What Do You Do When You are Injured on the Job

Just as a driver, passenger, or injured pedestrian can collect “No Fault” benefits in New York regardless of whose fault an accident is, an employee injured on the job will collect cash and medical benefits without regard to whether the employer was to blame for the employee’s injuries.

An employee who suffers an injury on the job may not sue the employer directly, even if there is reason to believe the injury was the employer’s fault. Rather, according to the Workers’ Compensation law, the employee must make a claim for his medical bills and lost wages to the Workers’ Compensation Board.1 Even if the worker is killed, the only remedy the person’s estate can seek against the employer is through Workers’ Compensation.

The idea of Workers’ Compensation is that both employers and employees get some level of greater financial security and give something up in return. The employee gets guaranteed benefits whenever he is injured on the job and does not have to endure an extended lawsuit to prove the employer’s fault. Workers’ Compensation (theoretically) always pays. But the employee gives up the full compensation he would have gotten for his injuries in a personal injury action. And the employer sacrifices in that he has to pay Workers’ Compensation insurance premiums, but has the benefit of only having to deal with that fixed cost, rather than the volatile cost of defending a personal injury suit.

When and What Workers' Compensation Pays

As long as the person’s injury took place while he or she was working, the Workers’ Compensation Board will pay for the employee’s lost wages. They pay 2/3 of the person’s usual salary. There is a minimum weekly benefit of $100 and a maximum benefit of about $666 weekly, as of July 1, 2010. It will also pay for medical expenses. If the injury makes the person partially disabled on a long term basis, the lost-wages benefit will continue for between four and ten years. If the benefits are cut off because of this time limit, the employee may apply to be classified as “totally disabled” and get lifetime benefits.

The problem is that many people make more than $666 per week. In that case, the Workers’ Compensation benefits will not cover that person’s living expenses.

When Can Injured Employees Sue for Negligence?

Fortunately, there is sometimes another option in addition to Workers’ Compensation. If someone is injured by machinery which malfunctioned or was designed dangerously, he or she can sue the manufacturer of that product. While the Workers’ Compensation laws do prevent suits against an employer, they do not bar suits against the manufacturer of a defective product where the person happened to be injured on the job. Alternatively, if there were other negligent parties involved in the injury, they can be sued as well.

Interestingly, if an employee sues the manufacturer of a product that injured him, and both the employer and the manufacturer were negligent, New York law allows the manufacturer to sue the employer to “contribute” for its share of the responsibility for the injuries. This rule only applies if the employee suffered a “grave injury,” like the loss of multiple fingers, a limb, etc. Most states do not allow this though, and view it as a way to allow plaintiffs to sue their employers indirectly, which would be a loophole around the Workers’ Compensation law.

New York’s rule, however, makes sense. Why should negligent manufacturers have the ability to seek contribution from other jointly negligent parties most of the time, but not when the other negligent party just happens to be in the plaintiff’s employer?2

Contact Rosenberg & Gluck

If you have been injured on the job, or anywhere else, contact the experienced personal injury attorneys at Rosenberg & Gluck. We have decades of collective experience suing manufacturers of defective products and a variety of other types of negligent parties. We are among the largest and most experiences personal injury firms in Suffolk and Nassau Counties. Personal injury is all we do. For a free initial consultation, contact us or call our office toll-free at (631) 451-7900.

1 NY Workers' Compensation Law §§ 11, 29.
2 Gonzales v. Armac Indus. Ltd., 595 N.Y.S.2d 360, 363 (N.Y. 1993) (manufacturers may recover contribution from employers whose negligence also helped cause the plaintiff’s injury)