Important deadlines for workers' comp claims

Injured workers in Colorado have to work by official deadlines. If they miss a date by one day, their chance of winning a claim could be lost.

One-month deadline

The respondent to your claim has 30 days from the day that you reach your Maximum Medical Improvement to file a final admission of liability. The deadline for filing an objection to the final admission is within 30 days.

Four-day deadline

A workplace injury is reported to the employer in writing within four days, according to the Workers' Compensation Act of Colorado. Then, the employee is provided a list of employer-designated medical providers to choose from.

Two-year deadline

Two years is the deadline to file a claim for workers' compensation after the injury date. Not filing by the deadline means the claim will not be considered. The injured worker continues to receive payments for benefits until reaching his or her Maximum Medical Improvement.

The importance of filing on time

There are several reasons why workers have to file compensation claims on time. An injured worker has an injury that requires immediate medical treatments, and the treatments add up to mounting bills. They need medical benefits, including lost wages, to cover their immediate expenses. In addition, filing is easier when the case is new. Filing as early as possible means using evidence from an incident that happened a few days or weeks ago.

Colorado has strict deadlines for a worker to file information about a workers' compensation case. There is a deadline to report your injury and another date to file your claim for the approval or denial of benefits. The rules and dates are outlined under the state's workers' comp laws.