Info Brochure For Drs Office

NEGLIGENCE LAWSUIT The law provides that if someone else’s carelessness was at least partially at fault for causing your injury, they must compensate you. For example, if they were 50% at fault for the accident, they, through their insurance company, must pay 50% of your medical bills, pain and suffering, and lost wages.

The Durst Law Firm, suffering from an injury is worth three times the amount of the lost wages and medical bills. Workers compensation benefits, no fault benefits, disability benefits and social security benefits are designed to keep food on the table, but they usually won’t pay enough to maintain the mortgage. A negligence claim is the only way that the injured person will be fully compensated for his lost wages and other injuries.

A claim for negligence must be filed within 3 years of the date of the accident. For example, if a construction worker is injured because a ladder was not properly secured to prevent it from falling, his employer, or the contractor that hired the employer, must Falls at construction sites c om p e ns at e are a common cause of the worker for negligence cases. not just the maximum $400 per week received from workers compensation, but also the full amount of his lost wages. If he was earning $1,000 per week at the time of the accident, he can recover that full $1,000 per week while he is disabled. Also, workers compensation provides no payment for pain and suffering, while a negligence claim does. Insurance companies often use a rule of thumb that the pain and

BENEFIT INFORMATION FOR PATIENTS Available Insurance Benefits from

N O F AULT W ORKERS C OMPENSATION

These construction workers do not have safety belts or other perimeter protection. Under New York law, the employer, Construction Manager, General Contractor and building Owner are responsible if there is a fall that results in an injury. Construction workers receive special legal protection against shortcuts taken at construction sites.

N EW Y ORK S TATE D ISABILITY S OCIAL S ECURITY D ISABILITY N EGLIGENCE C LAIM

The Durst Law Firm, P.C. 285 Broadway New York, NY 10007 Phone: 212-964-1000 888-NYNY LAW Email: [email protected] Webpage: www.nynylaw.com

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Your Medical Professional and

The Durst Law Firm, P.C.

P.C.

AUTOMOBILE NO FAULT INSURANCE No fault automobile insurance covers any driver, passenger or pedestrian injured by an automobile, and pays all medical bills. It also pays 80% of your lost wages, up to a maximum of $1,000 per month, or $2,000 a month, depending on your insurance coverage. You only have 30 days to file a notice of claim with the insurance company, and 45 days for you or your doctor to submit a proof of claim. Your doctor returns an attending physicians form indicating disability dates and your employer files an employer's wage verification indicating your earnings and lost time. In addition to covering medical bills, and a portion of your lost wages, Paperwork is important! you may also receive up to $25 per day for other necessary expenses. If you lost wages because of the accident, you MUST apply for New York State Disability Benefits within twenty (20) days from the date you became unable to work. If you were on the job, you must apply for Worker's Compensation Benefits. It may be necessary for your medical provider to submit the bills to Medicare first. You may sue for your pain and suffering if you suffered a serious injury, such as a fracture, disfigurement, serious loss of use of a body part, or a injury which disables you for 90 days out of the first 180 days after the accident.

WORKERS COMPENSATION If you are injured while working for someone, you are entitled to receive workers compensation, to pay your medical expenses and lost wages. To file a claim, the employer must be notified of the injury, in writing, within 30 days of the accident. All claims must be filed within two years of the accident. All medical bills related to the injury are covered. If a doctor verifies that you are physically unable to work, you are entitled to receive a check twice a month for cash benefits (“lost wages”). You are entitled to receive 2/3rds of your average weekly wage, multiplied by the percent of disability, with a maximum of $400 per week. An injured worker's health care provider will determine the extent of the disability. The doctor completes a Form C-4, and the employer completes a Form C-2. The doctor submits progress reports on Form C-4 every 45 days.

NEW YORK STATE DISABILITY Disability benefits are temporary cash benefits for OFF THE JOB injury or illness. Medical bills are not covered, just lost wages, to a maximum of $170 per week. The claim must be filed within 30 days after you become disabled, or you lose some benefits. Your health care provider must complete and sign the Health Care Providers Statement as proof of the disability.

Benefits are paid for a maximum of 26 weeks of disability during 52 consecutive weeks. Disability benefits reduce any no fault insurance benefits the person is entitled to receive – whether a claim for disability benefits is made or not.

SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY Social Security Disability (SSD) Insurance, and Supplemental Security Income (SSI), pay benefits to those who are disabled for a period expected to last more than a year. The amount of the monthly Social Security Disability benefit is based on your lifetime average earnings covered by Social Security. The medical requirements for disability payments are the same under both SSD and SSI. Your doctor must verify that you are impaired from basic work related activities by a severe condition that is either on the list of impairments, or if not on the list, that you cannot do the work you did in the last 15 years, and, considering your age, education, past work experience, and transferable skills, you cannot do any other kind of work.

The Durst Law Firm,

P.C.

THE DURST LAW FIRM, P.C. 285 Broadway New York, NY 10007 Phone: 212-964-1000 888-NYNY LAW Email: [email protected] Webpage: www.nynylaw.com