Workers' Compensation Process

• When an individual suffers an injury on the job he should report the injury to the employer immediately and file a written injury report. The employer and employee are expected to file claims to the board. Once reported to the employer, the employee should see a doctor within 48 hours; the doctor will complete the necessary paperwork that goes to the workers' compensation board. This will start the process of generating a claim. Once the case is established, the injured employee will be assigned a compensation doctor, who will examine the worker and determine the validity of the case. The workers' compensation board will keep track of all the appointments and monitor medical compliance. This compliance will keep the benefits active. The employee will also be expected to attend compensation hearings before a workers' compensation judge. The judge will hear the case and most likely continue the case with benefits.
  
  

Amount of Benefits

• To obtain the maximum amount of benefits, an employee must be disabled permanently from doing his or any other job at the present moment. Each state has its own schedule of how these benefits are awarded. In the state of New York the award is 2/3 the average weekly gross salary times the percentage of disability, so the benefits are awarded as follows: If an employee is making $400 per week in gross salary and his disability is 100 percent, then the amount of his weekly benefit would be $266.67. If his disability is 50 percent, then the weekly benefit would be $133.34 per week. To maintain these benefits an individual must be in compliance with rules set down by the workers' compensation board.