In Auto Owners Insurance, Petitioner settled a third-party claim for $5 million. The claim was brought against third parties involved in a workplace accident that left Petitioner disabled and receiving ongoing workers’ compensation benefits. Auto Owners Insurance Company, the employer’s workers’ compensation insurance carrier, began paying Petitioner’s medical and wage benefits, but stopped paying ongoing benefits once the third-party settlement had been reached. At that point, $2.1 million had been paid to Petitioner’s attorneys for attorney fees and other expenses associated with the third-party action. Additionally, the insurer paid $1.57 million in medical and indemnity benefits. The Workers’ Compensation Act allows for, and requires, that employers and carriers share in the recovery a Petitioner obtains resulting from third-party settlement.

In Hargon, the claimant was a retired military intelligence member of the United States Army. The claimant began work as a contract intelligence analyst, performing short-term contracts for various employers, including Respondent-Employer, for durations of approximately two to three weeks at a time. The claimant suffered a work injury in February 2024 while working with Respondent-Employer. Respondent-Employer admitted to an average weekly wage (“AWW”) of $123.10 initially, before later amending the admission of liability to reflect an AWW of $382.65 as calculated based on the claimant’s pre-injury earnings from another employer, CSA Global, LLC. The claimant contested the admitted AWW, arguing that the admitted rate failed to fully capture her lost earnings.

In Bane, the claimant was a school bus driver for the Lewis Palmer School District. On October 18, 2024, the claimant suffered a compensable work injury when he was exposed to exhaust from the school bus that he was driving. The claimant heard a whirring sound while driving and called dispatch to report the issue. The claimant was given a copy of the Lewis Palmer Driver’s Handbook at the beginning of his employment, which required a pre-trip vehicle inspection. The ALJ found that Respondents failed to present any credible or persuasive evidence to support the theory that the claimant violated a safety rule by failing to identify the leaking exhaust clamp in his pre- or post-trip inspections.

The claimant worked for the Colorado Department of Revenue from 2006 to 2012. In 2012, the claimant slipped and fell while working, suffering an admitted work injury. The claimant was placed at Maximum Medical Improvement and assigned a permanent impairment rating by Dr. Olson in April 2013. Respondents filed a Final Admission of Liability, admitting to Dr. Olson’s report. The claimant objected to the Final Admission of Liability; however, a settlement agreement was reached prior to any litigation. The claimant filed an application for a hearing to reopen her settlement pursuant to C.R.S. § 8-43-303, alleging that the settlement had been obtained through fraud and asserting that her cognitive issues had prevented the claimant from recognizing the alleged fraud.

In City of Tempe, the applicant had been a patrol officer for nine years when she responded to an emergency call at a Tempe apartment complex. While responding to the scene, the applicant saw two victims, who had been shot in the face, and was one of several officers who found the suspect dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in a nearby apartment. The applicant stopped working as a police officer within five months of the call and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (“PTSD”). The applicant filed a claim, which was denied, and then protested the denial.

The applicant was injured when he fell to the bottom of a metal stairway at work. The defendants’ IME physician testified that his review of the surveillance video of the fall indicated that it was a “protected fall” because the applicant held his hand out in front of his head as he fell. The physician believed the fall was intentional and did not result in a concussion.

For 2026, the only workers' compensation rule changes are to Rule 16 to provide guidance on the submission of bills and standardized forms and data entry required for providers to receive payment from payers, and Rule 18 dealing with inflationary increases to medical fee schedules.

In Hargon, the Industrial Claims Appeals Office (the Panel) found no reversible error in the ALJ’s exercise of discretion regarding calculation of the claimant’s average weekly wage (AWW). The Panel affirmed that the ALJ correctly cited the law and reasonably declined to base the claimant’s AWW on speculative future earnings.

In Cardona, the Industrial Claims Appeals Office (the Panel) affirmed the ALJ’s decision to award $18,000 in penalties under § 8-43-304(1), C.R.S. for failure to timely file a final admission of liability in accordance with WCRP 5-5(E).

On August 4, 2022, the claimant was assaulted in a road rage incident while working as a utility meter reader. He sustained a traumatic, incomplete tear of the right rotator cuff, requiring shoulder replacement surgery and biceps tenodesis.