The workers’ compensation system in New York includes several benefit categories that fall outside the standard framework of wage replacement and medical care. These special provisions address situations the general system was not designed to handle: permanent facial or head disfigurement, injuries to specific organs, death benefits for surviving family members, and other circumstances that require separate treatment. Most injured workers are unaware these provisions exist, which means they may be leaving benefits on the table.
This article covers the most significant of these special provisions, with particular attention to the facial disfigurement award — a benefit that compensates for scarring and disfigurement to the face, head, and neck resulting from a workplace injury.
The facial disfigurement award
Workers’ Compensation Law Section 15(3)(a) provides for an additional award when a workplace injury results in serious facial or head disfigurement. This award is separate from your wage replacement benefits, separate from your medical care, and separate from any Schedule Loss of Use Award. It compensates specifically for the visible, permanent alteration of your appearance caused by the injury.
The disfigurement must be to the face or head. Scarring on other parts of the body does not qualify under this provision. The disfigurement must be serious — meaning it is noticeable and represents a significant alteration in appearance. Minor, barely visible scarring typically does not meet the threshold. But a prominent surgical scar across the forehead, significant scarring from a burn injury, the loss of an ear or part of the nose, or other visible facial disfigurement may qualify.
The award is a lump-sum payment determined by a Workers’ Compensation Law Judge. The amount ranges from $0 to $20,000 based on the severity and visibility of the disfigurement. The judge considers the nature and extent of the scarring or disfigurement, its location on the face or head, its visibility under normal circumstances, and its impact on the worker’s appearance. Photographic evidence documenting the disfigurement is important, and the judge may also observe the disfigurement directly at the hearing.
How to obtain a facial disfigurement award
Like Schedule Loss of Use Awards, facial disfigurement awards are not automatic. You must request the award. The request is typically made after your condition has stabilized and the final appearance of the scarring or disfigurement can be assessed. Scars often change over time — they may fade, thicken, or become more prominent — so the assessment should be made after the healing process is complete.
Document the disfigurement thoroughly. Take clear, well-lit photographs from multiple angles. Include photographs that show the disfigurement in the context of your full face, as well as close-up photographs that show the detail of the scarring. If the disfigurement changed over time during healing, earlier photographs showing the progression can be helpful as well.
Your treating physician should document the disfigurement in the medical record, including the size, location, and nature of the scarring. Medical records from any surgical procedures that caused or attempted to repair the disfigurement should also be part of the evidence.
The $20,000 maximum and what it means
The maximum facial disfigurement award under Section 15(3)(a) is $20,000. This amount has not been adjusted in many years and does not reflect inflation or the current cost of cosmetic or reconstructive procedures. For a worker with severe, permanent facial disfigurement, the $20,000 cap may feel inadequate relative to the impact the disfigurement has on their daily life.
It is important to understand that the disfigurement award compensates only for the disfigurement itself. If the facial injury also resulted in functional impairment — loss of vision, loss of hearing, nerve damage affecting facial movement, jaw injuries affecting the ability to eat or speak — those functional losses are compensated separately through the appropriate disability classification or Schedule Award. The disfigurement award is additional compensation for the change in appearance, not a substitute for disability benefits.
If a third party caused or contributed to the injury that produced the disfigurement, a separate personal injury claim may provide additional compensation for the disfigurement under a theory of pain and suffering damages. Workers’ compensation does not compensate for pain and suffering, but a third-party lawsuit does. For workers with significant facial disfigurement caused by a third party’s negligence, the third-party claim may be the more significant avenue of recovery.
Other special provisions in workers’ compensation
New York’s workers’ compensation system includes several other provisions that address specific situations beyond the standard benefit structure.
Burial expenses are provided when a worker dies as a result of a work-related injury or illness. The statute provides for funeral and burial expenses up to a specified amount, currently in the range of $5,000 to $6,000 depending on the circumstances. This is a modest amount relative to actual funeral costs, but it is a benefit that surviving family members may not know to claim.
Artificial members and devices are covered under the medical benefits provision. If your injury requires a prosthetic limb, an orthopedic brace, a hearing aid, eyeglasses, or other assistive device, the cost of the device and its maintenance, repair, and replacement is covered by workers’ compensation for the life of the claim. This includes upgrades to the device when medically appropriate.
Vocational rehabilitation may be available to injured workers who cannot return to their prior employment but have the capacity to be retrained for a different occupation. The Workers’ Compensation Board can authorize vocational rehabilitation services, including job retraining, education, and job placement assistance. These services are not always offered proactively. If you believe vocational rehabilitation could help you return to the workforce in a different capacity, raise the issue with your attorney or with the Board directly.
Penalties for employer non-compliance with the workers’ compensation system are another provision that indirectly benefits injured workers. Employers who fail to carry workers’ compensation insurance face criminal penalties. Employers who retaliate against employees for filing claims face both criminal and civil consequences under Section 120. Insurance carriers that fail to pay benefits in a timely manner may be assessed penalties by the Board. These enforcement mechanisms help ensure the system functions as intended.
Combining multiple benefit categories
A single workplace injury can give rise to multiple benefit categories. A construction worker who falls and suffers a fractured leg, a back injury, and facial lacerations may be entitled to temporary disability benefits during recovery, a Schedule Loss of Use Award for the leg, a permanent partial disability classification for the non-schedulable back injury, a facial disfigurement award for the scarring, ongoing medical benefits for all three conditions, and potentially a third-party claim against the property owner or general contractor.
Each of these benefit categories is evaluated independently. The Schedule Award for the leg does not reduce the permanent partial disability benefits for the back. The disfigurement award does not offset the Schedule Award. Understanding the full scope of benefits available — and pursuing each one that applies — can substantially increase the total recovery.
How Schwartzapfel Holbrook identifies and pursues special provisions
At Schwartzapfel Holbrook, we evaluate every workers’ compensation case for the full range of available benefits, including special provisions that many attorneys may overlook. That includes assessing whether a facial disfigurement award applies, whether vocational rehabilitation services could benefit the client, whether all eligible Schedule Awards have been requested, and whether the case involves multiple independent benefit categories that should each be pursued separately.
The workers’ compensation system provides more than weekly checks and medical care. Understanding the full scope of benefits — and actively pursuing each one — is part of how we protect our clients’ interests.
Schwartzapfel Holbrook / Fighting For You