Oftentimes an insurance carrier or an employer will either deny a workers’ compensation claim or not agree to pay for all of the employee’s claimed medical bills and lost wages.
In the event of a dispute, the employee and carrier may reach a settlement. However, they may also take the matter to a hearing in front of a New York workers’ compensation law judge. The judge naturally will listen to evidence from both sides and then make her decision.
Sometimes, these decisions do not go as the worker expected. They could leave the worker disappointed and also wondering how he is going to make ends meet without receiving the payments on which he was counting.
There are options for an appeal after a disappointing outcome
After a disappointing outcome, a worker may appeal the decision further. If she does so, a review panel of New York’s Workers’ Compensation Board will review the decision and decide whether to uphold it or decide to change all or part of it.
It may also ask the law judge to review the matter further.
If a worker is still disappointed after the review panel’s decision, he may ask the review panel to reconsider or ask for the entire Workers’ Compensation Board to examine the case. He may also be able to ask a state appellate court to review the matter.
A worker also has the option to ask for a rehearing in certain circumstances, such as if new evidence was discovered after the case has already been decided.
Seeking an appeal or other relief can be complicated, and not doing it correctly can mean a worker does not get relief even if she was entitled to it. This is one reason why a New York worker should consider speaking with an experienced workers’ compensation attorney about her case.