As of July 1, 2024, New York's maximum weekly workers' comp rate increased to $1,171.46. The insurance company will still tell you the same old garbage: you waited too long, your pain is "degenerative," and because you used your own health insurance, this is no longer a workers' comp case.

That is not how New York works.

If your injury happened on the job in Queens - road work on the Van Wyck, lane-shift flagging on the LIE, crushed by equipment, or your back got wrecked over time - you usually have 2 years to file a workers' compensation claim with the New York Workers' Compensation Board. The form is C-3.

Your employer was supposed to report the injury too. Telling you to "just use your own insurance" does not erase your rights.

There is also a 30-day notice rule to tell the employer, but missing that does not always kill the claim. If the boss knew you got hurt, saw it happen, sent you to a clinic, texted about it, or there was an incident report, that can matter. So can a good reason for delayed notice.

Another thing most workers never hear: New York law bars retaliation for claiming comp. Workers' Compensation Law § 120 prohibits firing or punishing you for filing.

And if a contractor, driver, equipment company, or property owner helped cause it, workers' comp may not be your only case. A separate injury lawsuit in New York is often 3 years from the accident. On construction sites, Labor Law §§ 240 and 241(6) can create rights your employer hopes you never learn about.

If your own insurer paid bills, that does not mean the workers' comp carrier gets off easy. Those bills can become part of the comp fight.

The agency handling this is the New York Workers' Compensation Board, including hearings for Queens workers. The boss does not get the final word.