Mom injured at work.

[hobithairshop]

Colorado, my mom was injured at work *08/09/2011*. She tripped over a power cord of an electric fan. she landed on both knees and elbows. Resultant injuries were right arm broken above the elbow. Left knee cap broken. Right leg just below the knee cap a impact injury resulting in deep bruising of the bone marrow, they called it a flat break or something. We both work at the same cafe. Mom spent a week in the hospital and I have cared for her since bringing her home. Neither of us have been able to work in over a month now. The employer does NOT carry workers compensation. They have liability insurance that has an exclusion for employees. They turned the injury over to their insurance company who after their investigation said there was no negligence and therefore there is no compensation. I am wondering what the laws are re: workers compensation in the state of colorado, and if there are any steps we can take. This has caused a tremendous financial strain on us with no income.

[1171]

Yes.
seems like the employer is illegally uninsured:
http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite?c=P...DLEWrapper

unless they are legally self-insured -which is unusual for small businesses- but you can check here
https://www.ewccv.com/cvs/

your mother may need legal representation. here is a link to a list of work comp specialists:
http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite/CDL...8095316088

if she hasn't already done so your mother needs to report the injury to the employer in writing ASAP and keep a copy. file form 15 here
http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite?c=P...DLEWrapper


there is a fund setup to pay benefits to the injured employees of uninsured employers.
if the employer has no work comp coverage, then your mother should contact the division of workers comp to find out how to apply or for more information:
http://www.coworkforce.com/dwc/ContactNu...ontact.asp

more information here
http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite/CDL...0336932511

[LeglEgl]

(09-14-2011 12:19 PM)hobithairshop Wrote:  They have liability insurance that has an exclusion for employees.

This is because their PREMISES LIABILITY insurance is not the policy that will cover a work injury to an employee. Workers Compensation Insurance is your exclusive remedy.

Look over the links provided by 1171 - she is very astute at locating resources.

I would HIGHLY recommend that your Mother retain legal counsel immediately.

[hobithairshop]

Hello, thank you so much for the advise and guidance, I was not sure where to turn. I can see they are illegally uninsured, I tried to access:

unless they are legally self-insured -which is unusual for small businesses- but you can check here
https://www.ewccv.com/cvs/

I cant seem to get to that link for some reason, i get an error.
I can open this form 15 in wordpad, but the text seems all messed up and in the wrong locations on the form. I cant seem to open it in acrobat reader for some reason. But I am still trying
Do you think we can file a workers comp claim even tho this business does not have workers comp insurance?

We also tried to get legal counsel, and were told that we could not file a lawsuit due to the fact that the employer/business is running as LLC, *corporation* we seem to have hit a brick wall here but surely we must have SOME legal recourse. We were told that if we did retain legal counsel that all fees would fall on us. Yet we have not been able to work in over a month to even pay our household bills, much less an attorney

[1171]

the colorado site makes it difficult to link to various pages.

the search is on a secure site.
start from this page for coverage search
http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite/CDL...8095316013

yes, you can file but contact the Division for help from the link I previously gave.

I have no opinion about the credibility of the information you received on legal representation since the source is unknown.
hopefully it came from one of the work comp specialist attys from the list whose link I posted.

[LeglEgl]

(09-14-2011 06:13 PM)hobithairshop Wrote:  We also tried to get legal counsel, and were told that we could not file a lawsuit.....

It is not true that you cannot sue an LLC (or individual member of an LLC) in Colorado. Both Florida and Colorado have REMOVED the protections afforded LLC members.

Furthermore, according to the Colorado Department of Labor ..."the Colorado Workers’ Compensation Act does not provide a fund to cover the medical expenses or lost wages of employees injured while working for an uninsured employer. Employers have sole responsibility to provide insurance. If an employer is determined to be uninsured at the time of an injury, s/he must pay all statutory medical and disability benefits for the injured employee and an additional 50% of all temporary, permanent and disfigurement benefits."

A Colorado employer must have workers' compensation insurance if they regularly employ three or more workers at one time, or if they regularly employed at least one worker for 35 hours or more per week for 13 weeks or longer during the preceding 52 weeks.

Failure to carry workers compensation insurance can result in a fine of $250.00 per day (for the first incident) and a revocation of the business license until such insurance is obtained. Basically, the State of Colorado would order the business to cease operations.

I don't know if you contacted a Workers Compensation attorney, but you need to find an attorney who knows the law.