Calculating Average Weekly Wage for Workers’ Compensation in Colorado

Dec 4, 2023 | WC & Other Laws

Calculating Average Weekly Wage for Workers’ Compensation in Colorado – One of the most important areas in any Workers’ Compensation case is calculating what’s called the average weekly wage since it has some incredible impacts on the case.

The average weekly wage is the injured worker’s gross income at the time of the injury. How much were they making at not only the job they were injured at, but if they were working at other jobs, we can also try to get that included.

Average weekly wage includes fringe benefits, overtime, and concurrent employment, which are other jobs that the injured worker was performing at the time of the injury, and it’s very critical because most of the injured benefits are based on calculating the average weekly wage correctly.

How’s the average weekly wage calculated?

The insurance companies typically say, how much did you make the prior six weeks or 12 weeks before you got injured? And then they’ll add it up and divide it by 6 or 12, but sometimes that doesn’t work for different reasons.

For example, what happens if you’re in a kind of job where you do seasonal work, and you’re injured right before the big push comes, and all the time prior, you were earning less than you normally do? Or what happens if you get a raise right before the injury? If they just do the division, it’s going to dilute the raise.

Importance in calculating average weekly wage accurately

In our experience, the insurance carrier calculates the average weekly wage accurately only 1/3 of the time and 2/3 of the time; we’re able to calculate a higher amount. When we’re able to calculate a higher average weekly wage, it means the stream of benefits is increased for the injured worker.

Not all fringe benefits are included, health insurance can be included, but only if you lose the health insurance, the cost of housing, gasoline, and sometimes meals can be included, and all of those can be fought over.

We’re here to help.

Have you or a loved one suffered a workplace injury in Colorado? At Kaplan Morrell, we’re here to support you. Our expert team is just a call or text away at 970-356-9898. You can also easily reach out to a member of our Workers’ Compensation Claim team through our chat feature right here.

Rest assured, every consultation with us is not only free but also held in the strictest confidence. Let Kaplan Morrell guide you toward the peace of mind and benefits you deserve.