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#Workers - Compensation

New York Attorneys Protecting the Rights of Injured Employees

If you have recently been hurt while on the job, or have developed a disease or lingering physical impairment as a result of your employment, you may be entitled to payments to compensate you for your medical expenses and lost wages. This is because you are protected by the New York workers compensation system, which provides benefits to injured employees. The work injury lawyers at the Law Offices of Joseph A. Romano have helped countless individuals seek remedies for their harm through these laws. Many of our clients come from Southern Westchester, White Plains, and other communities in Westchester County.

Understanding the Workers Compensation System

Under the workers compensation law, all employees in the state of New York who are hurt on the job are entitled to seek benefits. This is done by filing a claim with the Worker s Compensation Board of New York, the agency that reviews and decides claims made by employees. For a claim to be approved, a worker must prove that he or she has an injury, illness, or disability that has arisen out of and in the course of employment. This means that the employee must have been performing duties that were a part of his or her job description at the time that the events leading to the injury or illness occurred. For example, an individual who is harmed while running a personal errand during a break period probably cannot make a worker s compensation claim.

Additionally, New York law also requires that the employee give the employer notice of the accident and injury within 30 days, or establish that the employer was on notice of the injury for other reasons, such as witnessing it. Finally, an employee must also file his or her claim for workers compensation within two years of the event that caused the injury, illness, or disability.

In order to obtain benefits, you will be required to prove that the injury or illness you are experiencing is a result of your employment and occurred while on the job. This can be a tricky requirement. For instance, consider an employee who is on a baseball team outside of work and is suffering pain in his elbow from pitching. While at work, he lifts a heavy box and experiences a shooting pain in the elbow that leads to an injury. Did the harm result from his employment, or was it caused by his extracurricular activities? Since employers will do their best to argue that an employee s injury was not caused on the job but was the product of some other event, it is very important that all individuals obtain immediate medical documentation stating that their harm occurred on the job. This can include medical tests, physical therapy records, and a statement to this effect from a qualified physician. A workers compensation attorney can help you make sure that you obtain all of the documentation that you need to prove your case.

Types of Available Benefits

If you are able to successfully prove your case before the Workers Compensation Board and your claim is approved, you will be entitled to compensation to cover your medical expenses related to your injury or illness. Typically, this will require that you are treated by doctors who are recognized by the Workers Compensation Board and can send their bills directly to it.

Additionally, you will be entitled to compensation while you are out of work. This amount will vary depending on whether your injury has resulted in a total disability that prevents you from working entirely, or only a partial disability that keeps you from performing certain jobs. In both circumstances, your compensation award will be based on the average weekly wage you received from your employer and may be up to two-thirds of that salary.

Discuss Your Workers Compensation Claim with a New York Lawyer

If you are currently battling a work-related injury and are uncertain about whether you may have a valid claim, your first step should be to speak with an experienced legal professional. The workers compensation attorneys at the Law Offices of Joseph A. Romano have been handling claims for individuals in New York State for over 25 years. We also have assisted injured employees from Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Staten Island, as well as Astoria and Riverhead. You can contact us for an initial consultation at 1-855-956-1515 or through our online form to start exploring your options.

1 New York State. (n.d.). Workers' Compensation. Retrieved January 18, 2012, from Workers' Compensation Board: http://www.wcb.ny.gov/content/main/onthejob/WCLawIntro.jsp

2 Cornell University Law School. (n.d.). Workers Compensation. Retrieved January 18, 2012, from Legal Information Institute: http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/Workers_compensation

3 United States Department of Labor. (n.d.). Workers' Compensation. Retrieved January 18, 2012, from Workers' Compensation: http://www.dol.gov/dol/topic/workcomp/index.htm

4 Brown M.D. M. J. (2011, October). Major Disease Category. Retrieved January 18, 2012, from Haz-Map Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Agents: http://hazmap.nlm.nih.gov/index.html