Legal Question in Workers Comp in New York

Re: reopening case

The answer may be yes, but like all compensation cases, the answer truly lies in whether your doctor will indicate in writing that the current need for treatment, including the knee replacement is related to the original injury. A case cannot be reopened just by asking that it be reopened. You usually need new evidence justifying a reopening. An up to date medical report indicating current ongoing problems would probably be enough. However, in practice, many doctors are reluctant to provide such a report because they feel they can not make such a statement when some intervening event or treatment is just as likely to be the cause of the current problem.