A relatively new policy enacted by the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board involves reducing claimant’s accessibility to a Workers’ Compensation hearing. By cutting the number of hearings drastically, the Workers’ Compensation Board has chosen to issue written decisions, by mail, which often have a critical impact on a claimant’s legal rights and responsibilities.
These decisions are often entitled “Notice of Proposed Decision.” In the past a claimant was assured that any issue important to their case would be heard by a Law Judge, at a Workers’ Compensation hearing but that is no longer the case.
The Workers’ Compensation Board now issues written decisions are hard to understand for non-lawyers and have a specific time frame listed within which an objection must be filed.
Don’t be a victim. If you have received correspondence for the Workers’ Compensation Board, don’t assume that these are harmless letters or documents. We would be happy to discuss your specific case with you and explain the significance of any decisions or documents that you have received from the Workers’ Compensation Board.