Hurt at work in Colorado? Deadlines, weekly benefit and how to file

Tell your employer in writing within 10 days (the date of the injury). File your claim within 2 years (the date of the injury, or of death resulting from it).

Temporary total disability (TTD) benefits can pay two-thirds of your gross (before-tax) wages, up to $1,464.12 a week (July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027).

Your employer's insurer, not the state, usually decides first. If they deny or delay, the free help listed here can explain your options.

In Colorado, temporary total disability pays part of your lost wages while your doctor keeps you off work or your employer cannot give you work within your restrictions. Your employer's insurance company (called the respondents together with your employer) handles the claim, and disputes are decided by an administrative law judge at the Office of Administrative Courts.

What are my deadlines?How much will I get?Who is my doctor?Claim denied?

Checked against official sources: October 31, 2026.

Deadlines are strict. If you are near one, call the state agency or free help today.

Free tools for Colorado

Free tools that run in your browser. Nothing you enter is saved or sent until you download, copy or print a document.

Deadline helper

Worked out in your browser. Nothing you enter here is saved or sent.

If you are not sure of the exact day, use the earliest day you think it could be.

Enter the date of injury

We add the number from the law to your date. Nothing is saved.

Benefit estimate calculator

This estimate uses the rule in Colorado's data: a share of your average weekly wage, up to the state maximum.

Worked out in your browser. Nothing you enter here is saved or sent.

Gross pay per week, as the insurer would figure it. Include regular overtime and tips if they were part of your pay.

Enter your pay

We apply the rule in the law. Nothing is saved.

Written notice to your employer

A letter that tells your employer, in writing, that you were hurt or made sick by your work.

Where the reply should be sent.

Required when you mail it. Not needed if you hand it in person.

In your own words, in English. Keep it short and factual. Do not guess why it happened.

It goes into the letter as you type it.

Other formats

Claim checklist: what to gather and do

A printable list of papers to keep and steps to take.

What you already have

Colorado
Other formats

Your checklist

Deadlines in Colorado

Tell your employer
10 days
File your claim
2 years
Waiting period

Wage benefits are not paid until you have missed more than three shifts because of the injury.

All the details →

Weekly benefit in Colorado

What it pays
Two-thirds of your gross (before-tax) wages
Maximum
$1,464.12 a week (July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027)
Minimum rule

Colorado's law sets no minimum weekly amount for temporary total disability. A low-wage worker receives two-thirds of his or her own average weekly wage.

Applies to
Injuries on or after July 1, 2026 (the maximum is set each July 1 and applies by date of injury)

Law: C.R.S. §§ 8-42-102, 8-42-105, 8-42-107.5, 8-47-106

Source: cdle.colorado.gov

All the details →

Who is your doctor in Colorado?

Who chooses
You choose from a list
Network
Designated provider list (at least four providers) from the employer

In an emergency, go to the nearest hospital. Otherwise your employer must give you a written list of at least four doctors or clinics (the designated provider list), and you choose one of them. If your employer does not give you the written list within 7 business days after you report the injury, you may choose your own doctor.

Within 90 days after the injury you can make a one-time change to another doctor on the designated list without the insurer's approval, using Form WC3. To switch to another doctor at any time (including one not on the list), file a Request for Change of Physician; the insurer has 20 days to approve or deny it.

Source: Form WC197

Law: C.R.S. § 8-43-404(5)

Source: cdle.colorado.gov

Who is covered in Colorado

Size of employer

Every employer with one or more employees working in Colorado must have workers' compensation insurance, whether the employees are part-time, full-time or family members.

Special rules
  • Domestic workers (including nannies and au pairs): A domestic worker may be exempt if he or she works less than 40 hours a week and fewer than five days a week.
  • Casual farm and ranch labor; casual maintenance at the employer's business: Exempt only if the worker is paid no more than $2,000 a year.
Not covered
  • True independent contractors (free from direction and control and running an independent business doing that kind of work)
  • Real estate brokers and agents working solely on commission under contract
  • Some truck drivers who lease vehicles to or from a motor carrier
  • Ski volunteers
  • Corporate officers and LLC members who own at least 10% and formally reject coverage
  • Federal employees, longshore and harbor workers, railroad workers and seamen are covered by federal programs, sometimes in addition to state law
Contractors

Anyone paid to do work is presumed to be an employee. Being paid on a 1099 or W-9 does not make you a contractor. To be an independent contractor you must be free from the employer's direction and control and have an independent business doing that type of work.

Immigrant workers

Your immigration status is not a factor in whether you can receive workers' compensation benefits. All employees have the right to pursue a claim.

If your employer has no insurance

If your employer had no insurance, still file the Worker's Claim for Compensation (WC15) with the Division. After a hearing and a judge's order awarding you benefits, you can apply to the Colorado Uninsured Employer Fund (for injuries on or after January 1, 2020). Your employer still owes you any benefits the fund does not pay.

Colorado Uninsured Employer (CUE) Fund

Check your employer's insurance

Law: C.R.S. §§ 8-40-202, 8-40-301, 8-40-302, 8-44-101, 8-67-101 et seq

Source: cdle.colorado.gov

If your claim is denied or delayed in Colorado

First step

Call DOWC Customer Service (free, English and Spanish) at 303-318-8700 or 1-888-390-7936 for directions. Make sure your Worker's Claim for Compensation (WC15) is on file.

Form
Application for Hearing (Office of Administrative Courts)

All the details →

Lawyers' fees and other benefits in Colorado

A worker's attorney may not take a contingent fee from previously incurred medical benefits paid in a permanent disability award. In contested cases that are not appealed, a contingent fee above 25% of the contested benefits is presumed unreasonable, and the Division Director can review whether a fee is reasonable at the worker's request.

Law: C.R.S. § 8-43-403(1)

Besides medical care and temporary total disability, Colorado pays temporary partial disability if you work at reduced pay, permanent partial disability (scheduled or whole-person impairment), permanent total disability at the TTD rate, disfigurement awards, death benefits to dependents and up to $14,891.25 for funeral costs, plus mileage and parking for medical visits.

Free help in Colorado

State agency

Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, Division of Workers' Compensation (DOWC)

Phone
1-888-390-7936
Address
707 17th Street, Suite 2300, Denver, CO 80202

Free help

Good to know in Colorado

  • Ask in writing for mileage and parking for medical visits within 120 days of the trip; the insurer must pay or explain the denial within 30 days (DOWC).
  • Workers' compensation does not by itself provide job protection; DOWC refers workers who think they were treated in a discriminatory way to the Colorado Civil Rights Division or the EEOC.
  • Non-medical benefits can be cut by 50% if the injury happened because you broke a safety rule or you test positive for unauthorized drugs or alcohol (DOWC).

Changes in 2024–2026

The maximum weekly benefit rose to $1,464.12 for injuries from July 1, 2026. The Division launched its new CoComp claims system for insurers on July 20, 2026, and revised the one-time change of physician form (WC3) in July 2026.

Questions about workers' comp in Colorado

How long do I have to tell my employer about a work injury in Colorado?

Tell your employer about the injury in writing within 10 days after it happens. If your employer is self-insured or in a public-entity self-insurance pool, the law gives 10 working days.

How long do I have to file a workers' comp claim in Colorado?

File a Worker's Claim for Compensation (WC15) with the Division within 2 years after your injury. The Division encourages every injured worker to file it, even if the employer reported the injury.

How much does workers' comp pay in Colorado?

Temporary total disability (TTD) benefits can pay two-thirds of your gross (before-tax) wages, up to $1,464.12 a week (July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027).

Can I choose my own doctor for a work injury in Colorado?

In an emergency, go to the nearest hospital. Otherwise your employer must give you a written list of at least four doctors or clinics (the designated provider list), and you choose one of them.

What if my workers' comp claim is denied in Colorado?

Call DOWC Customer Service (free, English and Spanish) at 303-318-8700 or 1-888-390-7936 for directions. Make sure your Worker's Claim for Compensation (WC15) is on file.

Not about a work injury?

Not about a work injury? Unpaid wages → Wage Claim Map · Hurt in a car crash → Accident Claim Map · A medical bill → Medical Bill Map · Unemployment benefits → Unemployment Claim Map · Other problems → robinclaim.com

Nearby states

Sources