Denver Personal Injury Law Blog

These days it is pretty much common knowledge that drinking alcohol and driving can cause a devastating impact on a person's life if an accident occurs due to this reckless behavior. Drunk driving is so prevalent and has such a serious impact on American society that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention keeps statistics on just how catastrophic the impact can be.

According to the CDC, nearly 30 people die in America each day due to a car accident that involved an impaired driver. That means that one person dies in our country due to this serious problem about once per hour; more frequently than that, actually. In a recent year - 2016 - of all the traffic accidents that occurred in America, 28 percent involved drinking and driving. The facts are pretty clear: drunk driving, despite decades of public awareness campaigns, still has an expensive and deadly impact on thousands of lives each year.

Many of our readers in Colorado may have the vague notion that if they are injured on-the-job they have some legal protections in place to help them get through the situation, namely workers' compensation benefits. However, what exactly are your employer's obligations when it comes to workers' compensation?

Well, for starters, in Colorado almost all employers are required to have coverage for workers' compensation. There are some very limited exceptions to this requirement. So, chances are your employer does have workers' compensation coverage, although it would behoove any employee in Colorado to verify whether that is the case for sure. Employers' workers' compensation coverages are intended to protect employees, which almost every worker who receives pay from the employer is presumed to be. The other classification is as an independent contractor, who may not be covered.

An unexpected truck accident can devastate the lives of the victims. Because truck accidents can result in catastrophic injuries and damages to truck accident victims, it is important for truck accident victims and their families to be familiar with the legal protections available to them when they have been harmed because a truck driver or trucking company was negligent and a truck was not properly handled or maintained.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that during 2011 alone 3,757 victims were killed and 88,000 victims were injured in large truck accidents. During the same year, 287,000 large trucks were involved in truck accidents throughout the U.S. In Colorado, most people are no strangers to sharing the roadways with large trucks. Because of their size, especially when compared to the average motor vehicle they share the roadway with, truck accidents can result in serious harm to victims.

You may not associate workers' compensation with auto accidents in Colorado, but the two may be intertwined depending on the circumstances. If you were working at the time of your car accident, you could be eligible for workers' compensation benefits.

Applying for workers' comp after a job-related car accident could result in payment for your medical costs and two-thirds of your gross weekly wages. You could receive payment for weeks or months depending on the extent of your injuries.