Workers Compensation Lawyers Albany NY
Workers Compensation Lawyers Albany NY
Do you need a workers’ compensation lawyer in Albany New York? It might be challenging to move on with your life after a job accident. You spend most of your days dealing with medical bills, doctor visits, pain management, and the emotional strain of missing workdays and earnings. Making your way through the complex world of workers’ compensation on your own is the last thing you need during this trying time.
Workers’ Compensation Attorneys in Albany are essential to helping hurt people through the legal system and making sure they get the money they are due. Workers Compensation Lawyers Albany NY
What is meant by Workers Compensation
Employees who are hurt at work are entitled to medical benefits and wage replacement through workers’ compensation insurance. However, in exchange for these benefits, the employee must give up the ability to sue their employer for carelessness. Employers are not permitted to demand that an employee contribute to the cost of benefits; instead, they must pay the insurance.
Regardless of the number of employees, nearly all employers in the state of New York are required to offer workers’ compensation insurance to all of their employees. Partners without employees are exempt from this requirement, but they are still able to obtain coverage for themselves. You might still have delays regardless of the severity of your injuries. Your employer may restrict your benefits or refuse them altogether.
How Does the System for Workers’ Compensation Work?
Employers must carry workers’ compensation insurance under New York law. Benefits for employees hurt at work are provided by this insurance, as was previously mentioned. The worker can still file a lawsuit against other parties, but he loses the ability to sue his employer for his injuries. Furthermore, it is noteworthy that workers’ compensation benefits—unlike personal injury lawsuits—do not include payment for pain and suffering.
For the most part, injured workers have little trouble receiving these benefits. Fault is essential when it comes to submitting a worker’s compensation claim. The claim may therefore be eligible even if the employee had some degree of personal responsibility for their injury.
What Benefits Are Available From Workers’ Compensation?
Workers’ compensation provides three main benefits to injured workers:
Disability Benefits
You may be eligible for disability benefits from workers’ compensation if your injury keeps you from returning to work. While you’re recovering and unable to work, these payments assist you in paying your living expenses.
Death Benefits
Workers’ compensation benefits might assist the family of an individual who passes away due to an injury sustained at work. It assists with burial expenses and provides a certain amount of financial support to the surviving husband and dependent children.
Medical Costs
Workers’ compensation pays for medical expenses if your employment injury requires them. This includes medical appointments, hospital stays, prescription drugs, and even physical therapy.
When to Hire an Attorney
It may seem easy on the surface to file a workers’ compensation claim, but it is not. Over time, workers’ compensation claims have grown more complicated, necessitating the involvement of an attorney at every stage of the procedure. From the minute you are hurt, you can make a lot of errors. This may result in you not receiving all benefits to which you are legally entitled. Regardless of whether you are appealing a denied claim or submitting a claim for the first time, it is essential to have an experienced attorney on your side.
Albany New York Workers’ Compensation Lawyers
- John F. Harwick:
John was a partner at Hacker Murphy, LLP before the firm’s merger with E. Stewart Jones in 2015. Currently, he is a partner with E. Stewart Jones Hacker Murphy LLP. Since 1995, he has been an upstate New York lawyer. For his clientele, John takes great satisfaction in going above and beyond. Being a seasoned litigator in trial court, he is aware that a lawyer’s readiness, legal expertise, and attention to detail play a major role in how their case turns out.
John was admitted to practice law in the State of New York and various U.S. District Courts, he brought a wealth of experience and expertise to the legal field. His education includes earning a Juris Doctor, cum laude, from Albany Law School Union University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Clark University. With a successful track record, John achieved settlements exceeding $1.0 million in personal injury cases, demonstrating his commitment to advocating for severely injured clients. In addition to personal injury, his practice areas encompass commercial litigation, where he has successfully litigated the dissolution of family business cases and arbitrated breach of contract claims.
Recognized in “Best Lawyers” since 2012 and honored as the “Lawyer of the Year – Plaintiff’s Personal Injury” in 2024, John F. Harwick is dedicated to providing top-notch legal representation. As a member of various professional associations, including the Capital District Trial Lawyers’ Association and the Albany County Bar Association, John F. Harwick continues to contribute to the legal community.
- Paul David Giannetti
Paul Giannetti, an attorney, has lived in the greater Albany area for his whole life. Paul, who was born and raised in Rotterdam Junction, earned a Bachelor of Arts in Business Management with honors from St. Bonaventure University in 1989. 1992 saw him graduate from Albany Law School with a Juris Doctor.
Paul began his own law business in 1998, focusing solely on representing injured and disabled workers in the Albany region, following five years of employment for a small employer-side workers’ compensation firm. Ever since, hundreds of injured or handicapped people have benefited from his tenacious advocacy on their behalf, whether they are seeking workers’ compensation, social security disability payments, or rehabilitation from personal or accident injuries. Paul does not represent insurance companies or employers—always focusing on injury victims.
- Ralph M. Kirk:
Ralph M. Kirk, Esq., has represented injured workers and disabled individuals in all aspects of workers’ compensation, Social Security Disability (SSDI), SSI, and industrial accident claims for over 40 years. In 1974, he received his degree from the top undergraduate university in Canada, St. Francis Xavier University. Dalhousie Law School in Halifax, Nova Scotia, awarded Mr. Kirk a law degree in 1977. In 1978, he received admission to practice in the State of New York’s courts. He also received admission to the Federal Courts of the Northern District of New York.
Mr. Kirk has been a member of the Ulster County Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the New York State Bar Association, and the Injured Workers’ Bar Association for a very long period. The National Organization of Social Security Claimants’ Representatives (NOSSCR) counts him as a supporting member as well. He was appointed to the Third Judicial District of the State of New York’s Committee on Character and Fitness on April 19, 2013, for a five-year term.
To achieve the best results for injured workers and their families, Mr. Kirk’s vision and mandate for his firm and its attorneys are to provide the highest caliber of ethical and professional legal representation to disabled people and injured workers, leveraging the firm’s collective experience, commitment, and hard work.
What Is a Third-Party Liability Claim?
If someone other than an employee of your company caused your accident, you might be eligible for benefits beyond workers’ compensation. Manufacturers of equipment, subcontractors or vendors working on construction sites, and other drivers involved in auto accidents are examples of third parties.
Schedule Your Free Consultation
You can speak with the Albany attorneys directly when working with them. There isn’t a paralegal or other assistance assigned to your case. They will walk you through each stage of the Workers’ Compensation Court process in New York and make sure all the paperwork is filled out accurately and submitted on time to help you get your claim processed more quickly. Click here to set up a free initial consultation.