Colorado Workers’ Compensation Lump Sum Payments: When can you request a lump sum from the insurance company?
After a workers’ compensation carrier files a General Admission of Liability after a workers’ compensation injury, the injured worker may request a “lump sum” request for payment of benefits. Learn the mechanics of requesting Colorado Workers’ Compensation Lump Sum Payments.
C.R.S 8-43-406 provides the opportunity to receive a lump sum payment to workers who have suffered a permanent injury. After six months have elapsed from the date of the injury, you can elect to take “all or any part” of the money owed to you in a lump sum. In order to do this, you will need to provide written notice of your request for a lump sum payment and of the amount requested.
When your written request is submitted, the workers’ compensation insurer must calculate the appropriate amount and file a notice that the sum has been paid within 10 days. You must be informed of the method of calculating lump-sum benefits and, if the claimant is unrepresented, this calculation must be based on the present worth of partial payments and based on an assumed interest rate of 4 percent per year.
Regardless of the calculation, the lump sum payments awarded may not exceed a maximum rate. The maximum lump sum is adjusted each year on July 1. The most recent maximum benefit publication issued by the Colorado Division of Workers’ Compensation limits lump-sum payments to $94,330.19
Additionally, 8-42-123, burial expenses up to $7,000 are paid as a lump sum within 30 days of a work-related death. Further, under 8-42-120, a widow who remarries after her spouse died of a work-injury is entitled to a two-year lump sum death benefit payment upon her remarriage (less any lump sums already paid previously).
Click here to download the Lump Sum Payment Form approved by the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment Divison of Workers’ Compensation.
To learn more about workers’ compensation benefits contact Mandelaris Law to schedule a free no-obligation consultation with an attorney.