Over the last several years, New York State Workers’ Compensation Board has been making strenuous efforts to reduce the number of hearings. Instead they now rely on Administrative Decision and Proposed Decisions which are legal documents filed by the Workers’ Compensation Board. These decisions often make many different critical findings regarding your claim.

One such finding is a determination regarding monetary awards for lost wages.

Our office often fields questions regarding terminology used in some of these decisions. The Workers’ Compensation Board makes a distinction between temporary disability payments and tentative rate payments.

Temporary disability simply refers to a disability finding that has not yet been found to be permanent. Permanency findings are made when a certain time frame has elapsed following the date of injury or date of surgery. Different time frames can apply to different types of injuries.

In contrast, a tentative rate finding simply means that the weekly amount listed on the decision is subject to change in the future. Both parties the carrier and the injured worker can attempt to modify or amended the tentative rate finding in the future if they desire.

If you have questions regarding your New York State Workers’ Compensation claim, feel free to contact our office.