What type of workers’ comp benefits are available, and how can an attorney help?

When a worker is injured on the job, the most important immediate concern is to ensure the injury is promptly addressed with appropriate medical care. Not far behind on the order of priorities is to ensure that the worker does everything necessary to initiate a workers’ compensation claim.  This entails filing a claim for benefits, naturally.

For an injured worker, obtaining the right workers’ compensation benefits is an important concern, but navigating the benefits available is not always an easy matter. In this and our next post, we’d like to look at the types of benefits available under New York workers’ compensation law.

Medical benefits are of central importance for an injured worker. Under state law, workers’ who suffer from a work-related injury or illness and who are eligible for workers’ compensation are entitled to medical care which is directly related to the original injury or illness. In terms of where the medical care is to be received from, it depends. Ordinarily, the treating health care provider has to be authorized by the Workers’ Compensation Board, but this is not the case in emergency situations.  In addition, there are situations where a workers’ compensation insurance carrier or self-insured employer is able to control medical treatment for an injured worker.

In addition to medical benefits, injured workers who are totally or partially disabled and who are without the ability to work for over seven days are also able to receive cash benefits. In our next post, we’ll talk about how these benefits are calculated and about the other benefits to which an injured worker may be entitled through the workers’ compensation system.