Author Archives: Matthew Funk

Monday Workers’ Compensation Q&A: I didn’t tell my boss within 24 hours…

Don't hesitate to report your accident, even if it's been days since it happened!

QUESTION: I DID NOT TELL MY BOSS WITHIN 24 HOURS ABOUT THE ACCIDENT I HAD AT WORK. DOES THIS MEAN I CANNOT COLLECT WORKERS COMP?

ANSWER: THERE IS NO 24-HOUR REPORTING REQUIREMENT UNDER THE COMPENSATION LAW

Joe was working on one of the old boilers at the old Jefferson High School when he tripped over a wrench. Banged up his knee pretty bad. After the ER visit, the X-rays, the knee brace, and the really good painkillers, Joe went back to work intending to let his boss know of his injury and to file Workers Comp paperwork. But one thing led to another and it wasn’t until three days later that Joe remembered he hadn’t told his boss or had filed any paperwork.

Joe panicked. Wasn’t there a rule that in order to file a Workers Comp claim, you had to have told your boss within 24 hours of the accident? That ER bill was steep and paying out of pocket would really blow his already-stretched paycheck. Joe was so pissed he would have kicked the wall if his knee didn’t hurt so much.

Don’t give up, Joe! File, Joe!! File!!

An injured worker does not have to notify his or her employer within 24 hours to collect benefits under the Workers Compensation Law. He or she may have to notify an employer within 24 hours to make sure they are entitled to certain benefits from the employer or their union. BUT the Compensation Law is different. It requires that notice of the injury be provided within 30 day of the accident. This notice can be provided orally or in writing.

Keep in mind it is ALWAYS better to Continue reading →

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Monday Workers’ Compensation Q&A: I am already getting Social Security and a Pension…

QUESTION: IF I AM GETTING SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY (SSD) AS WELL AS A PENSION DOES THAT MEAN I CANNOT GET WORKERS’ COMPENSATION AS WELL?

ANSWER: YOU CAN GET STILL GET WORKERS’ COMPENSATION WHEN YOU ARE RECEIVING A PENSION AND SSD.

At 55, Joe was a walking museum of every accident he had ever had in his 30 years of working the job. That last accident put him out of work for almost two years. Luckily, he filed all the paperwork, submitted all the forms, crossed all his ‘Ts’ and received Social Security Disability (SSD). But after three decades of hard work, Joe had had enough and so he started the paperwork to retire. But he was worried. He had planned on applying for Workers’ Compensation, but he wasn’t sure he’d could since he was already on SSD and about to receive his pension. What should he do?

File, Joe! File!!

The combination of Workers’ Compensation, Social Security Disability and a pension is called the Trifecta, a Triple Crown of benefits, so to speak. Continue reading →

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Monday Workers’ Compensation Q&A: I didn’t lose time from work…

Even if you didn't lose time from work, you can still file a claim.

QUESTION: WHEN I GOT HURT, I DID NOT LOSE ANY TIME FROM WORK. SHOULD I BOTHER TO FILE A WORKERS COMPENSATION CLAIM?

ANSWER: LOST TIME IS NOT A REQUIREMENT TO FILE A CLAIM

Joe was working a plumbing job at a construction site. He was tightening a connection to an S pipe when the wrench slipped and so did his wrist. Lucky for him, it was only a fracture. The ER was quiet and empty and two hours Joe was back on site, supervising Mike on pipe installation and making sure the job got done. Sure he would have to do some physical therapy on his wrist but that would happen on the weekends. He wouldn’t lose a day of work as he healed.

As he and Mike finished up their day’s work, Mike mentioned to Joe that he should file a Workers’ Comp claim. “But why?” asked Joe. “I was only gone for two hours and the physical therapy will happen on Saturday. Don’t you have to be out for like weeks to file a claim? Nah… I’m not going to file.”

File, Joe! File!!

You don’t have to miss a day of work in order to file a successful claim. Continue reading →

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Monday Workers’ Compensation Q&A: I told my supervisor about the accident, is that enough?

QUESTION: I TOLD MY SUPERVISOR ABOUT THE ACCIDENT BUT I DID NOT SUBMIT AN ACCIDENT REPORT. AM I GOOD TO GO WITH THE VERBAL NOTICE?

ANSWER: ALWAYS REPORT AN INJURY IN WRITING

Joe was working a construction job when Mike accidentally beaned Joe on the head with a 2X4. After seeing a couple of Tweety Birds and a whole bunch of stars, Joe went down to his supervisor’s station and told him he had just had an accident. Then he went off to the ER to make sure he was not seriously injured, relieved he had taken care of business at the job site. All he had to do now was get better.

No, Joe! No!

Yes, Joe satisfied the notice requirement. However, Joe was NOT good to go.

Supervisors sometimes have a funny habit of forgetting conversations or oral notices of an accident. Even if Joe’s supervisor were his best friend, when push came to shove there could be no telling what the supervisor might say in Court front of a Judge.

Furthermore, Continue reading →

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Monday Workers’ Compensation Q&A: My injury isn’t serious

QUESTION: MY INJURY WAS NOT SERIOUS. SO WHY SHOULD I FILE A CLAIM?

ANSWER: BECAUSE YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN. ALWAYS FILE A CLAIM NO MATTER HOW MINOR THE INJURY.

As a Central Park Parks Department Supervisor, Joe was always in the thick of things, literally and figuratively. He ran a crew of 50 and everyone looked up to him. After a really bad storm that left the Park a disaster area, Joe corralled his crew and they all got to work clearing tons of debris and cutting down trees that were about to topple.

One such tree required someone to shimmy up and secure a rope for the tractor. Joe didn’t think twice and up he went. Down he came with a twisted knee. “Hey,” Joe, thought, “if I can still stand and walk, it must be no big deal.” So Joe didn’t stop to get his “minor” injury examined and he didn’t file a claim for that “minor” injury. Instead, he continued to work another 12 hours.

Oh no, Joe! No! Continue reading →

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Monday Workers’ Compensation Q&A: Hurt again, filing a new claim

QUESTION: I PREVIOUSLY HURT MY BACK AT WORK. JUST RECENTLY I HURT IT AGAIN. DO I NEED TO FILE A NEW WORKER’S COMP CLAIM?

ANSWER: Under the New York State Workers’ Compensation Law, an injured worker has two years to file a claim from the date of accident. Even if a worker injured the same body part, it is essential that a new case be filled.

On April 14, 2000, Joe Worker hurt his back on the job. The injury caused him to lose two months of work because of a back sprain. He then went back to work and stayed on the job without difficulties until July 22, 2003. On that day, he had a new accident that also caused a back injury. An MRI showed that he now had a herniated disc that required surgery. But Joe did not want to have the surgery because he could not get time off from work.

Unfortunately, he did not know he should file a new claim. Because he had hurt his back in 2000, he figured that this recent injury was related to the old case. On October 5, 2005, Joe’s back was killing him and he finally agreed he needed surgery. However, when Joe contacted the New York City Law Department he was advised that because they had no record of an accident from 2003 his surgery was being denied. When Joe contacted the carrier on the earlier case, he was told that surgery had been denied because it was not related to the 2000 date of accident. Joe then contacted his private carrier who denied liability because this recent injury was the result of a work-related accident. Joe was stuck.

The way to avoid this problem is that Continue reading →

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Workers’ Compensation Q&A: Hurt by somebody not in my company

QUESTION:  SOMEONE NOT EMPLOYED BY MY COMPANY HURT ME.  AM I STILL COVERED?

ANSWER: YOU ARE COVERED NO MATTER WHO EMPLOYED THE PERSON AT FAULT.

It was right before Mother’s Day and Joe’s job as a deliveryman for Flowers R Us was in high gear. He had eight bouquets to deliver before noon and time was tight. At the corner of 88th and Broadway, the light finally turned green. Joe checked for the all clear and then hit the accelerator. Out of nowhere a yellow cab barreled across 88th Street, running a red light and ramming smack into Joe’s delivery van.

Luckily, Joe was wearing his seat belt so he didn’t go flying through the windshield. However, his neck suffered the worse case of whiplash the EMS technicians had ever seen. After the ER visit, the X-rays, the brace, the painkillers and a lot of police reports and insurance paperwork, Joe called his boss.  He was definitely in no shape to pick up vases of flowers, let alone get behind the wheel of a vehicle. He was going to be out of work for a couple of weeks. Was Joe covered by Workers’ Comp? Since the accident was caused by someone who was not a Flowers-R-Us employee, Joe and his boss didn’t know if Joe was eligible for coverage. What should Joe do!? Continue reading →

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Monday Workers’ Compensation Q&A: Preexisting Injury

QUESTION: I HAVE A PREEXISTING INJURY TO THE SAME BODY PART I HURT AT WORK. DOES THIS MEAN I CANNOT CLAIM WORKERS COMPENSATION BENEFITS?

ANSWER: A PREEXISTING INJURY DOES NOT STOP A CLAIM.  FILE THAT CLAIM!    

Joe Worker was a high school quarterback.  Until that knee injury sidelined his dreams of playing for the NFL.  So he became one of the best construction workers New York City could ask for.  Until one day, on the job, Joe tripped over stuff somebody should have put away, and landed on that bad knee. Now, if his knee hadn’t been so screwed up in the first place, Joe would have been fine.  He would have dusted himself off and gone on with the day.  But the old injury flared up and Joe was sidelined again.  Joe didn’t know what to do.  It was, after all, his bad knee that made things worse, not a minor trip and fall on the job.  So he hesitated filing a new claim.  What should he do? Continue reading →

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