to get disability (total, partial or total). To find this number, the sum of a person’s prior year earnings is divided by 52 (for the number of weeks in a year).
Benefit Review Conference
If you have an issue or disagreement regarding your claim, a benefit review conference may take place. With a BRC, a mediator will be introduced to help the two parties in dispute come together.
Claim
The claim is the report an employee files after sustaining an injury while on the job. When reporting injuries in Colorado, you will need to file as soon as possible. Your employer will need to have your claim submitted to their insurer 10 days after the incident.
Functional Capacity Evaluation
During your time on workers’ compensation, you will need to continue visiting a doctor for regular appointments. These appointments will continue until the physician feels confident the employee is ready and safe to return to work. This process is the functional capacity evaluation.
Impairment Rating
When a doctor feels the quality of a medical situation stemming from an on-the-job accident cannot be improved any further, if they will be permanently affected, an impairment rating will be assigned.
Maximum Medical Improvement
Also once a person has completed the extent of treatment for an injury, the doctor will assign a maximum medical improvement. While a person might continue to seek treatment after, it may not be covered under worker’s compensation. Worker’s compensation benefits may stop as well, depending on the situation and injury.
Permanent Partial Disability
Those with permanent partial disability are workers that have recovered from an injury enough to get back to work, however, may have lost their ability to do specific tasks because of the injury. The person may then receive benefits based on this change.
Permanent Total Disability
If a person sustains a permanent injury from a work accident and unable to work, they may receive permanent total disability funds.
Statute of Limitations
The statute of limitations is the deadline a claim must be filed. For Colorado, most situations have a two-year statute of limitations. In some cases, it can be three but typically requires more documentation. This date is something that is best to discuss with a lawyer.
Temporary Total Disability
If a worker can come back to work post-injury but has not been assigned a maximum medical improvement rating, they can get two-thirds of their pay from temporary total disability.
Navigating the worker’s compensation process can be tough. Mark A. Simon is your premier attorney at law to walk you through all things related. Contact Mark A. Simon today for your free worker’s compensation consultation.