Hired in Colorado but injured elsewhere: Am I covered?

Apr 26, 2024 | Employment Concerns, WC & Other Laws

Hired in Colorado but injured elsewhere: Am I covered? – To get covered under Colorado law for Workers’ Compensation there are 3 things to consider: whether you were hired in Colorado when you got injured, and whether your employer is subject to the laws of Colorado.

Were you hired in Colorado?

Courts will look at where the communications took place, where was the offer made, where was it accepted. If all the fundamental parts of a contract, which are offer, acceptance, capacity, consideration, and legality, occur in Colorado, then they will consider you as having been hired in Colorado.

When did you get injured?

If you work out of state and you have been there a long time and you get injured, they will consider you an employee in that state and covered under that state’s laws.

Typically, if you’ve been injured within six months of leaving Colorado, you’re still covered under Colorado law, unless your employer agrees explicitly to cover you longer under Colorado law.

Is your employer subject to the laws of Colorado?

An unusual type of employment that’s immune from Workers’ Compensation is if you’re an employee of an Indian tribe.

Indian tribes are immune from a lot of state laws including Workers’ Compensation, so you could be hired in Colorado, work in Colorado, get injured in Colorado, and not be covered if you’re working for an Indian tribe.

Where can you obtain more benefits?

All states have different laws, that determine their Workers’ Compensation benefits, and some states are better than others.

If you’ve been hired in Colorado and injured elsewhere, where there are less favorable benefits than Colorado, then you want to be covered under Colorado Workers’ Compensation law, but if they have better benefits maybe you don’t want to be covered under Colorado law.

It’s in your best interest to contact a lawyer to find out what state is the better state for you to seek your remedies, and whether or not you can even choose.