Tag Archives: accident

Understanding Your Claim: Workers’ Comp Terms Explained In Plain Language

Today we continue discussing workers’ compensation injuries and procedures.  While no one plans to get hurt on the job, there are some things you need to know if you find yourself dealing with the workers’ compensation system. If you are unfortunate enough to find yourself injured on the job you may be scheduled for a hearing or more likely receive an administrative decision regarding your claim. Many people who find themselves attending a hearing or in receipt of a decision are often times confused by the terminology. As a practitioner of workers’ compensation I can tell you that there are a lot of terms of art, abbreviations and the like that we use on a regular basis during the course of a claim.

One of the most common abbreviations we use is ANCR or ODNCR. For example, if you have an injury to your back you might receive a decision indicating ANCR back. Without ANCR or ODNCR, you cannot have a successful claim for workers’ compensation benefits. But what does it mean?  ANCR stands for accident, notice and causal relationship. ODNCR stands for occupational disease, notice and causal relationship. Here I will discuss each of the components.

  1. An ACCIDENT or OCCUPATIONAL DISEASE is one arising out of and in the course of the employment. Just because you get injured or sick on the job does not definitively mean you are entitled to file a claim. For example, if an employee gets assaulted on the job by a jealous spouse because of a domestic dispute, the injuries sustained would not be compensable as there is no work connection. If you are injured solely as a result of intoxication from alcohol or drugs while working, you would not be able to obtain workers’ compensation benefits. Similarly in occupational claims not only do you have to show that it occurred in the course of employment but that it must flow naturally from the work involved.
  2. The second component is NOTICE specifically notice to your employer that you were hurt on the job. The law prescribes that notice be given to the employer within 30 days of the accident and should be in writing although oral notice may be accepted. While many jobs have their own internal notice requirements, the law in New York State is 30 days. Notice is different than filing with New York State. The Statute of Limitations to file a claim with the New York State Workers’ Compensation board is 2 years. You may file within the 2 year statute but still lose your claim if you didn’t file proper notice with your employer within 30 days.    
  3. Lastly, there must be CAUSAL RELATIONSHIP, between the job and the injury sustained. Is the injury you are suffering from as a result of the accident which occurred on the job. In order to prove this you must have a medical report from a qualified medical provider. The doctor should be a licensed to practice under the workers’ compensation and familiar with the system which includes the requisites necessary in order to file a proper report. If you are able to confirm these components, your case may be accepted or established. It is imperative that these steps are followed as it is possible that a very serious injury may sustained but never established because it fails to follow what has been directed.

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NY Roofing Contractor Fined for Falling Short on Fall Protection

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) works to save workers’ lives throughout New York by fining employers who fail to comply with workplace safety standards. OSHA cites any employer who fails to comply with safety requirements, but one of the top problems that lead to OSHA citations is a failure to provide adequate fall protection.

OSHA reports that one company in New York was fined a total of $159,250 recently for failures to protect workers from falling as they performed work on roofing projects. Our Manhattan work injury attorneys know this employer was just one of many in New York who fail to embrace solutions that would limit or prevent falls in the workplace.

Falls Are a Common & Dangerous Workplace Accident

OSHA assessed the New York roofing contractor a large fine for the lack of fall protection in part because the offense was a repeated violation. The employer knowingly chose not to take steps to protect workers.

Unfortunately, this company is not the only one that fails when it comes to falls. In fact, OSHA reports that falls are the number one killer of construction workers and that many construction sites provide either no fall protection or inadequate fall protection. 

The absence of fall protection contributes to the high number of deaths. In 2011 alone, OSHA reported that there were 251 fall fatalities out of a total of 721 total deaths nationwide on construction sites.  These fatalities were preventable.

OSHA’s Fall Prevention Campaign

With falls as the leading cause of death on construction sites, OSHA has launched a nationwide outreach campaign called Stop Falls in order to raise awareness of the hazards of falls from roofs, scaffolds and ladders.

The campaign focuses on the three steps necessary to prevent falls:

  • Planning: Deciding in advance how a job performed up high must be done. Employers and workers must estimate what safety equipment is necessary in order to complete each task and employers should be sure to factor in the cost of equipment when bidding for a job.
  • Providing: Providing means that employers have to provide safety gear, as well as the right types of ladders and equipment when a worker is working six feet or more up in the air.
  • Training: Safety equipment is only effective if it is used properly. Employers must train workers on how to recognize hazards and on how to use the equipment they need to do their jobs in a safe and effective manner. This means training workers on fall protection systems as well as the use of scaffolds and ladders.

Employers must take responsibility for preventing falls. If a worker gets hurt the employer will be held responsible regardless of whether the employer was negligent or an employee was at fault.

Workers cannot generally sue employers, but they can make workers compensation claims and negligence doesn’t matter in these cases. A worker can be entitled to workers compensation benefits, including payment of medical bills, under any circumstances where his injury arose from a fall at work.

New York also has special scaffolding laws imposing strict liability on property owners and/or project managers in certain cases when scaffolding injuries occur. It is important for workers to understand their rights in scaffolding accidents and when other fall accidents occur.

If you’ve been hurt at work, contact the Law Offices of Pasternack Tilker Ziegler Walsh Stanton & Romano, LLP today for a free evaluation by calling (800) 692-3717.

 

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