Denver Workers' Compensation Lawyers

The Eley Law Firm

1873 South Bellaire Street, Suite 1200
Denver, Colorado 80222
USA

(720) 279-9172 or(866) 458-6360

(303) 226-4774

www.eleylawfirm.com

Contact The Eley Law Firm

Law Firm Overview FREE CONSULTATION

The Eley Law Firm focuses solely on workers' compensation. We have been representing injured workers in Colorado for over 25 years. We limit our practice to helping workers’ compensation claimants. We have never represented an insurance company.

We have helped hundreds of workers in Denver and throughout Colorado protect their rights.

Attorney Cliff Eley graduated in 1980 with honors from Brigham Young University. He graduated from J. Rueben Clark School of Law at Brigham Young University in 1983; he was a member of the Law Review. He is a founding member of Colorado’s largest and foremost association of claimant’s attorneys: the Workers’ Compensation Education Association. He is also a member of the Colorado Bar Association and a past chairman of the Workers’ Compensation Section of the Colorado Bar.

The Eley Law Firm is dedicated to representing workers who have been injured on the job. The Colorado Workers’ Compensation Act is a very complicated area of the law, and only the most experienced attorneys do not fall into its has many pitfalls.

Insurance companies are very familiar with the Workers’ Compensation Act and can use that knowledge against your interests. You need the advice of an experienced workers’ compensation lawyer. Our workers’ compensation lawyers have over 20 years of experience; they help individuals throughout Colorado get the benefits needed to support their families and pay their medical bills.

Languages: Spanish & English

Areas of Law

Additional Areas of Law: No-Fault Work Injuries; Disability Ratings; Lost Wages; Permanent Disability; Medical Benefits; Lump Sum Payments; Re-Opening a Closed Case; Rehabilitation Rights; Dependency and Death Benefits; Heart Attack; Repetitive Lifting Injuries; Knee Injury/Meniscus Tear; Lifting/Pushing/Turning/Pulling Injuries; CRPS, RSD; Amputations; Occupational Disease; Intervening Injury.

Areas of Law Description

- Workers' Compensation

At the Eley Law Firm, we represent only injured workers. We do not represent insurance companies. We do not practice any other type of law besides workers’ compensation. For over 20 years, our workers’ compensation (sometimes called workmans’ comp) lawyers have been helping workers in Denver and throughout Colorado protect their rights. The law of workers’ compensation is very complex, and adjusters will often try to take advantage of the fact that you do not know the law. It is important to consult with an experienced workers’ compensation lawyer to make sure that you receive the benefits you deserve, and to make sure that you are getting the medical treatment you need.

- Temporary Disability Benefits

Temporary disability benefits are designed to replace the wages lost as a result of an injury. They consist of a maximum of two-thirds of the worker’s wages, not to exceed an upper limit, which is adjusted yearly. There are two types of temporary disability benefits: temporary total disability and temporary partial disability benefits. Temporary total disability benefits (“TTD”) are paid when a claimant is unable to work at all because of an injury. The ability to work is determined by the authorized treating physician. In this case, the injured worker is paid two-thirds of their average weekly wage, not to exceed the limits mentioned above.

- Medical Benefits

Injured workers are entitled to medical treatment at the expense of the workers’ compensation insurance carrier to help cure and relieve the effects of the injury. This treatment is given by “authorized treating physicians.” What is often a problem for injured workers is that these “authorized treating physicians” are chosen by the employer, not the employee. Many of the physicians have long and profitable relationships with the employer or the insurance company and have had no long-term relationship with the injured worker. Thus, pressure may be put on the physician to release the injured worker from treatment early or to find that the injured worker has no impairment.

- No Fault Work Injuries

Workers’ compensation in Colorado is a no-fault system, meaning it doesn’t matter who is to blame for the accident. You can be injured because of the carelessness of a fellow employee, your boss, or even through your own fault. Often, people are injured purely by chance and no one is to blame. Regardless of fault, an injured worker is entitled to workers’ compensation benefits. Unfortunately, your benefits can be reduced if your injury was the result of your knowingly violating a safety rule. Insurance companies can reduce wage loss benefits and permanent impairment benefits by 50% for safety rule violations. Frequently, this is done without a hearing, which forces the injured worker to file an application for hearing in an effort to regain full benefits.

- Permanent and Partial Disability Benefits

If a worker reaches maximum medical improvement but still suffers from work-related injuries, the worker may be eligible for permanent impairment benefits. There are two types of permanent impairment benefits in Colorado: Permanent partial disability benefits; and Permanent total disability benefit. Permanent partial disability benefits ("PPD") are paid to workers who have a permanent physical impairment but can return to some type of employment. The Colorado Supreme Court has ruled that injured workers who can earn any wages are entitled only to permanent partial disability benefits and not entitled to permanent total disability benefits. Permanent partial disability benefits are paid based on a disability rating provided by the authorized treating physician. This rating is based on a rating procedure provided by the American Medical Association in its publication "The Guides to Evaluating Permanent Impairment" (Third Edition, Revised).

- Work-Related Injuries

Work-related injuries can be severe, such as a spinal cord injury, or seemingly minor, such as carpal tunnel syndrome. Regardless of the degree of seriousness, any injury can affect your ability to work. If your job performance has suffered as a result of a workplace injury, an experienced attorney can help you secure the workers' comp benefits to which you are entitled. Head injuries, traumatic brain injuries, and back or neck injuries resulting in paralysis are very serious. So long as a worker can prove that these injuries occurred while at work, the chances of receiving benefits are good. Consideration should be given to the frequency, type and severity of symptoms. Other work-related injuries include: amputations, loss of hearing, loss of vision, heart attacks, paralysis and spinal cord injuries.