Hurt at work

The bargain, and what it costs you

Workers compensation is a trade made a century ago. You get medical treatment and a portion of your lost wages without having to prove anyone was at fault. In exchange, you give up the right to sue your employer. That is the exclusive remedy rule in Workers Compensation Law § 11, and it is why an injured worker cannot bring a negligence case against the company they work for however carelessly it behaved.

The part people are not told is what the trade costs. Compensation pays nothing for pain and suffering. Nothing for the permanent limitation, the shoulder that will not lift, the hobby you have given up. Those are only available through a claim against somebody else.

The two deadlines, and they are different

• Thirty days, notice to your employer. Written notice of the accident under WCL § 18. Missing it does not automatically end a claim; the statute allows late notice to be excused on limited grounds. But arguing about an excuse is a much worse position than having given notice.
• Two years, filing the claim. The claim itself goes to the Workers Compensation Board within two years of the accident under WCL § 28. For an occupational disease it runs from disablement, or from when you knew or should have known the condition was work-related.

Telling your supervisor is not filing a claim. People assume the employer handles it, and sometimes the employer does, but the deadline belongs to you.

The second claim

The exclusive remedy rule protects your employer. It protects nobody else, and most work injuries involve somebody else:

• On a job site, the property owner and the general contractor, who carry specific duties under the Labor Law. That is set out on our construction accidents page, and it is often worth considerably more than the compensation claim.
• On the road, if you were driving for work, the other driver.
• Equipment, a manufacturer, if a machine or a tool was defective.
• Someone else’s premises, whoever was responsible for maintaining the property you were sent to.

Both claims can run at the same time, and the compensation claim does not preclude the other one.

Two things about the carrier that matter enormously

If you do recover from a third party, the compensation carrier is not a bystander.

It has a lien. Under WCL § 29, the carrier that paid your benefits has a lien against the proceeds of the third-party recovery, broadly, it is repaid out of what you win. How that lien is calculated and negotiated has a large effect on what you actually keep, and it is not a formality.

And you need its consent to settle. This is the most damaging mistake in this whole area. A claimant must obtain the carrier’s consent before settling the third-party action. Settling without it can result in your compensation benefits being disallowed, so you take the settlement and lose the benefits you were living on. It is entirely avoidable, and it is avoided by asking before you agree to anything.

What to do now

Report it in writing and keep a copy. Get treatment and say plainly that it happened at work, so it is in the record from the start. Write down who was there and what equipment was involved, because the second claim usually turns on facts nobody thinks to preserve. Then ask early whether there is anyone other than your employer in the picture. That question gets harder to answer the longer it is left.

Questions people ask

Can I sue my employer for a work injury?

Generally no. Workers compensation is the exclusive remedy against your employer, and that is the bargain: you get benefits without proving fault, and you give up the right to sue. It does not stop you suing anyone else who caused the injury.

How long do I have to report it?

Written notice to your employer within thirty days of the accident under Workers Compensation Law section 18. Missing it does not automatically end a claim, the statute provides grounds on which late notice can be excused, but relying on that is a much harder position than simply giving notice.

And to file the claim itself?

Two years from the accident, under section 28. For an occupational disease it runs from disablement, or from when you knew or should have known the condition was work-related. The two deadlines are separate: telling your employer is not the same as filing with the Board.

Does compensation pay for pain and suffering?

No, and this is what surprises people most. Compensation covers medical treatment and a portion of lost wages. There is nothing in it for the pain, the permanent limitation, or the things you can no longer do. That only comes from a claim against someone other than your employer.

Who else could be responsible for a work injury?

On a job site, the property owner and the general contractor. On the road, the other driver. In a building, whoever maintained the thing that failed. A manufacturer, if equipment was defective. None of them are your employer, so none are protected by the exclusive remedy rule.

What is the carrier’s lien?

If you recover from a third party, the carrier that paid your compensation benefits has a lien against those proceeds, broadly, it gets repaid out of your recovery. How that is calculated and negotiated matters a great deal to what you actually keep.

Can I settle the other case without telling the carrier?

No, and this is the most damaging mistake in this area. You have to obtain the carrier’s consent before settling a third-party action. Settling without it can result in your compensation benefits being disallowed, losing the benefits you were relying on in order to take the settlement.

Related

Sources

NY Workers Compensation Law § 11 — Alternative remedy ·§ 18 — Notice of injury ·§ 28 — Failure to file claim ·§ 29 — Remedies of employees; subrogation
Verified August 23, 2026. This page describes how the two systems fit together. It is not advice about your own claim, and whether a third-party claim exists depends on facts this page cannot know.