New York Lawyers Express Concern Over Issues With NY Workers’ Comp Website

More than seven months after the I-Team first reported that there were several issues with the referrals made by the Workers’ Compensation Board and no changes have been made. Continue reading →

Nov 04, 2016 /prREACH/ -- Nearly seven months ago, the I-Team, an investigative team for NBC New York, reported that they had discovered a serious issue with referrals made by the state Workers’ Compensation Board. Today, they’ve found that the same issue is still providing bad information to injured workers via the website.

In March of 2015, the I-Team found that when asked to provide an injured worker with a damaged eye with a referral to a doctor who would accept workers’ compensation, the majority of the doctors on the referral list did not actually take the insurance as a form of payment and would refuse to treat the worker. In one case, a supermarket worker who injured his eye at work found it so difficult to find a doctor who would treat him, that it took four years for him to get the surgery he needed. He lived in pain for those four years and described it as “a pain like somebody is drilling a hole in my head.”

Despite the outcry generated by this report, the I-Team has found that when you search the state websites list of providers, the results have not been updated. Of more than 60 doctors called, more than 65% indicated that they do not accept workers’ compensation cases. The New York Compensation Board has not indicated that they have any plans to update the list with correct information.

This is shocking given the fact that workers’ compensation was created to help workers, not make it more difficult for them to get the care they need. In addition to this problem, denials from the insurance company are frequent and in many cases, an incorrect payout amount is calculated. While the worker has the right to appeal any decision, appeals can take nearly a year due to a backlog. This can be too much for a worker who is dealing with the physical and emotional pain of their injury and many seek help from an experienced attorney.