Injured workers deserve to get the right medical treatment after they suffer an accident. The problem is that, since the injuries keep them from working, it's often difficult to get the money for that.
Depending on the circumstances of the accident, victims can sue the liable party to get compensation or help from the insurance company. This happens when someone has this kind of problem while working.
Now, who's liable for work injuries in New York? This page has all the answers. Anyone looking forward to hiring a lawyer for personal injury cases should call the Law Office of Carl Maltese.
This law firm handles all kinds of personal injury cases, which include work accidents. It has been in business since 1966 and has recovered millions of dollars for its clients.
Anyone can schedule a free consultation with the Law Office of Carl Maltese in Long Island, NY. Our team can also advise on who pays for nursing home abuse in NY.
How Does Workers' Compensation Work in New York?
Workers' compensation coverage is a type of insurance that helps employers who suffer an accident or illness while working. This is often the best option for employees because they don't need to prove that their boss or any other party was liable for what happened.
Regardless of that, victims do need to prove a few things to get these benefits. First, they must show that they were employees of the company where they got the injury.
Injured workers don't need to be active employees of that business after they suffer a work-related injury. Everything will be fine as long as they can prove they were by that time.
Naturally, it's essential to prove that the damages they suffered did come from a work-related injury. That means the accident must have happened while undergoing the person's job or as a result of it.
Medical records, reports, pictures, or testimonials are excellent pieces of evidence in this case. Anything that shows the link between the injury and the employment will work.
Similar to other personal injury cases, victims must report their injuries and file a claim in a timely manner to receive workers' compensation benefits. In New York, they must report the problem to their employer within 30 days of the accident.
These rules are strict, and there rarely are exceptions to them. However, people could get more time to report the injury if they didn't notice they were suffering from it due to the nature of the accident itself. This is more common with illnesses rather than injuries.
What Workers' Compensation Benefits Can I Get in NY?
The insurance carrier of the employer can offer the victim a wide variety of workers' compensation benefits depending on the situation. While most of them include money and financial support, they are not limited to that.
These are the most important workers' compensation benefits people can ask for:
Medical Expenses
One of the main reasons victims seek help from their company's workers' compensation insurance carrier is because of how expensive medical expenses can be. The more severe the problem is, the more difficult it will be to pay for it.
Sometimes, the majority of the compensation the victim receives goes to hospital bills. This money is meant to cover the medical treatment needed to heal, doctor's visits, surgeries, medications, and physical or psychological therapy.
Although victims don't need to prove the work-related injury they suffered happened due to the negligence of their employer, they still have to show other things. In this case, they should have evidence that supports that the injury happened while working and that they need that money to heal from it.
Injured workers often ask their medical provider to give them a report of the accident. They can include that report in the workers' compensation claim and ask the doctor to confirm what it says if needed.
It's odd to see a workers' compensation case going to trial. However, doctors can testify if needed.
Lost Wages
Lost wages refer to the amount of money the injured worker doesn't make because of the injury. This happens because they are not able to work due to the recovery process needed to heal.
The payment for loss of income can be partial or full. Everything depends on the case. Nevertheless, people often calculate the amount of money they should receive by using the average weekly wage they earn while working.
If the person stops working for the company after suffering an injury, it may be more difficult to calculate the amount of money they should receive. This doesn't mean that they won't get money for that because they still can't work due to what happened.
Yet, the injured worker can't use their average weekly wage in this example because they wouldn't have worked for the company anyway. Here, lawyers should use the fact that it will be more difficult for the victim to get a job due to their current health condition as an argument.
Workers' compensation laws are made to help people in need of financial support after an accident. That means there are many ways for people to get it regardless of their situation. They just need an injury law firm on Long Island to help them.
Additional Benefits
There are other work-related benefits people can get after an accident apart from covering medical bills and lost wages. Disability perks are an example of that.
Clearly, these are just situational benefits people will receive when they suffer a specific accident under special circumstances. Victims could get vocational rehabilitation if they are unable to go back to their previous jobs, for example.
Workers' compensation claims often include death benefits, too. Family members of the deceased could file this claim if their loved one died due to workplace injuries.
Why? Because, legally, dying due to negligence counts as a personal injury. In this case, the family members of the deceased would be direct victims of the accident.
When victims think they could get special benefits from the workers' compensation system, they should let their lawyers know. This process often includes additional steps, so it's important to let them know in a timely manner.
Those are the main benefits victims can get for work-related injuries. However, it's worth noting that all cases are different. Hence, the conditions under which they happen are fundamental to understanding what injured workers can ask for.
Who Pays for Work Injuries in New York?
Employers are generally the ones who pay for work injuries in New York. The reason for this is that they are legally required to provide employees with a safe environment to work where nothing should happen to them.
That's why employees don't need to prove the negligence of their boss. Regardless of that, the employer won't need to pay for anything if the victim is unable to prove their injury is work-related in any way.
There are other exceptions to this rule. Victims, for example, can't get compensation for self-inflicted damage. In other situations, they can sue third parties instead of getting workers' comp benefits.
This happens when, for example, the victim can prove their employer was intentionally trying to hurt them. That works the same with other workers or any kind of contractor.
About the Workers' Compensation Board
The Workers' Compensation Board is a government agency in charge of leading, overseeing, and improving workers' comp programs in the state.
Among its tasks are processing claims from injured workers, determining the benefits they should receive, resolving disputes between victims and their employers, and more.
When employers don't comply with workers' compensation laws, the Board can ensure they do. Unfortunately, this is something that happens often because business owners do what they can to avoid paying their clients the money they need for their medical expenses.
People interested in learning more about how the Board works or exceptions that may keep them from receiving these benefits should contact a lawyer right away. That attorney, of course, should specialize in this kind of case.
Final Thoughts
Asking for workers' compensation benefits in New York is the perfect way to get money for the medical treatment needed to heal from work injuries. Thankfully, victims don't need to prove the negligence of the liable party to get that financial support.
However, it's difficult to lose a workers' compensation case when injured workers don't know how the process goes. Therefore, they should always call a lawyer as soon as a problem happens for them to help.
The deadlines the Workers' Compensation Board has for these cases are strict. Hence, victims must remember to report their injuries within 30 days of the accident.
Since all employers in New York must carry workers' compensation insurance, the only thing people need to get the financial support they deserve for their accident is a skilled lawyer. The Law Office of Carl Maltese is here to help anyone in need of legal representation. We can also help with determining who pays for a wrongful death in NY.
This law firm specializes in personal injury cases. Thus, its lawyers have handled workers' compensation cases before. They know the most effective strategies for them and how to tackle any objections employers may have.
Injured workers in Long Island, New York, can schedule a free consultation with the Law Office of Carl Maltese today.