Legal Question in Workers Comp in New York

Re: workmens comp

Its funny, many people on this forum often ask a bunch of lawyers if you need them. The answer is of course! We all want to be needed. But seriously,the facts you describe indicate there certainly is some sort of final payout owed to you. You could get that on your own by going to your doctor and asking him to send in a report indicating you have a permanent "schedule loss of use" of your leg. But the nuances of requesting a hearing, going to court and negotiating the issue with the insurance company can be intimidating and mistakes can be made if you handle it on your own. Moreover, it sounds like the injury may have occurred prior to your 25th birthday since it sounds like this was something that may have happened while you were in college. This is just a guess. But if it is, there is also an additional question of what is called the "wage expectancy." Basically this part of the law gives a person injured under the age of twenty five the opportunity for increased compensation by proving what their earnings were going to be by the time they reach 25 rather than relying on what their wages were on the date of the accident. There is no requirement to hire a lawyer but it could be helpful, especially as it relates to the wage expectancy issue. Attorneys can only be paid out of the proceeds of the settlement and only with the approval of the judge. You never cut a check to the lawyer, the Insurance Company does.