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Workers’ Compensation Benefits

Lipsitz & Ponterio, LLC is one of the few law firms in New York State operating in the area of toxic torts to have a licensed Workers’ Compensation Representative on staff ready to assist in the filing of a claim for disability benefits or death. A claim for disability benefits under the Workers’ Compensation Law may be filed in cases where an occupational disease interrupts a period of gainful employment. The claim is filed against the last employer for whom the claimant worked while experiencing injurious exposure to the toxic substance, which caused the occupational disease. Assuming that there is adequate proof of exposure and related disease, the employer or its insurance carrier will be directed to pay a weekly wage replacement with a maximum award of $550 a week, together with payment for all medical bills reasonably and necessarily related to the treatment of the disease. 

The Workers’ Compensation system does not require proof of fault (negligence) on the part of the employer. Unlike the recovery in a third-party lawsuit, benefits awarded under the Workers’ Compensation Law do not include recovery for pain and suffering. In cases of occupational disease and death, the surviving spouse and other dependent survivors, including minor children, can apply for weekly death benefits, also with a maximum weekly award of $825. In order to establish a claim for death benefits, the claimant must prove that the decedent’s life was shortened as a result of the occupational disease. The law permits an individual to file a third party lawsuit and also to pursue benefits under the Workers’ Compensation Law. It is not necessary to choose one over the other. 

We are one of the few law firms operating in the area of mesothelioma litigation that has on staff an experienced and licensed New York State Workers’ Compensation Representative. Our Licensed Representative will handle your claim for Workers’ Compensation benefits, as well as your claim for Social Security Disability benefits, in close cooperation with our staff of trial lawyers. It is our goal to obtain for you the maximum available economic recovery, and sometimes this is done through a combination of recovery from a lawsuit and other administrative benefits.