New York Workers' Comp Settlement Charts for 2024

Multiple factors go into a workers’ comp settlement, including your income before your work injury, the medical treatment you need, and how your condition could affect future earnings. Due to this complex situation, New Yorkers need to consider multiple values to understand how much they should be receiving from workers’ comp. To help you more accurately negotiate your potential settlement, let’s go over how the New York Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) calculates your workers’ comp payments in different situations.

How to calculate a New York workers’ comp settlement

In the simplest scenario, your workers’ comp settlement is one, lump-sum payment that’s worth enough to cover your potential lost income from future work you won’t be able to do because of your injury, plus the cost of future medical care. Factors like your impairment rating, treatments you receive, and any retraining you might need all affect how much you will get.

You and the insurance company will need to negotiate to reach a value that you agree on. (We do recommend talking to a workers’ comp lawyer since they’ll know better how to make sure insurance doesn’t shortchange you.)

The tables below break down common workers’ comp pay rates, but you will likely need more help to determine a fair settlement amount.

• If you’ve just been injured, you will want to look at the temporary disability payment rates since that’s how much you get initially.

• If you’ve already recovered as much as possible but need long-term payments, check the permanent disability benefit amounts. You should also consider whether or not you have a scheduled or non-scheduled injury, since each receives benefits for different preset amounts of time.

Get more help on our settlement advice page, which includes average settlement amounts by injury type.

Temporary disability payment rates in 2024

Workers’ comp pays temporary disability benefits if you can’t work after an on-the-job injury or illness. In 2024, most workers will receive weekly payments equal to two-thirds of their average weekly wage. There is a minimum payment of $275 per week, which you’ll receive if your weekly wage was $412.50 or less. There is also a maximum payment of $1,145.43 per week, which you’ll receive if your weekly wage was $1,718.15 or more.

Permanent disability payment rates in 2024

Your payments become permanent disability benefits if you still can’t work after reaching maximum medical improvement (MMI), the point where your condition won’t get better with additional treatment. These payments are worth two-thirds of your average weekly wage before your injury. They also follow the same minimum and maximum payments as temporary disability payments, so your payments won’t change as you transition to long-term benefits.

How long your payments last depends on whether you have a scheduled or non-scheduled injury, which we explain more in the next section.

How do long permanent disability benefits last?

The length of your permanent workers’ comp payments depends on how much functionality you’ve lost from your injury and whether the injured body part qualifies for a schedule loss of use (SLU) award. New York state publishes a list of body parts that qualify, and all other injuries are treated as non-schedule losses.

Schedule loss of use awards follow a similar calculation to temporary benefits: two-thirds of your average pre-injury wage x your loss of use percentage. The state workers’ comp board will make the final decision on how long your benefits last.

Non-schedule loss awards are based on your loss of wage-earning capacity (WEC): two-thirds of your average pre-injury wage x WEC. Again, the workers’ comp board has the final say over how long your payments last.

Schedule loss of use payments

Non-schedule loss payments

Mileage reimbursement rates in 2024

When you travel to medical appointments that are paid through New York workers’ compensation, you can request mileage reimbursement using Form C-257. The reimbursement rate for travel in 2024 is 67 cents per mile. For travel you did in previous years, the rate is slightly lower. Below are the mileage rates for the past four years.

Death and survivor benefits in 2024

If you’re a family member of a worker whose death was caused by a work-related condition, New York state does provide death benefits and help paying for funeral expenses. A spouse or other dependent can receive weekly cash payments equal to what the loved one’s workers’ comp benefits would have been. The state will also pay up to $12,500 in funeral expenses for workers who lived in the New York City area, or up to $10,500 for workers from other parts of the state.

For situations with no living spouse or dependents, the deceased workers’ estate will receive a $50,000 lump-sum payment.

How to get a fair settlement

Workers’ comp is meant to cover your lost income and medical expenses after a work injury. State laws dictate how much you should receive, but the insurance company that is supposed to pay you is also a private company that’s trying to maximize its own profits.

To ensure you receive fair payments from workers’ comp, we recommend talking with a workers’ comp lawyer. They’ll help you get the medical care you need, ensure it’s paid for by insurance, and then fight the insurance company as needed to negotiate a fair settlement for you.

Atticus can connect you with an experienced lawyer today. Your initial consultation is free and you never pay anyone a cent until after we win you benefits or a settlement. Complete our workers’ comp questionnaire to get started and our team will reach out to learn more about your situation.