Partner Matthew Funk Pens New Column
For Laborpress.Org

Partner Matt Funk, Esq. is now writing a weekly column for
Laborpress.Org on Worker's Compensation issues.

What Do I Do Now?! - Workers' Comp
and Other Mysteries

 

 

QUESTION: I FILED AN ACCIDENT REPORT AT WORK AND NOTIFIED MY SUPERVIOR.  DO I HAVE TO DO ANYTHING ELSE?

TRUTH: YES! THE C-3 CLAIM STILL MUST BE FILED WITH THE WORKERS’ COMPENSATION BOARD BY THE INJURED WORKER.!Right before going on a cruise with his lovely wife for their 25th wedding anniversary, Joe got a pretty bad gash on his arm while fixing a pipe at work.  The ER fixed him up quickly and when Joe got back to the office, he filed an accident report and then notified his supervisor, Mike in writing. Mike stuck his head out of the office and told Joe he would take care of the rest and to “get the hell out of here and enjoy that cruise!” Thinking he had covered all his bases...

 

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 ...

 

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...

 

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...

 

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: ALWAYS FILE A NEW CLAIM!! 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 filed.

 On April 14, 2000, Joe Worker hurt...

 

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 ...

 

QUESTION:  I DID NOT PUNCH IN FOR WORK.  DOES THIS MEAN I AM NOT COVERED IF I HAVE AN ACCIDENT?

ANSWER: IF YOU ARE AT WORK AND YOU DON’T PUNCH IN, YOU ARE STILL COVERED. PUNCHING IN DOES NOT START COVERAGE FOR A WORKER! Joe was running late.  A custodian at The City College, a CUNY school, the minute he got onto the campus, his radio crackled with news of a boiler freaking out in old Sheppard Hall.  Rather than punch in, he ran straight to the boiler to take care of business. Running down the hall to the boiler room, he passed ...

 


Matthew Funk, a partner at Brecher Fishman Pasternack Walsh Tilker & Ziegler, has been practicing Workers' Compensation Law for over a decade.  He is a member of the Workers' Compensation Bar Association, Injured Workers’ Bar Association and the New York Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health (NYCOSH).  He has written for the New York State Trial Lawyers’ Workers' Compensation Decisions program and has lectured on numerous occasions focusing on Workers’ Compensation Law.  Send your Workers' Compensation questions to: MattF@brecherfishman.com or call at (347) 952-4228.

  

 

QUESTION: MY EMPLOYER PAID ME SALARY WHILE I WAS INJURED AND OUT OF WORK.  DO I STILL HAVE TO FILE A WORKERS’ COMPENSATION CLAIM?

ANSWER: THERE IS MORE TO A CLAIM THAN PAYMENT WHILE OUT OF WORK. Joe’s boss, Mike was a great guy.  In fact, when Joe got badly hurt at work and was out for weeks, Mike paid Joe’s salary every week.  When Joe got back to work, he hesitated filing a Workers’ Compensation Claim.  After all, Mike had paid his salary the weeks he was out.  And Joe didn’t want to appear ungrateful or greedy.  What should he do?...

 

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...

 

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...

 

QUESTION: I JUST RETIRED FROM MY JOB.  BUT I AM STILL SUFFERING FROM AN INJURY I GOT ON THE JOB.  AM I STILL COVERED BY WORKERS’ COMP AND CAN I STILL MAKE A CLAIM?

ANSWER: IN CERTAIN CASES, RETIREMENT DOES NOT END COVERAGE AND AN INJURED WORKER CAN STILL MAKE A CLAIM FOR COVERAGE. After a good forty years on the job, Joe finally retired from his custodial position at the City College on March 1, 2010.  He was looking forward to the three ‘Gs’ of the golden years – golf, gardening and grandchildren.  After sleeping in that first morning of retirement, Joe stood up to begin his new life.  However...

 

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...

 

QUESTION:  IT WAS MY OWN FAULT I GOT HURT AT WORK.  AM I STILL COVERED BY WORKERS’ COMP?

ANSWER: IN ALMOST ALL CASES WORKERS’ COMP COVERAGE IS NOT BASED ON WHOSE FAULT IT IS. Joe was working as a lifeguard out on Long Beach.  The day was perfect, the waves were calm, and there were no sharks in sight.  Some pretty girls walked by Joe’s lifeguard stand, giggling and throwing...

 

QUESTION:  I STARTED A FIGHT WITH A COWORKER AND LOST.  AM I STILL COVERED?

ANSWERS: FIGHTS ARE COVERED, REGARDLESS OF FAULT. Joe and Mike were working on yet another BQE repair project. It was hot, it was rainy, it was Monday.  Drivers were screaming obscenities and the exhaust from the traffic jam resulting ...

 

QUESTION: WHAT IS AN OCCUPATIONAL DISEASE?

Answer: The Workers Compensation Law protects workers who sustain injuries in the course of their employment.  There are different types of injuries that are covered...

 

John Merlino, a partner with Brecher Fishman Pasternack Walsh Tilker & Ziegler, has extensive experience in Surrogate's Court handling Wills, Trusts, and Estates.  His current area of practice is in Commercial and Workers' Compensation.  He is politically active assisting politicians in both City and Statewide Community affairs and has participated and assisted in organizing numerous Union Rallys against NON-UNION Contractors and Builders.  He also teaches various unions' Shopstewards and Apprentices on work safety, workers' compensation and current events. For Workers' Compensation questions, call (212) 341-7984.

 

 

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