New York Workers’ Compensation Lawyers

When you’re injured at work, you need workers compensation benefits to support yourself and your family. If you’re not sure how to get those benefits or you’re having trouble with your claim, call the NYC workers comp attorney.

Workplace injuries, especially ones that cause lost wages, can be devastating to the working families of New York. It is a scary proposition to face – not only are you dealing with pain every day, you are also worried about where and when is the next paycheck going to come from and who is going to pay your medical bills, mortgage and food for your family. But you do not have to worry.

What Can a Workers’ Compensation Lawyer Do For You?

What is Workers’ Compensation?

New York takes care of its workers by mandating that employers provide workers’ compensation benefits, which cover medical costs and loss wages for employees injured on the job. Because sometimes, even the hardest working New Yorkers, who love to work, may find it impossible to go back to work altogether, or in the same capacity after an on the job injury.

Unfortunately, even though the law requires employers to maintain workers’ compensation insurance, too often workers have a hard time getting the benefits to which you are legally entitled. The New York workers’ compensation lawyers at Daniella Levi & Associates, PC understand the long lasting effects of on-the-job injuries on the injured workers and their families. Our legal team is here to help you get the benefits to which you are legally entitled.

Who Is Covered

Full and part-time workers in New York State are covered by NYS Workers’ Compensation, including but not limited to workers in all employment conducted for profit; employees of counties and municipalities engaged in work defined as “hazardous” such as public school teachers, excluding those employed by NYC, and public-school aids, including NYC and employees of the State of NY, including some volunteer workers. Some including farm workers are covered as well. Too many workers are unfairly denied the workers’ compensation benefits they desperately need. Taking legal action can help workers gain access to their entitled benefits.

To figure out the amount of benefits, we first need to look at the extent of your injury.

Disability Criteria

There are four (4) disability classifications:

Temporary Total Disability

This category means that the injured worker’s wage-earning capacity is lost totally, but only on a temporary basis

Temporary Partial Disability

The wage-earning capacity is lost only partially, and on a temporary basis.

If you recover from your injuries, and you can return back to work without restrictions, then your weekly benefits will stop as soon as you return to work. However, if you return to work and are earning less due to your work related injury, you may be entitled to reduced earnings.

Permanent Total Disability

If your injuries are so severe that you cannot work at all, then you can claim for total disability benefits:

Weekly wage benefits of two-thirds of your average weekly wage.

No limit to the amount of weeks of benefits, if accident or date of disability occurred before March 13, 2007. However, if the work related accident or date of disability occurred subsequent to March 13, 2007, payments are payable for a maximum number of weeks, determined by claimant’s Loss of Wage Earning Capacity (LWEC).

Permanent Partial Disability

This classification means that the employee has permanently lost part of his or her wage-earning capacity. There are two types of permanent partial disability benefits, depending on the body part affected and the nature of the permanent disability.

Schedule loss of use (SLU). A SLU occurs when an employee has permanently lost use of an upper extremity, lower extremity, eyesight or hearing.
Non-schedule. Non-schedule is a permanent disability involving a part of the body or condition that is not covered by a SLU award.

Some examples of an SLU award from a permanent partial disability include losing:

An arm: 312 weeks.
Vision in an eye (or loss of an eye): 160 weeks.
A leg: 288 weeks.
A thumb: 75 weeks.

Free Consultation

Request your in-office, phone or video meeting today to discuss your legal needs. To schedule a meeting with one of our attorneys, call our office or complete our online form today.

CALL US

FREE CONSULTATION

Worker’s Compensation Questions

We Have Answers

How Much Can You Claim in Benefits?

When determining the amount of weekly benefits, the Administrative Law Judge looks at your gross average weekly wage one (1) year prior to your work related injury.

An injured worker typically receives two-thirds of their gross average weekly wage every week while they are off work due to their injuries.

The state of New York, every year, sets the top limit of average weekly wage that a worker can receive, no matter how much money they make in the average week. Highly paid workers may have their benefit lowered to the state mandated average weekly wage.

What Are Some Common Work-Related Injuries?

Workers’ compensation claims range from the fairly minor issues which require you to be out of work for a few days. Other injuries can be very serious and may disable a person for life or even result in a fatality.

Here are some of the most common work-related injuries according to OSHA:

Broken bones due to falls.
Burns.
Knee injuries such as dislocated knees or torn ACL.
Shoulder injuries like rotator cuff tears or dislocated shoulders.
Overexertion injuries which cause pulled muscles.
Lung injuries from inhaling toxic fumes.
Spinal cord injuries in the neck and back, and degenerative disc disease caused from years of repetitive movement.

If you suffered any of these injuries on a construction site, a hospital, a school, at the supermarket or driving a truck you may be eligible for workers compensation benefits such as medical treatment, cost of travel to and from medical appointments, prescriptions, lost wages and lump sum payments.

How Long Do I Have to Make a Claim?

You only have a certain amount of time to file your workers’ compensation claim after your injury. If you wait too long, you’ll be unable to make a claim. An injured worker has two (2) years from the date of accident or date of injury to file a claim for compensation.

Do you offer free consultations?

Yes! A free consultation to discuss your case is available either in person, on the phone, or via Zoom. There is no fee to hire us, because we only get paid when you get paid.

How We Work For You

To Help Fight and Win Your Claim We Will:

Explain to you the Workers’ Compensation laws and what types of benefits you deserve.
Help to gather all of the appropriate documentation that we’ll need to successfully work a case.
Review your payroll and explain to you how your average weekly wage will be calculated.
If needed, prepare you to testify at hearings, along with any witnesses required to prove your claim.
Take depositions from the doctors and nurses that treat you as well as medical experts to prove your disability.
Take depositions from the doctors and nurses that treat you as well as medical experts to prove your disability.
Ensure your work-related medical bills get paid.
Negotiate with the employer’s insurance company for a fair settlement.

Put Our Legal Team on Your Side

Having the right workers’ comp legal team on your side, aggressively fighting for the benefits you deserve will go a long way in helping keep you and your family financially secure. The attorneys at Daniella Levi & Associates have years of experience handling these types of cases. Let us use our experience to help you through this troubling time.

If an employee gets injured on the job, an employer may see an increase in their insurance premiums. However, it is illegal for your employer to ask you not to report the incident. This practice is against New York’s workers’ compensation laws.

Once you file a worker’s compensation claim, these employers and their insurance companies will have a team of adjusters, lawyers and private investigators working to pay you as little money as possible, or to not pay you at all. But you can fight back.

You should have a team of highly trained, highly skilled New York workers’ compensation lawyers on your side. The attorneys and staff at the Daniella Levi & Associates will aggressively represent you all the way from the initial phone call to investigating the accident and making sure you are paid the benefits that you deserve.

Our Success Stories

What Our Clients Say

Daniella and her team did a excellent job on my case. I am very satisfied on the outcome of the case. Definitely recommend them to all my family and friends.

Malik D.

Daniella Levi and Associates are great lawyers! The monetary judgments and awards they have gotten for difficult cases has been very high...

Anthony G.

I received an amazing settlement in less than a year. I couldn’t be happier and more thankful to Daniella Levi and Associates. I have already referred friends and family...

Cindy F.

To anyone needing an attorney with experience, motivation and dedication. Daniella Levi is the best attorney in NYC. If you have an accident call them!!!

Rebecca R.

I’m not one to usually post reviews, however my experience with Daniella & her team was nothing short of amazing. They will get you the best settlement guaranteed!!

Gideon A.

Amazing work & amazing settlement. I could not be happier that I had Daniella Levi and Associates on my side..

Constanza S.