Construction Accident Workers Compensation
The New York workers' compensation system serves as a safety net for injured workers, ensuring a degree of financial protection in the event of work-related injury. Administered by the New York State Workers' Compensation Board, the system operates on the principle of "no-fault," meaning that compensation is provided regardless of who or what caused the accident. Those injured in Long Island and New York construction accidents and those who may be entitled to bring a 3rd party lawsuits for a construction accident injury should be familiar with the basic procedures that need to be followed to file a New York State workers compensation claim. The workers compensation system is complicated and the stakes involved are high. The following does not constitute legal advice, and is solely provided for illustrative and educational purposes. Injured workers should consult an attorney of their choosing prior to submitting or filing any workers compensation claims or documents.
What should a construction worker do immediately after a workplace construction accident?
When a worker is injured in a Long Island or New York City construction accident, they must promptly report the incident to their employer. Employers are then required to file a report report with their workers' compensation insurance carrier and the Workers' Compensation Board and the injured construction worker is required to file a C-3 Employee Claim Form. The C-3 is an important legal document that will serve as the foundation of an injured construction workers claims moving forward and injured construction workers and tradesman are encouraged to seek legal advice from an experienced constriction accident lawyer before submitting required legal forms. The New York workers compensation board offers Spanish speaking construction workers the ability to file the C-3 Employee Claim form and other workers compensation forms in español. Many of the spanish speaking construction accident clients we represent feel more comfortable, at a minimum, reviewing the required workers compensation documents in their native language. New York State workers compensation documents can be filed in multiple languages including Spanish, Chinese, Russian, Yiddish, Bengali, Hatian Creole, Korean, Italian, Arabic, Polish, French and Urdu. Once a workers compensation claim has been initiated medical expenses incurred as a result of the work-related accident are typically covered, including doctor visits, hospital stays, prescription medications, and rehabilitation. Wage replacement benefit consisting of a portion of the injured workers wage or salary is also available to compensate the injured worker for lost earnings during the recovery period. Generally, the severity of the injury will determine the length and amount of wage benefits, with permanent disabilities potentially leading to ongoing payments or a lump-sum settlement. The workers' compensation system in New York strives to ensure fair and timely compensation, with the Workers' Compensation Board serving as a mediator in case of disputes. While injured workers can file a workers compensation claim on their own, we encourage them to retain experienced counsel to protect both their short and long term interests.
According to the United States Bureau of Labor, each year approximately 3 million workers sustain an injury, including approximately 125,000 injured New Yorkers. As an attorney specializing in workplace injuries, clients often come to me in the hours and days after suffering an on the job accident looking for guidance and basic information about how the workers compensation system works, who is entitled to receive benefits, and what those benefits will look like. While every case is different and injured workers should schedule a consultation with an attorney to discuss their specific circumstances, we provide the following information to familiarize our clients with some of the basis principles and features of the New York workers compensation system.
What is Workers Compensation?
It is a form of insurance that provides medical coverage and income replacement to injured workers. If injured at work, it is important to apply for and use workers compensation medical coverage as opposed to your own personal health care insurance. In fact, on the intake documents at most hospitals and doctors’ offices there is a questionnaire section that explicitly asks the patient whether they were injured as the result of a workplace accident. Workers’ compensation will also provide expenses for medical appointments and will provide replacement income if a worker cannot work. While dependant on the facts, the maximum replacement income provided by the workers compensation system generally is two-thirds of ones pre injury wage up to a limit. The maximum wage limit is an important caveat as the maximum weekly benefit rate is capped at two-thirds of the New York State average weekly wage for the previous calendar year, as determined by the New York State Department of Labor. For example in 2022 the maximum NY State average weekly wage was $1718.15 capping the maximum an injured construction worker could recover from workers compensation is $1,145.43 a week. While those figures may place some injured workers in financial difficulty, workers compensation replacement wages act to serve as a lifeline for a lot of injured New Yorkers. The New York State Insurance Fund must being paying wages within 18 days of the onset of a disability with subsequent benefits being paid bi-weekly.
Who is eligible for New York Workers Compensation?
Nearly all full and part time New York workers including construction workers and tradespeople are entitled to receive worker’s compensation benefits. There is no residency or citizenship requirement to receive workers’ compensation in New York. All people working in New York regardless of their immigration status are covered by the workers compensation system. Similarly workers compensation applies to workers across the board, for example it can apply to a construction worker injured at a construction site, the lawyer representing them from a legal office, and the people staffing the building in which the lawyer works.
How does a construction worker injured on a Long Island construction site get workers compensation benefits in New York?
An injured construction worker is advised to seek immediate medical attention and then report the accident and injury to one’s supervisor. Injured workers generally must notify their employer within 30 days from the date that the worker knew or should have known of their injury. After reporting the injury, the worker will need to file a workers compensation claim. This claim generally must be filed within two years of the accident. Many times, the employer or job will suggest that the employee file the claim themselves; however, injured employees may, and in our opinion, should, consult with an attorney to navigate the system, avoid missing various deadlines, and to complete the forms and documents that will serve as the crux of their claim moving forward completely and accurately. At a minimum an initial consultation with a workplace injury attorney can help advise and counsel the injured worker on the legal process and help ensure that the injured worker makes an informed decision on how to proceed and the benefits and risks associated with their decision.
Does a workers compensation claim impact a construction accident lawsuit I bring?
An on the job injury may create distinct claims for workers compensation, New York and Social Security disability, and a third party lawsuit. The job will not look out for your best interests. Employers, site safety, supervisors, and the various insurance companies involved when a workplace or construction accident takes place often aggressively begin to shape a defense against your claim moments after your construction site injury occurs. By contacting an experienced workplace injury attorney, they can counsel you on how to proceed and immediately begin to take steps to investigate, preserve and memorialize evidence. Your workplace injury attorney will work and if necessary fight to ensure that your interests are well protected in the various early stages of all related claims processing and workers compensation proceedings, and they will serve to guide you and your family through the often confusing and stressful days immediately after an accident takes place. They will focus on the small details while giving you a broad overview of the process and the impact a workers compensation claim may have on collateral proceedings such as a lawsuit against a third party responsible for your injury. I often tell my clients in the many situations where a injured worker can bring a lawsuit against a responsible 3rd party in addition to a workers compensation claim that the workers compensation claim is aimed at helping them in the near term while the 3rd party lawsuit has a long term focus aimed at uncovering the full extent of how they were harmed, and in turn seeking to compensate them for what they went through and unfortunately how much they ended up losing.
In New York, workplace injury cases and construction accident cases we strive to take a holistic approach to the client’s injury and resulting claims, so as to protect the client’s needs and maximize their goals. We provide compassionate guidance and aggressive representation and encourage those of your who have been injured in a workplace injury as well as those of you currently struggling through the system to reach out to us for guidance and counsel. The above may be considered ATTORNEY ADVERTISING. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes. Reading this website or blog or contacting Adam C. Raffo does not establish an attorney-client relationship. Nothing on this website should be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. The above is presented for educational and information purposes only and those who may have a potential workers compensation claim should consult with a qualified lawyer of their choosing.
