Under Workers’ Compensation Law Section 15(3), if a claimant has a permanent impairment to a non-schedule site, then the claimant is compensated for his or her actual loss of wage earning capacity (LWEC) caused by the disability. This stage in workers’ compensation litigation is known as classification. During the LWEC trial, the law judge not only considers a claimant’s permanent medical impairment but also vocational factors such as age, education, language ability, work history, and transferrable skills that may mitigate or aggravate the percentage of …
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Getting the Most From the Labor Market Attachment
In New York State, the minimum requirements for the labor market attachment provide a truly low hurdle for a claimant to jump over. Rather than actually attempt to find gainful employment, a claimant usually needs to simply go through the motions: go to a one-stop career center a few times, apply to a handful of jobs each week online, or otherwise spend less than an hour each week trying to find work. So long as there is at least a colorable attempt to find work, …
Continue ReadingTaher and Effect on Permanency Awards for Claimants with Both Schedulable and Classifiable Conditions
The New York State Supreme Court Appellate Division recently decided the case of Taher v. Yiota Taxi, Inc., in which it addressed the specific situation where a claimant is classified with a permanent partial disability and designated with a loss of wage earnings capacity (LWEC), but has both classifiable and schedulable conditions. The court has determined that a claimant may ultimately receive a schedule loss of use award (SLU) even if they are classified.
Previously, it has been the practice of the Board to …
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