You got hurt at work. Maybe it was a fall from a ladder on a job in Jamaica, a box that came down on your shoulder in a Long Island City warehouse, or a crash while you were driving the company van on the Van Wyck. Now you have a stack of forms, a supervisor who keeps asking when you'll be back, and a question nobody is answering straight: what does workers' comp actually cover, and is it the only thing you can get?
This guide answers the questions injured workers ask us most, in plain English. If you are searching for workers' compensation lawyers in New York, it will also help you figure out whether you need one, and which kind.
First, the short version
- Workers' comp in New York is no-fault. You don't have to prove your employer did anything wrong, and they can't deny you because you made a mistake.
- It pays your medical bills and a portion of your lost wages. It does not pay for pain and suffering.
- In most cases you can't sue your own employer. That's the trade-off the system is built on.
- But you often can sue someone else: a property owner, a general contractor, another driver, or the maker of a defective machine. That second case, called a third-party claim, is where full compensation comes from.
- Two deadlines matter right away: tell your employer in writing within 30 days, and file your claim with the Workers' Compensation Board within two years.
What does workers' comp pay for?
Medical care
Comp covers reasonable and necessary treatment for the work injury: emergency care, doctor visits, physical therapy, surgery, prescriptions and medical travel. You generally need to treat with a provider authorized by the Workers' Compensation Board (most are, but ask before your first visit), and you should not be handed a bill for covered care.
Lost wages
If you miss more than seven days of work, you can receive cash benefits. The basic formula is two-thirds of your average weekly wage, multiplied by your degree of disability, up to a state maximum. For injuries on or after July 1, 2026, that maximum is $1,281.50 a week, and the minimum is $384.45 (or your actual wages, if they were lower). The rate is set by the date of your accident, not the date you file.
If you're out more than 14 days, the first seven days are paid too. If you can go back to light duty at lower pay, comp may pay part of the difference.
Permanent injury awards
If you lose some permanent use of an arm, leg, hand, foot, eye or hearing, you may receive a schedule loss of use award once you've reached maximum medical improvement. Injuries to the back, neck and other body parts that don't appear on the schedule are handled differently, through a "classification" that affects how long wage benefits can last.
Death benefits
If a worker dies from a job injury, a surviving spouse and dependent children can receive weekly benefits and help with funeral costs.
What comp doesn't pay for
This is where many people feel cheated, and it's worth understanding before you assume your case is "handled."
| Loss | Covered by comp? |
|---|---|
| Medical treatment for the injury | Yes |
| Two-thirds of lost wages (up to the cap) | Yes |
| The other third of your wages | No |
| Wages above the weekly cap | No |
| Pain and suffering | No |
| Loss of enjoyment of life | No |
| Your spouse's loss of your companionship | No |
For a union carpenter or an electrician earning $2,500 a week, the cap alone means comp replaces only about half of what they were making. Add the missing pain-and-suffering piece and the gap gets very wide after a serious injury. That gap is exactly what a third-party claim is designed to fill.
Can I sue my employer?
Usually, no. Under Workers' Compensation Law § 11, comp is the "exclusive remedy" against an employer that carries coverage. There are narrow exceptions:
- Your employer had no workers' comp insurance. You may then be able to sue them directly, and the employer loses some of its usual defenses.
- The injury was intentional, meaning your employer actually intended to hurt you. Carelessness, even gross carelessness, doesn't qualify.
- A "grave injury." This doesn't let you sue your employer, but in a lawsuit against someone else, that defendant may be able to bring your employer into the case. The law lists what counts, such as death, loss of a limb, total blindness or deafness, and a brain injury that leaves you permanently unable to work.
Who else can be responsible? The third-party claim
Most of the money in serious workplace cases comes from people and companies who are not your employer. Here are the situations we see most often across Queens, Brooklyn and Nassau County.
Construction falls and falling objects
New York's Scaffold Law, Labor Law § 240(1), makes property owners and general contractors responsible when a worker is hurt in a fall from height, or is struck by a falling object, because proper safety devices weren't provided. Labor Law § 241(6) adds liability for violations of specific Industrial Code rules. These cases are often far more valuable than the comp claim. Our guides on Labor Law 240 and 241 on Long Island and ladder falls in New York City go deeper.
Crashes in a work vehicle
If you were driving for work and another driver hit you, comp covers you first, but you can still bring a claim against the at-fault driver for what comp doesn't pay. If the crash was serious, the injury usually has to meet New York's "serious injury" rule for pain and suffering. We explain how these overlap in our guide to work vehicle crashes.
Defective equipment
A saw without a working guard, a forklift with failed brakes, a scaffold component that snapped: the manufacturer or distributor may be liable under product liability law.
Unsafe property you didn't control
A delivery worker who slips on an unsalted loading dock at someone else's building, a home health aide who falls on a broken stair in a client's apartment building, or a security guard injured because a landlord ignored a known hazard may all have a claim against that property owner.
How the comp claim and the lawsuit fit together
You can do both at the same time. Comp pays while the third-party case moves forward, which can take a year or more. A few rules shape how the money comes together at the end:
- The comp lien. Under Workers' Compensation Law § 29, the comp carrier gets repaid from your third-party recovery for what it already paid. But it has to share in the legal fees it took to win that money, and the lien is often negotiated down. Our article on workers' comp liens walks through how that works.
- Consent to settle. Before you settle a third-party case, you generally need the comp carrier's written consent or a court order. Skipping this step can cost you your future comp benefits, so never sign a release without checking.
- Future offset. After a settlement, the carrier may get a "holiday" from paying future benefits until your net recovery is used up. A good settlement plan accounts for this.
The deadlines, in one place
| What | When |
|---|---|
| Tell your employer about the injury, in writing | Within 30 days (Workers' Compensation Law § 18) |
| File your claim (Form C-3) with the Board | Within 2 years (Workers' Compensation Law § 28) |
| Third-party negligence lawsuit | Generally 3 years from the accident |
| Claim against a city, county or public authority | Notice of claim generally within 90 days |
The Board explains the filing process on its How to File a Claim page. If a city agency, the MTA or a public school district owned the place where you got hurt, that 90-day notice is the one to watch. See our guide to notices of claim.
Mistakes that hurt good comp cases
- Only telling a co-worker. Tell a supervisor, and put it in writing: a text or email with the date, what happened and what hurts is better than nothing.
- Saying "I'm fine" at the scene. Adrenaline hides injuries. Report everything that hurts, even if it seems minor.
- Treating with your own doctor on your own insurance. Tell every provider it's a work injury, so the bill goes to comp.
- Accepting "independent contractor" at face value. Many delivery, construction and gig workers are treated as contractors when the law may consider them employees. Don't assume you have no coverage.
- Missing the independent medical exam. The carrier's doctor will examine you. Skipping it can suspend your benefits. Our guide to IMEs explains what to expect.
- Not looking for a third party. Every serious work injury deserves a second question: was anyone besides my employer responsible?
Do I need a workers' compensation lawyer?
For a minor sprain where comp pays without a fight, you may not. You likely need help if:
- Your claim was denied or your benefits were cut off
- Your employer says you weren't working when you got hurt, or that you're not an employee
- You need surgery or you've been out of work for weeks
- Your injury may be permanent
- The accident happened on a construction site, in a vehicle, or involved equipment or property someone else controlled
Comp lawyers' fees in New York are approved by the Workers' Compensation Board, and in personal injury cases you pay nothing unless there's a recovery. Our article on how contingency fees work explains the injury side.
More questions injured workers ask
Can I be fired for filing a comp claim?
New York law prohibits employers from firing, demoting or otherwise retaliating against a worker because they filed a comp claim or testified in one. If that happens, it can be raised with the Workers' Compensation Board as a separate discrimination claim.
What if my employer doesn't have comp insurance?
Employers in New York are required to carry it. If yours didn't, you can still apply for benefits, which may be paid through a state fund, and you may be able to sue your employer directly in court.
I'm undocumented. Can I still get comp?
In New York, workers' comp benefits are generally available regardless of immigration status. Your medical care and wage benefits come from the employer's insurance.
What if I was hurt in a car on the way to work?
Ordinary commuting usually isn't covered by comp, so no-fault and a claim against the other driver would apply instead. But if you were driving between job sites, making deliveries or running an errand for your boss, comp may cover it.
How Yakov Mushiyev & Associates helps injured workers
Our focus is the part of a work injury case that comp can't reach: the third-party lawsuit against the owner, contractor, driver or manufacturer who caused the harm. We look at every work injury with that question in mind, coordinate with your comp claim so the lien and consent rules are handled correctly, and push for compensation that covers the wages and the pain and suffering comp leaves behind. Learn more on our work injury and construction accident pages.
We've recovered over $80 million for injured New Yorkers. Consultations are free, in English, Russian or Spanish, at our office, your home or the hospital, and there's no fee unless we win.
Call 718.775.3110 or contact us online to talk about your work injury.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Benefit amounts and rules change; check the Workers' Compensation Board for current figures. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Attorney Advertising.