Workers’ compensation is a vital guarantee for employees that helps keep workplaces safe. However, the details of the insurance and other requirements to offer the payments if a worker is injured on the job have been the bane of many business owners.
Payouts are on the rise in New York, according to a recent study of workers’ compensation claims. Benefits per claim increased between 7 and 9 percent from 2007 to 2014, with a smaller rise before reforms to the relevant laws in 2007.
New technology has also changed the face of claims and benefits, with the government in Albany offering new ways of filing and providing medical evidence online. This feature has reduced payout times for benefits to injured workers.
Delivery expenses for claims were also on the increase for the decade between 2007 and 2017. This is partially because a bevy of new claims forced employers to hire legal counsel to investigate several cases before benefits could be approved. In many cases, it was decided that injuries were not work-related or had not occurred according to reports.
Benefits paid out in New York to injured workers have stabilized in the last five years. This is a good sign for employers with workers’ compensation insurance, as these statistics may affect premiums charged by insurance carriers in the future.
Employers who need help navigating workers’ compensation claims may call on legal representation to help sort it out. An attorney can help review a claim made, compare it with reports and work out the best defense in hearings related to the claim.
