August 2015 | Newsletter | Recent News & Case Law
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Employment Law Tip: 

Colorado wage laws do not require nor prohibit paid holidays, sick pay, or severance pay.  However, if provided then the employer must provide equal provision or enforcement in compliance with their own policies and procedures and Colorado wage laws. 

 

For questions on how best to implement within your company's policies and procedures, please contact us here at Thomas Pollart & Miller LLC at (720) 488-9586.

TPM in the Community

Good works. Supporting non-profit organizations is one way that the employees of TPM fulfill their wish to do good for the community. At the beginning of 2015 our employees nominated their favorite charities and 12 were selected. In the month of August we raised money via a "Jeans for Charity Friday" for the Urban Peak of Denver. Urban House of Denver helps youth experiencing homelessness and youth at risk of becoming homeless overcome real life challenges by providing essential services and a supportive community, empowering them to become self-sufficient adults. Urban Peak's vision is to be a national service model of innovation and success for youth experiencing homelessness and will achieve outstanding results for our clients, supporters, donors, and employees.
Claimant Asks for Too Much, Ends Up With A Lot Less
TPM attorney Brad Miller recently won a case where the claimant and her attorney were overzealous in how much they wanted for settlement on a PTD claim on the Western Slope.  After multiple substantial six figure offers from the respondents were rejected, Attorney Miller advised the client to proceed to hearing. Once in hearing, the tide turned as claimant and her vocational expert's testimony both lacked credibility.  The ALJ found that the claimant was not permanently totally disabled, saving respondents $350,000.
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Reopening a Case To Recover Overpayment

 TPM attorney Alissa Peashka won a case where there were several issues  to contend with. To begin with, the respondents wanted to reopen the  case in order to recover an overpayment of temporary wage loss benefits,  whereas the claimant wanted to reopen the claim based on  what he believed to be an error in calculating his average weekly wage  (AWW). Because the claimant was paid hourly but under contract for a  specific amount of time, these special circumstances convinced the ALJ  that respondents' method of calculating the AWW was acceptable. Additionally, because the claimant had failed to challenge his AWW earlier, the ALJ accepted respondents' argument that he had lost the right to do so now. Another piece to this case involved the PPD rating - was the claimant's injury limited to his thumb or should the rating have been higher to include his whole hand? A combination of a medical expert's report, along with surveillance footage demonstrating the injury was limited to claimant's thumb, secured the win for Attorney Peashka.

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Always Double Check Your Work

TPM attorney Brad Miller won a case using a tip often overlooked - always review the medical restrictions provided by the treating physician regardless of how serious the injury is that is involved. This is important as illustrated with Attorney Miller's case, where the ICAO found on appeal that the claimant could not be awarded TTD benefits as a matter of law if the treating physicians all release the claimant as eligible for regular employment.  The ICAO found that claimant could not receive TTD benefits as a matter of law due to a regular employment release even though claimant is now requesting a total joint replacement. 

Thomas Pollart & Miller LLC is a civil litigation law firm that provides legal services to businesses throughout Colorado, Nebraska and Utah. The firm's more than 55 legal professionals are dedicated to serving the needs of our clients.

Our goal is simple :  to be the legal service provider and partner of choice for civil litigation. We accomplish this by providing superb client service, aggressive representation and sound advice to achieve our clients' business and litigation goals. We have the experience and resources of an established firm, with the personal attention and sensitivity to costs uniquely tailored for each client.