After you suffer from a work-related injury, your focus should be on your physical recovery so you can get back to work, not struggling through the increasingly complicated process of claims, forms and paperwork. Over the last couple months, the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board has made some necessary and important changes to the submission and hearing process for workers’ compensation claims during the COVID-19 pandemic. Aside from filing claims electronically, all hearings have been transitioned to virtual court hearings until further notification by New York State. This ensures that not only will your case continue to move forward but you can have the experienced lawyers of Erwin McCane and Daly represent you, no matter where you are in the state. You deserve an excellent team that will work hard to make sure you get all the compensation you deserve after suffering a workplace injury. EMD is here to make that happen.
Requirements For The NYS Virtual Court Hearings:
- Computer, mobile device, or video conference system with access to a web cam
- High-speed internet of at least 1 – 1.5 megabits/second
- The sleep/standby mode on your device disabled to ensure you appear “available” in the virtual waiting room
- Check the NYS WCB Virtual Hearing requirements page for full system requirements here
Once you receive your hearing notice it is going to be very important to test your device connection 48 hours before your hearing. On the day of the hearing you should follow all the instructions for attendance that were made available to you with your workers’ compensation hearing notice. The step by step guide can be found here on the NYS Workers’ Compensation website.
The Workers’ Compensation board is also making changes to the original document signature requirements and in some cases allowing for telemedicine appointments for the purpose of social distancing. Understanding that many lawyers and support staff are working from home during the outbreak, the original handwritten signatures required on 27 forms have been changed to allow electronic signatures. Amendments to the Workers’ Compensation Board telemedicine requirements have also been updated to support the efforts of social distancing.
We recognize that the current health crisis has changed how court cases and proceedings are handled and we want to make sure you know that the law professionals at Erwin McCane and Daly are ready to take on your workers comp claim and help you navigate the new online claims and virtual hearings process. Schedule your consultation today!
