WC18 Rev 04/06 Page 3 of 3
CALCULATION OF AVERAGE WEEKLY WAGE
To determine the weekly wage, calculate the following:
• First, calculate the employee’s average weekly wage. Multiply the average number of hours worked per week (excluding overtime) times the
hourly wage. If the employee was paid by the month, multiply the monthly salary times 12 (months) and divide by 52 (weeks). If the employee
was paid bi-weekly (every other week), take the bi-weekly salary and divide by 2. If the employee was paid on a per diem basis, multiply the daily
wage times the number of days and fractions of days in the week s/he would have worked under the contract of hire if the injury had not occurred.
• Next, determine the average weekly amount of any overtime, tips (as reported to the IRS), commissions, piecework (average weekly value can be
calculated by taking the total amount earned with the employer in the 12 months immediately preceding the injury and dividing that amount by the
number of weeks, and fractions of weeks worked). If mileage was a form of salary, take the average earned per week in the 60 days immediately
preceding the injury.
• Add the average weekly value of any board, rent, housing or lodging, etc., provided by the employer.
• If you, the dependent, were covered by group health insurance through this employment, add your cost of converting to a similar or lesser
insurance plan and include this cost in the average weekly wage computation.
• Add the totals from each of the above categories to obtain the average weekly wage and insert in Average weekly wage at time of injury field.
DATE OF INJURY/DISEASE
Always include a date of injury. In the case of an occupational disease, use the date the employee was last exposed to the hazard.
INJURY DESCRIPTION
1 Be specific. Examples: “heart attack”; “chemical exposure”, etc.
2 Describe the activity, as well as the tools, equipment or material the employee was using. Be specific. Examples: “climbing a ladder
while carrying roofing materials”; “spraying chlorine from hand sprayer,” etc.
3 Tell us how the injury occurred. Examples: “When ladder slipped on wet floor, employee fell 20 feet”; “Employee was sprayed with
chlorine when gasket broke during replacement,” etc.
4 Examples: “concrete floor”; “chlorine”; “radial arm saw”, “beryllium.”
FILING AND BENEFIT INFORMATION
Upon completion, mail or deliver two (2) copies of the Dependent’s Notice and Claim for Compensation to: The Colorado Division of
Workers’ Compensation, Customer Service Unit, 633 17
th
St., Suite 400, Denver, CO 80202-3626. In order to obtain information on
benefits and dispute resolution options, or to request a copy of the Employee’s Guide, please contact our Customer Service Unit at (303)
318.8700 or toll free at (888) 390.7936 for English, or (800) 685.0891 for Spanish. You may also visit our website at
www.coworkforce.com/DWC/
GENERAL INFORMATION
When your claim form is received by the Division of Workers’ Compensation, a copy will be sent to the employer’s insurance carrier
(insurer). The insurer has 20 days from receipt of this information to advise, in writing, whether liability will be admitted or denied, that is,
whether it accepts responsibility for payment of related medical, funeral and/or dependent’s benefits. If the insurer denies liability or fails to
respond within the prescribed time frame, you have the right to request a formal hearing and have the issue decided by an Administrative
Law Judge at the Division of Administrative Hearings.
When a person is fatally injured on the job, workers' compensation provides weekly payments to the surviving dependent(s) and up to $7,000
for funeral expenses. The weekly amount of dependent’s benefits is calculated at two thirds of the employee’s average weekly wage at the
time of injury and is subject to maximum and minimum benefit rates. Payments are made for the lifetime of a dependent spouse, or until
remarriage. If a surviving spouse remarries and there are no dependent children, a lump sum equal to two years of benefits will be paid (less
any previous lump sum payments or overpayments). If there are dependent children, the spouse's benefits are reapportioned among the
remaining dependents. Any dependent child (including one to whom child support was paid or owed) may be eligible for payments until age
eighteen (18), or until age twenty-one (21) if the child is a full-time student. If there is no spouse or dependent child, other relatives such as a
parent, grandparent, sister or brother, may be eligible for partial benefits. These partial benefits are paid for six years. And finally, if the
deceased is under the age of twenty-one (21) with no dependants, payment of $15,000 is payable to the parents of the deceased. All of these
benefits are reduced by 50 percent of the death benefits received by the dependents through social security.
For additional information on the provisions of the Colorado workers’ compensation system, you may contact the Customer Service Unit of
the Colorado Division of Workers’ Compensation at (303) 318.8700, or toll free at (888) 390.7936.
NOTICES
You are hereby notified that if a child support obligation is owed, compensation benefits may be attached and payment of the child support
obligation may be withheld and forwarded to the obligee pursuant to sections 8-42-124 and 26-13-122(4), C.R.S. YOU ARE FURTHER
NOTIFIED that you must provide written notice of any award for social security, pension, disability or other source of income that might
reduce your compensation benefits. This notice must be sent to the insurance carrier or self-insured employer within 20 days after learning
of the payment or award. Failure to report may result in suspension of your benefits pursuant to section 8-42-113.5, C.R.S.
C.R.S. Section 10-1-128(6) (a) states: “It is unlawful to knowingly provide false, incomplete, or misleading facts or information to an
insurance company for the purposes of defrauding or attempting to defraud the company. Penalties may include imprisonment, fines, denial
of insurance, and civil damages. Any insurance company or agent of an insurance company who knowingly provides false, incomplete, or
misleading facts or information to a policyholder or claimant for the purpose of defrauding or attempting to defraud the policyholder or
claimant with regard to a settlement or award payable from insurance proceeds shall be reported to the Colorado division of insurance
within the department of regulatory agencies.”