How a Workers Comp settlement works
Brandon J. Broderick, Personal Injury Attorney at Law
New York state law mandates that any business with one or more workers carry Workers' Compensation coverage. Should an employee become ill or injured on the job, they will be compensated by this insurance. However, the work-related illness or injury must be closely linked to their work duties.
With millions of American workers filing for workers' comp claims for injuries sustained on the job each year, it would be a good idea to know exactly how the program works. It will help you if you ever find yourself seeking workers' compensation, if everything is in your favor that is.
Brandon J. Broderick, Attorney at Law, has helped many injured workers in New York get compensation. If you have questions about your work injury case and need answers, it's time to talk to a professional.
Below, we will explain how the workers' compensation process works and some need to know facts to remember.
Workers' Compensation Coverage
Injuries, illnesses, and even deaths sustained on or related to the job are all covered under workers' compensation policies. Injuries sustained on the job range from injuries from falls to those suffered by those exposed to asbestos, all of which can result in a claim. If an existing injury is aggravated on the job, workers' comp may pay for the necessary treatment.
The injury or illness must be work-related in order to be covered. A workers' compensation claim would be denied if, for instance, they contracted cancer at work even though their job had nothing to do with their illness. However, a worker may have a viable claim if they develop lung cancer after being exposed to harmful gasses at work, or even asbestos.
A worker will be granted benefits in most cases, even if it was their fault, due to New York's no-fault system. However, you may need to prove that the employer was at fault or that the injured employee did not contribute to the illness or injury to file a personal injury claim against your employer. Unless the worker was not exercising reasonable care, such as by operating a dangerous machine while intoxicated, their actions will not be considered in a workers' compensation claim.
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What Benefits Do You Receive From Workers' Compensation?
If an employee is injured or becomes ill and cannot work, they may be eligible for workers' compensation benefits, which covers medical expenses related to your injury and lost wages.
Medical expenses include visits to the doctor or specialist, hospitalization, surgical procedures, therapy or other treatments, medication, medical equipment, rehabilitation, home care, temporary housing, and travel expenses. These are all examples of what could fall under this category.
For lost income, an injured worker will get wage replacement benefits that will cover their time away from work as they recuperate from their injury. Depending on the severity of their injury or illness, a worker may be out of work for a few days or even longer. If their illness or injury is serious, they might never be able to return to work. However, there are situations in which the worker is allowed to return to work, although at a reduced schedule or salary. These are all factors that will impact lost wages benefits, as well as how long you collect benefits.
In New York, your lost wages benefits depend on a number of factors, including the duration of your disability and your average weekly salary you received in the year before the injury or illness. You would then calculate two-thirds of your typical weekly income multiplied by the percentage of disability verified by medical records. That means if you're permanently disabled and were making $500 per week before you were hurt, you'd get $333.33 per week if you were 100% disabled. If you are considered to be 50% disabled, you would receive $166.67 per week in benefits.
Complete (100%) disability, marked (75%), moderate (50%), and mild (25%) is the different levels of disability defined by New York workers' comp. To be disabled partially, that would be anything less than 100%.
Weekly benefits are subject to a cap. You may count on receiving no less than $150 each week in benefits. The most you can receive each week in lost earnings benefits is $1,125.46. This figure, however, is revised annually on July 1. It's anticipated that the sum will go up in July of 2023.