Off The Record – Workers’ Comp – WC vs Disability

Video Transcript

Hi, everyone. My name is Craig Rosasco, senior partner at the law firm of Turley Redmond & Rosasco. Here today to talk to you about workers’ compensation and New York State Disability and what the differences are between the two. Not a day goes by in my practice that someone doesn’t call me up and say, “Hey, I’m out on disability,” when in actuality, they’re out on workers’ compensation. So let’s break it down. We’ll go through it together and then you’ll have a better understanding as to where you sit and which one applies to you.

So workers’ compensation is insurance provided by your employer, okay, and when you get injured on the job, you file for workers’ compensation benefits. There’s two elements and components of workers’ compensation, monetary benefits and medical benefits. There are no copayments on the medical payments, so it’s certainly in your best interest that if you’re hurt on the job to make sure you file your claim as workers’ compensation.

On the other side of that is New York State Disability. That is a deduction out of your weekly check, approximately 60 cents per pay period, okay, and that provides monetary benefits for when you get hurt off the job. So you’re home mowing the lawn, you hit a hole in the lawn and you twist your knee. Next thing you know, you’re out of work, you call your employer on Monday morning, and you say, “Hey, I hurt myself over the weekend.” They send you a DB-450. You file it with the Workers’ Compensation Board because that’s the judicial body that oversees the claim and then you get monetary benefits. There are no medical benefits through disability. That would go through your private insurance or whatever form of healthcare that you may currently have.

If you have any questions in regards to either one of these two options, give us a call, 516-745-5666. I’m Craig Rosasco. I look forward to hearing from you soon.