Workers' Compensation

Workers' Compensation

New York Workers’ Compensation Lawyers

Ellis Law (with our co-counsel) represents employees and workers throughout New York who have been injured while on the job. When a worker is hurt or injured while performing their duties at work, there is a specialized area of legislation called the New York Workers’ Compensation Law (Workers’ Comp) that governs from whom and how much an injured employee can recover. Ellis Law can help you in filing your Workers’ Comp claim. Also, while many Workers' Compensation claims are resolved to the satisfaction of the injured employee, employer, and its Workers’ Comp insurance company, there are times when the injured employee disagrees with the decision of the employer or insurance company and wants to formally challenge that decision. Ellis Law can also help you challenge an unfavorable decision by the New York Workers’ Compensation Board.

Generally, an injured worker in New York may not sue his employer for ordinary negligence when an injury occurs at work. The exclusive remedy provision of the New York Workers’ Compensation Law protects employers from direct suits by their employees for on-the-job injuries where the employer contributed to the accident. Claims must be filed with the New York Workers’ Compensation Board, the state agency charged with administering claims under the New York Workers’ Compensation Law.

HOWEVER, in certain cases, the injured employee may sue another party (besides his/her employer) to recover an insurance settlement IN ADDITION to Workers’ Comp. To find out if you may qualify for such a settlement, please call our FREE Injury Answerline at 1-800-COMP-LAW (1-800-266-7529) or submit a simple request form to the online Injury Answerline®.

Work related injuries or illnesses that commonly trigger a Workers’ Compensation claim or coverage under the New York Workers’ Compensation Law include:

• Construction injuries
• Scaffold, ladder, roof falls or objects falling onto a worker on a construction site 
• Factory injuries 
• Abrasions, contusions and lacerations
• Asbestos exposure and occupational diseases such as lung cancer
• Back injuries, spine injuries, knee injuries, neck injuries and shoulder injuries
• Burns, disfigurement and scarring
• Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) and repetitive stress injuries (RSI)
• Work-related stress, emotional and psychiatric disabilities
• Eye injuries and hearing problems
• Reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD)
• Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS)
• Work-induced heart attacks and strokes

Available benefits in Workers’ Compensation case include payment of medical bills, vocational rehabilitative benefits and job training, temporary total disability benefits, permanent partial disability benefits, total disability benefits, and death benefits if the employee died as a result of a work-related injury. ADDITIONAL settlement funds may be obtained for pain, suffering, loss of enjoyment of life or hobbies, change in quality of life, etc. for those workers who qualify for a third party lawsuit under the Labor Law or if a separate party (other than the employer) negligently or carelessly caused the injury.

To find out more about your rights as victim of a work-related injury or illness, please call our free Injury Answerline at 1-800-COMP-LAW or submit a simple request form to the online Injury Answerline®.

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