Denver Workers' Compensation Law Blog

Denver sports fans have been hearing a lot lately about the traumatic brain injuries that plague professional football players. Over the course of even just a season or two, these athletes suffer repeated blows to the head, causing long-term damage that may not only ruin their careers, but shorten their lives measurably by causing irreversible dementia and other serious neurological problems. Many former players have attempted to collect workers' compensation or filed lawsuits against the NFL as a result.

But what about athletes of other professional sports? Although baseball doesn't carry the same risks as football, players -- especially pitchers -- have been known to suffer brain injuries from line drives to the head. Thirteen years ago Boston Red Sox pitcher Bryce Florie was hit in the eye by a ball, and the resulting vision problems ultimately put an end to his career. More recently, J.A. Happ of the Toronto Blue Jays suffered a skull fracture last week from a line drive to his head.

While many people in Castle Rock Parker may look at the large semitrailer trucks rumbling down the road and think about the kind of damage an accident with a heavy truck could cause, the drivers employed by the trucking companies are also at risk of serious injury. When trucking accidents do happen, it is important to remember that it is not always the truckers' fault; sometimes it is a motorist who caused the accident.

Fortunately, when a trucker is injured on the job, he or she has access to Colorado workers' compensation benefits. These benefits are available to all employees in Castle Rock Parker, not just those in an office or at a construction site. In addition, injured truckers are able to get medical treatment from an authorized treating physician and paid for by their company's workers' compensation insurance carrier.

Due to the frequency of motor vehicle accidents in the U.S., those who are required to drive as a part of their job responsibilities run the risk of being injured while on the job. Severe auto accidents can cause life-changing harm, in some cases requiring an individual to receive specialized medical care for a lifetime.

One of the most severe injuries an individual can sustain when involved in a motor vehicle accident is a traumatic brain injury. For people in the United States under 45 years of age, TBIs are actually the primary cause of death or disability. Approximately two million people in the U.S. sustain a brain injury of some type annually.

Many people in Grand Junction may assume that the firefighters they see bravely working to keep people safe are safe themselves. Even though they recognize that there is considerable risk and danger associated with uncontrolled fires, the firefighters are also trained and have considerable safety equipment that should keep them safe. Just because they have the equipment and training, however, doesn't mean that dangerous accidents don't happen, leaving firefighters seriously injured and reliant on workers' compensation.

Take the story of a young firefighter who was looking for survivors in a house fire. He had been wearing his protective gear and it is likely that he was following the fire department's training and guidelines, but he was still burned on his neck, legs and wrists.