Chapter 25 - § 25.1 • INTRODUCTION

• Jurisdiction: Colorado

§ 25.1 • INTRODUCTION

The workers' compensation system in Colorado is a creature of statute embodied in C.R.S. §§ 8-40-101, et seq., known as the Workers' Compensation Act of Colorado (the Act). A cornerstone of the effective functioning of the Act is the provision declaring that an employer who has complied with the provisions of the Act shall not be subject to any other liability for the death of, or personal injury to, any employee, except as provided in the Act; and "all causes of action, actions at law, suits in equity, proceedings, and statutory and common law rights and remedies for and on account of such death of or personal injury to any such employee and accruing to any person are abolished except as provided" in the Act. C.R.S. § 8-41-102 (emphasis added).

The courts and the legislature consistently have interpreted the exclusivity provisions broadly to bar all claims brought outside of the workers' compensation system for personal injury, occupational disease, or death arising out of and in the course of employment. This bar also extends to claims that are derivative to the worker's claim and...