Sears & Associates P.C. has obtained an order from Colorado workers’ compensation for a wheelchair conversion van for an injured client.
In the history of Colorado Workers’ Compensation Law, less than five workers have ever been reported to be awarded a wheelchair accessible van as a result of debilitating work injuries which have left them confined to a wheelchair. The reason for so few being awarded this benefit is because Administrative Law Judges, those charged with interpreting the Workers’ Compensation Act, award only those medical benefits which are absolutely necessary to “cure and relieve” the symptoms of a worker’s injury or allow him or her greater access to medical care. In fact, many might be surprised to learn that while an electric wheelchair may be a medical benefit under the Workers’ Compensation Act, a way to use it outside the home is often not a benefit the employer will be required to provide.
This strict interpretation of Workers’ Compensation Law presented a unique challenge to a local Colorado Springs resident, severely disabled from a work injury and represented by Sears & Associates P.C. Following a lengthy evidentiary hearing, Sears and Associates received a favorable award for our client, requiring the employer to pay for a wheelchair conversion van for him to use along with his electric wheelchair.
Of course, the employer is appealing the ruling. Sears and Associates, P.C. will continue to fight until our client has received all the benefits he is entitled to under the law.
