A New York workers’ compensation claim has two deadlines that decide whether it survives: 30 days to give your employer written notice of the injury, and two years to file your own claim with the Workers’ Compensation Board. Plenty of injured workers in Onondaga County miss the second one because they assume the employer’s paperwork already opened the case.
Passalacqua & Associates, LLC helps injured workers in Syracuse file claims, fight denials, and look for the second claim that comp does not cover. A workers compensation lawyer in Syracuse, NY can get your C-3 filed correctly, prepare you for hearings before a Workers’ Compensation Law Judge, and check whether someone other than your employer caused the injury. Call +1 (315) 500-6425 for a free consultation.
Report the injury to your employer in writing, get medical care from a provider who accepts workers’ compensation, and file your own claim form with the Board. Those three steps protect your benefits from the most common early denials.
If the injury developed over time, such as a back condition from years of lifting or carpal tunnel from repetitive work, the deadlines generally run from when you knew or should have known the condition was related to your job.
Workers’ compensation pays your causally related medical treatment at no cost to you and replaces part of your lost wages while you cannot work. It does not pay for pain and suffering.
| Benefit | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Medical care | Treatment for the work injury, following the Board’s Medical Treatment Guidelines, with no copays |
| Temporary total disability | Two-thirds of your average weekly wage while you cannot work at all, up to the weekly maximum |
| Temporary partial disability | Two-thirds of the difference between your old wages and what you can earn on light duty |
| Schedule loss of use (SLU) | A lump-sum-style award for permanent loss of use of an arm, leg, hand, foot, eye, or hearing |
| Permanent partial disability | Weekly payments for a lasting back, neck, or other non-schedule injury, for a capped number of weeks |
| Death benefits | Weekly payments to a surviving spouse and dependent children, plus funeral expenses |
Wage benefits are capped at a weekly maximum that rises every July 1. For injuries on or after July 1, 2026, the Board set the maximum at $1,281.50 a week, with a minimum of $384.45, according to Board Subject Number 046-1805.
There is a seven-day waiting period before wage benefits begin. If you are out of work more than 14 days, you are paid for that first week as well.
Temporary benefits last as long as the temporary disability does. Once your doctor finds you have reached maximum medical improvement, the Board classifies the lasting injury, and permanent partial disability benefits for non-schedule injuries are capped by your loss of wage-earning capacity (LWEC).
| Loss of wage-earning capacity | Maximum weeks of benefits |
|---|---|
| 15% or less | 225 weeks |
| Over 30% up to 40% | 275 weeks |
| Over 50% up to 60% | 350 weeks |
| Over 70% up to 75% | 400 weeks |
| Over 95% | 525 weeks |
The LWEC percentage is often the most valuable number in a New York comp case, and it is argued over with medical evidence, work history, education, and job skills. Medical treatment for the injury can continue after wage payments end, so a closed wage claim does not mean the carrier stops paying for your care. That distinction matters when a Section 32 settlement is offered.
When a carrier disputes your claim, the case is “controverted,” and a Workers’ Compensation Law Judge decides it after hearings. The carrier might argue the injury did not happen at work, that notice was late, or that your condition is not causally related to the job.
Most Board hearings are now held virtually, and since February 2026 anyone testifying must appear on video with their face visible. Injured workers can testify from home or from their attorney’s office. We prepare clients for that testimony and handle the medical reports, depositions of doctors, and legal arguments that decide these hearings.
Have a denial letter or a hearing notice? Call a work injury lawyer in Syracuse, NY at +1 (315) 500-6425 before the hearing date.
The carrier can send you to an independent medical examination (IME) with a doctor it selects. IME reports are the most common reason benefits get reduced or stopped, typically through a finding that you can return to work, that you need no more treatment, or that your disability is lower than your doctor says.
An IME report is one opinion, and the judge weighs it against your treating doctor’s findings. You should attend every scheduled IME, because missing one can suspend payments. Answer questions honestly and describe your limits accurately without minimizing them. We respond to IME reports with your doctor’s evidence and, when needed, cross-examination of the IME physician.
No. WCL § 120 makes it illegal for an employer to fire, demote, or otherwise discriminate against you for filing a claim, asking for claim forms, or testifying in a comp case.
If the Board finds retaliation, it can order the employer to reinstate you and pay the wages you lost because of the discrimination. The complaint must be filed within two years. Keep any emails, texts, or write-ups that came after you reported your injury, because timing is usually the key evidence.
In most cases, no. Workers’ compensation is the exclusive remedy against your own employer in New York, which means you cannot sue the employer for pain and suffering, even if its negligence caused the injury.
There is a narrow exception. Under WCL § 11, an employer can be brought into a lawsuit when the worker suffers a “grave injury,” such as loss of a limb, paralysis, total blindness, or a brain injury causing permanent total disability, or when the employer agreed in writing to indemnify another party.
You can bring a separate lawsuit against that party while you collect comp. This is a third-party claim, and it is where pain and suffering and full lost wages become available. Common examples include:
Our page on when someone other than your employer caused the injury explains how those claims work. On construction sites, construction workers may have a second claim under the Labor Law, which holds owners and general contractors responsible for many falls from height. With the I-81 viaduct project and other large jobs underway in Syracuse, these claims come up often.
Yes, in part. Under WCL § 29, the comp carrier has a lien on your third-party recovery for the benefits it paid, reduced by its share of the legal fees. The carrier also must consent to a third-party settlement, or you risk losing future comp benefits. Getting that consent in writing before settling is one of the details that protects your ongoing coverage.
Not before someone reviews it with you. A Section 32 agreement settles some or all of your claim for a lump sum, and once the Board approves it, it is final.
Most Section 32 settlements close out future wage benefits, and some also close out future medical care for the injury. That can be a good trade for a worker who is back at a new job and wants certainty.
It can be a costly mistake for someone who expects to need surgery later, or whose claim for a higher loss of wage-earning capacity is still open. We run the numbers on the weekly benefits you would give up and the medical care you might need before recommending any settlement.
There is no upfront fee to hire a Syracuse workers’ comp attorney. In New York, attorney fees in comp cases must be approved by the Workers’ Compensation Board and are paid as a lien out of your award, not billed to you directly.
The Board decides the fee based on the work performed and the results, and a lawyer cannot charge you outside that process. The consultation is free, and if there is also a third-party injury claim, that case is handled on a contingency fee with no fee unless we recover money for you.
Comp cases are decided by medical evidence and hearing testimony, and third-party cases are decided by juries. We handle both, so a construction worker or delivery driver does not have to split a case between two firms that don’t talk to each other.
Founder Nick Passalacqua is a trial lawyer who also holds a New York property and casualty insurance broker license, which helps when the comp carrier, the third party’s insurer, and the lien all have to be sorted out in one settlement. The firm’s attorneys bring more than 50 years of combined experience, and our broader team of Syracuse personal injury attorneys handles the injury claims that comp does not cover.
Whether you are waiting on a first check, facing an IME cutoff, or weighing a settlement offer, the next decision affects the benefits you receive for years.
Contact a workers’ compensation attorney in Syracuse at Passalacqua & Associates, LLC at +1 (315) 500-6425 for a free review of your workers’ compensation claim and any third-party case that comes with it. We meet injured workers by appointment at our Syracuse office at 499 S Warren Street, Suite 220, and answer calls 24/7.
Passalacqua & Associates, LLC provides legal representation for individuals facing personal injuries and criminal charges. Our attorneys offer compassionate guidance and aggressive strategies, and we’re committed to achieving the best possible outcomes. We’ll protect your rights and navigate legal complexities on your behalf.
Passalacqua & Associates, LLC proudly serves clients in Utica, Syracuse, and the surrounding upstate New York communities. We are dedicated to providing accessible and effective legal services to those in need of experienced personal injury and criminal defense representation within these regions.