To be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits in New York, there are only two requirements—you must have been injured and you must have suffered the injury while performing job-related functions. It’s fairly typical, in the aftermath of a work-related injury, for your employer or the workers’ compensation insurance company to try to deny or diminish your claim. They may allege that your injury wasn’t work-related, that it happened outside of the workplace. If no one saw you get hurt, will you be unable to file a claim? Must you have a witness to prove that your injury was job-related?
Fortunately, the answer is no. There’s no legal requirement that you have an eyewitness to a work-related injury. You may find it more difficult to establish that your injury occurred at work, but that’s often easier than you think. In cases where there is no direct evidence (no one can testify to having seen it happen), the courts give weight to what is known as “circumstantial evidence.” For example, if you were observed coming into work just before your injury and the witnesses did not observe anything wrong with you, but you were found shortly thereafter with a broken leg, there’s strong circumstantial evidence to suggest that your injury was work-related.
It’s not uncommon for workers to suffer serious injury or death without any witnesses, but to still be able to collect workers’ compensation benefits. To succeed, you must demonstrate that the facts strongly suggest one interpretation—that you were hurt on the job.
Contact Our Office
For a free initial consultation, contact our office online or call us at 973-993-8787. We have office locations in Morristown and Newton, but will visit you in your home or the hospital, if necessary.
We take all nursing workers’ compensation claims on a contingency basis. You will not incur legal fees unless attorney Popper recovers compensation for your losses.