Overview
The Office of the Advocate for Injured Workers helps employees access their workers’ compensation benefits – the lost wages and health care they need after a job-related injury or illness. The office helps workers get their benefits in the more complex and difficult claims. It also handles all fatality claims. Members of the office also perform public education providing information to interested groups to help workers understand and protect their rights in the workers' compensation system.
Free Webinar Sessions
If your group would like to arrange a webinar with education on workers’ compensation, please contact AdvInjWkr@wcb.ny.gov. All size groups can be accommodated!
The Advocate for Injured Workers hosts monthly webinars to educate workers on the basics of the workers’ compensation system, including employees’ rights if they become injured or ill on the job. Each one-hour presentation covers:
- Employees’ benefits under workers’ compensation;
- How to file a claim;
- Information to be aware of regarding COVID-19 claims; and
- How to get help with your claim if needed.
Sessions are free and general questions are always answered. To register for an upcoming session, visit the Webinars for Workers page. Registration is required.
Don’t want to wait? You can also view a recording of a previous session:
- Lunch & Learn: Workers' Comp 101 - September 2022: Video
Ask the Advocate
In this ongoing feature, the Board’s Advocate for Injured Workers addresses timely and/or frequently asked questions from workers.
Featured Q&A:
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New! I got hurt at work so a doctor gave me sutures at an urgent care. Now, my employer is offering to pay that bill. Do I still need a workers' compensation claim?
A workers' compensation claim must be reported to the Workers' Compensation Board by your employer or employer's insurance carrier because your on-the-job injury required medical treatment beyond ordinary first aid. A workers' compensation claim must be reported to the Board if you receive more than two first-aid treatments or if you receive medical treatment beyond basic first aid (and sutures are more than first aid). If the on-the-job injury caused you to miss a day of work, a claim must be reported to the Board. That report must be filed within 10 days of the accident.
Under the law, in an instance when a report must be filed, employers cannot just pay expenses and be excused from reporting the injury to the Board. The reporting requirement in the statute is mandatory regardless of whether the employer pays the medical bill.
When you have an on-the-job injury, tell your employer about it as soon as you can. Then, your employer must notify its insurer, and the insurer must report the injury to the Board in accordance with the reporting requirements in the statute.
All on-the-job injuries must be recorded by your employer even if they don't meet the reporting requirements in the statute. An employer who refuses to file a report of your on-the-job injury or doesn't keep a record of the injury, as required by law, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars.
Please see our publication, What To Expect When You File A Claim - Your Workers' Compensation Benefits.
We also have a fact sheet that explains employers' responsibilities.
If your claim is disputed, the Board will hold a hearing and protect your rights.
Do you have a question for the Advocate for Injured Workers?
Check out past Q&As Ask a Question
Contact the Advocate for Injured Workers
You can contact the Advocate for Injured Workers for assistance with a workers’ compensation question or issue. You can also schedule a training for your group.
- Email: advinjwkr@wcb.ny.gov
- Phone: (877) 632-4996
When calling the Advocate for Injured Workers for help with a workers’ compensation claim, please have the following information available:
- Worker’s name
- Worker’s WCB number
- Telephone number, including area code
- Brief description of the problem and any correspondence received.
Resources
- Lunch & Learn: Workers' Comp 101 - September 2022: Video
- Workers’ Compensation 101 - March 2022: Video
- Advocate for Injured Workers
- What to Expect When You File a Claim
- Understanding the claim process
- Understanding Your Schedule Loss of Use Award
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