New York Worker’s Compensation: Get What You Deserve

Accept Only the Best

When you’ve been injured on the job it can be enticing to accept an early settlement offer from your employer or their insurance provider. While a sizable and expedient payout to cover your medical care and wages lost due to time off because of your injuries may sound appealing, it’s important that you know the drawbacks to settling your New York worker’s compensation case.

Protect Yourself From the Outset

The moment that an on the job injury occurs, you need to ensure that your rights are protected. Always follow your employer’s guidelines of course, but the following tips are definitely a good best-practice to follow.

• As quickly as you safely can, report the accident! Preferably this will be done with your immediate supervisor but if they are unavailable, ensure that a member of management is notified of the incident and any injuries.
• Immediately seek medical treatment! It is extremely important that you do not delay your visit to a medical professional. Make that your doctor is authorized by the NYS Worker’s Compensation Board.
• Photograph any injuries as soon as you are able to do so.
• Relay the initial medical findings to your supervisor and HR office.
• Document your account of the incident in writing as best as you can. Do not embellish details or “try to make it sound better.” Simply stick to the facts.

Think Before You Sign

Agreeing to an early lump sum settlement will likely halt any weekly disability benefit payments that you are receiving. Additionally, once you agree to a settlement, you won’t have any future opportunities to receive what you may actually be due from your injury and claim. In most cases, medical payments made on your behalf will cease as well and you’ll be expected to pay for any additional medical expenses out of the money that you received in the settlement, and you waive your right to future assistance.

Rejecting the settlement offer means that you will continue receiving weekly disability benefits from the insurance company, and the case can proceed to a trial or hearing. Of course, the judge could possibly determine that you actually deserve less than what the insurance company offered in the settlement, but these occurrences are generally not very common.

The Type of Injury Affects Compensation

The extent of your injury or level of disability caused by your workplace injury or illness will also impact the compensation that you receive. Scarring or disfigurement, as well as any permanent partial disability, will receive a rating from the insurance company based on the severity and this rating is basically translated into a level of compensation.

Permanent total disability generally will yield a pension for life, but of course, a case that is that serious should be handled by an experienced workers’ compensation attorney. You should also know that total disability or temporary partial disability claims should include wage-loss or back-pay benefits worked into the settlement.

The Compensation You Should Expect

Under New York Workers’ Compensation Insurance, you can expect the following coverage and reimbursements.

• All costs associated with treatment and health care for your work-related injury or illness. Make sure to use doctors Authorized by NYS WCB. You can search for authorized medical providers here or by visiting Injured Call Today.com
• A cash benefit equal to two-thirds of your average weekly income, up to a specific maximum amount.
• Any travel expenses to and from medical appointments related to your injury or illness.

What to Do If Your Employer Denies or Refuses Your Workers’ Comp Claim

If you’ve suffered an on the job injury or illness in New York and your employer is refusing to provide workers’ compensation benefits voluntarily, you should first ensure that you visit the rest of The Accident Help Zone to get a better understanding of the law and your rights, and then you probably need to discuss the situation with a dedicated workers’ compensation attorney. You need to understand your options and legal rights, and an experienced workers’ comp lawyer can file an appeal and help you work through New York’s complicated workers’ compensation system.

If you follow the advice in this article and throughout The Accident Help Zone, you’ll be equipped to face your workers’ compensation claim with the knowledge necessary to protect yourself and your health. While your injury or case may seem cut and dry, failing to follow these recommendations could drastically reduce your awarded compensation. And this can have effects that reverberate throughout the rest of your life if you’re not careful.

Don’t rely on family, friends, or experts on social media. We are New York’s #1 accident & injury resource center and our experts specialize in the workers’ compensation laws of New York. We serve NYC and surrounding areas with workers’ compensation and accident related resources and we know exactly what it takes to ensure that you get what you deserve.