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Year: 2016

New York City | Queens | Brooklyn | Bronx Workers’ Compensation Lawyers

Your Rights During a Workers’ Compensation Insurance Company Medical Exam

When you’ve been hurt on the job and you file a claim for workers’ compensation, one of the first steps you’ll have to take is to submit to a medical examination by a company-selected doctor. Based on that physician’s findings, your claim will generally be approved or rejected. So what are your rights with respect to such an exam?

Can You Refuse to Be Examined by a Company Doctor?

It’s a requirement that you be checked out by a doctor chosen by the insurance company or by your employer. That does not mean, however, that you cannot go to your own doctor or that you cannot get a second opinion. If the findings of the company doctor differ from those of your doctor, the workers’ compensation judge will have to make a decision regarding what evidence is most credible and may even have you obtain a third opinion.

Can You Videotape the Exam?

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Queens | NYC | Brooklyn | Bronx Workers’ Compensation Attorneys

Beware of Insurance Company Investigators!

When you file for workers’ compensation, it’s not unusual for the workers’ compensation insurance company to send out a private investigator to videotape you without your knowledge. They’ll try to show you doing things that you shouldn’t be able to do with the injury you are claiming, including working on other jobs. It’s not uncommon for these investigators to confront you, ask you questions on camera and try to make it look like your claim is fraudulent.

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New York City | Queens | Brooklyn | Bronx Workers’ Compensation Lawyers

Don’t Think That Your Injury is Too Insignificant for a Workers’ Compensation Claim

There’s a tendency, when you are injured on the job, to believe that your injury must be serious and catastrophic before you should contact a workers’ compensation lawyer or file a claim. That’s not necessarily true. You may have minor injuries that don’t keep you from doing your job that simply heal and go away. But there are also what are known as consequential injuries—injuries that do not occur at the time of the accident, but arise because of some injury you suffered at work. If those consequential injuries prevent you from doing your job or limit what you can do, you have a right to workers’ compensation benefits. Let’s look at an interesting case we handled.

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Workers’ Compensation Attorneys in Queens, NYC, Brooklyn and the Bronx

The Lengths to Which Workers’ Compensation Insurance Companies Will Go to Deny a Claim

It often seems like a workers’ compensation claim should be simple—you were hurt at work, you have witnesses, you even have a medical opinion. But here’s what you need to understand–workers’ compensation insurance companies have a vested interest in paying as little as possible to settle your claim—so does your employer.

Workers’ compensation insurance companies make their money by maximizing premiums and minimizing payouts—it’s that simple. So they’ll look for any opportunity to deny your claim and they’ll use their size and financial resources to make you keep fighting. Your employer’s workers’ compensation premiums are based, in part, on the number of claims the insurance company has to pay on their behalf. The more claims, the higher the premium, so you can see the incentive to reject your claim.

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Can Your Employer Deny Your Claim by Calling You an Independent Contractor?

Experienced NYC | Brooklyn | Queens | Bronx Workers’ Compensation Attorneys

Can Your Employer Deny Your Claim by Calling You an Independent Contractor?

One of the classic ways in which an employer or a workers’ compensation insurance company will attempt to deny coverage for an injury is to allege that you weren’t really an employee, you were an independent contractor. They’ll allege that you were your own boss, that you had your own business, that their coverage is only for employees and that you should have had your own policy of workers’ compensation insurance.

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Queens |NYC| Brooklyn |Bronx Workers’ Compensation Attorneys

Don’t Give Up a Claim Just Because It Doesn’t Appear to Be Work-Related

One of the requirements for filing for and obtaining workers’ compensation benefits is that you must show that the injury was caused by something on the job. When you are injured in a traumatic accident—a machine breaks down or you slip and fall on a wet floor—it’s pretty easy to show that the injury is work-related. But what if you have a back injury that’s developed over time? What if you have a stroke or heart attack caused, at least in part, by stress from your job? In those types of cases, it can be extremely difficult to establish the necessary causal link, but our attorneys have the skill, experience and fight to do so. Here’s an example.

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If I Return to Work Making Less Money, Am I Still Entitled to Workers’ Compensation Benefits?

New York City | Queens | Brooklyn | Bronx Workers’ Compensation Lawyers

So you’ve been hurt at work and you can’t perform your old job. What happens if you go back to work at a different position, making less money than you were before your injury? Are you still entitled to seek workers’ compensation benefits for what you have lost? The answer is yes!

Under the New York workers’ compensation laws, an injured worker can make what is known as a “reduced earnings award.” In fact, you can be compensated up to 2/3 of the difference between the statutory maximum and what you are making after your injury.

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Can I File Suit against My Employer if I Am Injured at Work?

New York City | Queens | Brooklyn | Bronx Workers’ Compensation Lawyers

A question we frequently get from prospective clients has to do with whether or not an employer can be sued in court for a personal injury suffered on the job. The answer, as is often the case, is that it depends.

If your employer had a valid policy of workers’ compensation insurance, as required by law, you cannot file a lawsuit for a personal injury, even if the employer was clearly at fault. That’s the purpose of workers’ compensation insurance. Under the workers’ compensation laws, if your employer has workers’ compensation insurance, your only recourse for wrongful acts by your employer or a co-employee are through a workers’ compensation claim.

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New York City | Queens | Brooklyn | Bronx Workers’ Compensation Lawyers

What Does My New York Workers’ Compensation Cover?

One of the common misconceptions we often find with new clients is the belief that workers’ compensation benefits only cover lost wages when you can’t work? That’s simply not true—what if you broke your glasses in a work-related accident, or cracked a tooth when a machine malfunctioned. Maybe you had a gash on your forehead or broke your nose while on the job? All of these situations are ones that entitle you to pursue workers’ compensation benefits.
New York City | Queens | Brooklyn | Bronx Workers’ Compensation Lawyers
There’s a critical caveat, though, related to obtaining workers’ compensation benefits for any work-related injury—you must take the right steps after the accident to protect your interests. What does that mean? First, you need to go to a doctor, dentist, ophthalmologist or other treating medical professional. That person will need to provide documentation about the following:

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Experienced NYC | Brooklyn | Queens | Bronx Workers’ Compensation Attorneys

What Are Consequential Injuries in a Workers’ Compensation Case?
So you’ve been hurt at work…maybe you hurt your knee or your hip. Because of the injury, you start to have other physical problems. You might have back pain or joint or muscle pain in your other leg because you are favoring the injured leg. You may experience depression because you’ve lived an active lifestyle and now find yourself stuck in a chair all day.

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