In a matter of first impression, the Colorado Court of Appeals clarified the interplay between two limitations periods in the state’s Workers’ Compensation Act.

On April 7, the court affirmed the dismissal of penalty claims against Denver Water and Dr. Hugh Macaulay. The majority found that a claimant is required to reopen a closed case in order to assert a penalty claim. Therefore, the claimant is foreclosed from doing so if the limitation period for reopening the case has expired.