Colorado Department of Labor and Employment: fair warning

Feb 21 2015

When a Denver construction worker is injured on the job, one of the first things he or she might do after receiving medical treatment is to go to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment’s website. The site is crammed with useful information tailored to various audiences, including injured workers, employers, doctors, insurers and workers’ comp attorneys, among others. One very important group of people in the “among others” category is those who decide to represent themselves in critical disputes with insurers, employers or physicians over workers’ compensation benefits. As the Department of Labor and Employment states, most claims are…

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A plan for fixing Social Security for decades

Feb 11 2015

The issue is detailed and discussed more and more in newspapers and on websites Denver residents read. The issue is the looming budget shortfall for the Social Security Disability trust fund. As we have noted in this space before, if no funding fix is implemented, the trust will be able to pay SSDI/SSD beneficiaries only about 80 percent of their benefits. However, Sen. Bernie Sanders has come up with a solution detailed in a 12-page report. The solution is straightforward: eliminate the cap on payroll deductions. That simple step would mean that middle-class taxpayers and millionaires would contribute the same…

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Obama to Congress reluctant to fix: ‘No dice’

Feb 04 2015

We have in the recent past referred to a growing, dark cloud on the horizon. A fiscal crisis at the Social Security Administration could potentially mean that SSD/SSDI beneficiaries will next year see a cut of about 20 percent in benefits, if Congress and President Barack Obama don’t hammer out a solution beforehand. A recent editorial points out that the House of Representatives has declared it won’t agree to a solution that includes an easy fix to the problem that would involve a small shifting of retirement funds to the trust set up to pay disabled American workers. The editorial…

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Part II: Colorado study examines worker wellness program

Jan 28 2015

As our regular readers undoubtedly remember, our last post took a look at a Colorado-based study on how wellness programs might benefit both workers and employers. Past research has shown that in large companies, improved worker wellness can reduce workplace injuries and workers’ compensation costs. As its title suggests, the study called “Implementation of a Worksite Wellness Program Targeting Small Businesses: The Pinnacol Assurance Health Risk Management Study” examined potential benefits of wellness programs at small Colorado businesses. Of the 6,507 people studied, 38.9 percent are considered of normal weight, 34.3 percent were classified as overweight and 25.6 percent are…

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Part I: Colorado study examines worker wellness program

Jan 22 2015

A recently published Colorado-based study looks at the degree to which small businesses in our state have embraced a worksite wellness program and how the program might benefit both employers and workers. The program was provided to them at no cost by workers’ compensation insurer Pinnacol. Past research has suggested that efforts to improve employee health can benefit employers, who can see productivity increase while health care costs and workers’ comp costs decrease. “Implementation of a Worksite Wellness Program Targeting Small Businesses: The Pinnacol Assurance Health Risk Management Study” was published in the January issue of the Journal of Occupational…

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House setting stage for battle over SSDI

Jan 14 2015

On the first day of the new Congress, the House of Representatives enacted the type of rules change that often flies under the radar in the nation’s capital. While the obscure procedural change didn’t grab headlines, its passage signaled a looming fight over Social Security Disability funding. As you know, the SSDI trust fund will be exhausted next year. If no new funding is appropriated, benefits to disabled workers, their children and their spouses would have to be slashed by about 20 percent.  That means a disabled Denver resident currently receiving the maximum SSDI payment ($2,663 per month) would see…

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How to claim disability for an adult disabled child

Jan 10 2015

Persons who qualify may be able to apply to receive Social Security Disability benefits to help adult disabled children. According to information provided by the Disability Planning Data website, over 10 percent of people in the state of Colorado from 16 to 64 years of age are considered to be disabled. This categorization can include a wide range of disabilities with some being mild to moderate and others being quite severe. The nature of each disability can directly affect the person’s ability to earn a living. Disability benefits can be made available to some people who are disabled to the…

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An experienced, focused firm

Jan 07 2015

As our readers know, people who want to excel must first be focused. Because our Denver law firm is focused exclusively on two areas of law – Colorado workers’ compensation and Social Security Disability – we excel in serving our clients and fighting to help them receive the deserved benefits they have earned and that they need. Our attention is on the workers who have been injured on the job and have been turned down for workers’ compensation benefits, as well as people who are prevented from working by illness or injury and are being denied Social Security Disability. In…

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The aftermath of an on-the-job car accident

Jan 01 2015

Some of our readers might remember a time when advice columns were a staple of daily newspapers. Dear Abby, Ask Landers and others dispensed advice to the lovelorn, neighbors annoyed with the person next door and co-workers fed up with someone at the office. One of today’s surviving sages is Harriette Cole, a syndicated columnist who recently received a letter from a Denver woman whose husband was recently “seriously hurt” and cannot work as a result. Though the letter was short on details, it said her husband was injured in a car accident and that he has applied for workers’…

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COLA coming in a few days for SSD

Dec 23 2014

As 2014 readies to draw to a close, a new year is about to burst onto the scene. The nearly 64 million Americans who receive Social Security retirement benefits, Supplemental Security Income and Social Security Disability benefits can all expect a small gift to be part of each 2015 month: a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) of 1.7 percent. Although the average monthly SSD benefit will only rise about $19, it will add up to $228 for the year. And as the old saying goes, every penny counts. The increase begins in January and will result in average monthly checks going up…

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