Colorado Workers Comp

How your weekly check is calculated in Colorado

Colorado pays 66⅔% of your average weekly wage for the weeks you cannot work because of the injury. The check is capped at the state maximum and floored at the state minimum. That sounds straightforward, and at the wage levels most people earn it is. Once your wage is high enough to bump into the cap, the math stops being two-thirds and starts being whatever $1,396.85 works out to.

A worked example for a worker earning $1,000 a week:

1. Pre-injury average weekly wage: $1,000
2. Two-thirds of that: $666.67
3. Compare to the state cap of $1,396.85: the cap does not bite at this wage, so the weekly check is $666.67.
4. Compare to the state floor of $25.00: the floor does not bite either, so $666.67 stands.

For a worker earning $3,000 a week, the math gets cut off by the cap. Two-thirds would be $2,000.00, but the state caps the check at $1,396.85. The amount above the cap is lost.

The four benefit types Colorado pays

Colorado workers comp pays in four buckets, and most claims involve more than one. A claim can sit in TTD for months, transition to PPD when the doctor declares the condition stable, and add a permanent total disability claim on top if the injury prevents any return to work.

Temporary total disability (TTD)

Pays while you cannot work at all because of the injury. Usually two-thirds of your average weekly wage, capped at $1,396.85. TTD ends when you return to work, when the doctor releases you, or when you reach maximum medical improvement.

Temporary partial disability (TPD)

Pays when you can work but only at reduced hours or lighter duties that cut your wages. Colorado pays a share of the wage gap so the loss is cushioned while you recover.

Permanent partial disability (PPD)

Pays once you reach maximum medical improvement and a doctor finds a permanent loss. Colorado uses a body-part schedule to set the number of weeks of PPD you get. The Colorado settlement chart lays this out body part by body part.

Permanent total disability (PTD)

Pays if the injury leaves you unable to work in any reasonably available job. PTD usually runs for life, sometimes capped by retirement age, depending on the Colorado statute.

Deadlines you have to hit in Colorado

Two deadlines do most of the damage in Colorado workers comp claims. Workers who miss them often find out months later, when the insurance company denies the claim and points at the calendar.

1. Notice to the employer: 10 days from the date of the injury. Write it down, give a copy to a supervisor, and keep proof you delivered it.
2. Formal claim filing: 2 years from the date of the injury, or from the last payment of medical or indemnity benefits, whichever is later.

Notice to employer in writing within 10 days of the injury (C.R.S. § 8-43-102). A claim must be filed with the Division of Workers' Compensation within two years of the date of injury or three years if the failure to file was due to a reasonable excuse (C.R.S. § 8-43-103).

Statute citation: C.R.S. §§ 8-42-107, 8-43-102, 8-43-103

The Colorado workers comp process, step by step

1. Report the injury to your employer in writing. Use the deadline above. Keep a dated copy. If the employer hands you a form, fill it out and request a copy on the spot. If they do not, send an email so there is a timestamp.
2. Get medical treatment and tell the provider it is work-related. The provider sends bills to the workers comp carrier instead of your health insurance. Colorado has its own rules about which doctor you can see and when you can switch, so ask at the first visit.
3. Watch for the carrier to accept or deny the claim. If the claim is accepted, weekly checks start showing up after a short waiting period set by state law. If it is denied, you get a written notice explaining why.
4. Reach maximum medical improvement. The doctor decides when the condition is as good as it is going to get. The doctor then assigns an impairment rating, and the rating drives the permanent disability award.
5. Resolve the claim. Colorado resolves claims either through an ongoing benefits award or a lump-sum settlement. Both have tradeoffs. The Colorado settlement chart is the framework most settlements get valued against.

Colorado body-part schedule, top of the chart

Colorado assigns a number of weeks of PPD compensation to each major body part. The body parts with the longest weeks normally map to the most valuable settlements. Click any body part for the Colorado settlement page on that injury. The full Colorado chart has every body part and worked payout math.

Where you file a Colorado workers comp claim

Sources for this page

Every number on this page traces to a public Colorado or federal source.

• Colorado Division of Workers' Compensation
• Colorado DOWC Injured Workers, Understand Potential Benefits
• C.R.S. § 8-42-107 Schedule of Compensation
• DOL OWCP State Workers' Compensation Officials