Mesa County Sheriff’s Deputy who nearly died from COVID-19 denied workers’ compensation

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KDVR) — A Mesa County Sheriff’s deputy who nearly died from COVID-19 in 2021 is suing the third-party benefits administrator that denied his workers’ compensation claim last year.

“Sometimes, I feel like it would’ve been better off if I had just died,” said Travis Crawford, 34, who said he believes he contracted the illness while working in the jail.

According to the lawsuit, Crawford alleged that Tristar Risk Management, a workers’ compensation insurance company, “unreasonably denied (Crawford’s) workers’ compensation claim” and violated a law that prohibits insurers from “denying claims without conducting a reasonable investigation based on all available information within the timeframes required by the Workers’…