ADR stands for Alternative Dispute Resolution.
This system has been growing in popularity across most major new construction jobs across New York.
It says that if you get hurt on this job, your workers' compensation claim will not go to the New York State Workers' Compensation Board. It will go through an Alternative Dispute Resolution program, an "ADR" or "carve-out."
These ADR programs are specifically intended to reduce claims against the general contractor.
By creating a system that does not have lawyers, they are able to avoid claims for safety violations that result in your injury.
This article is the first of three that walk through what the program actually is, how it controls your medical treatment, and why it tells you not to get a lawyer.
IF YOU WERE HURT ON AN ADR JOB, WE CAN STILL HELP YOU:
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The Basic Structure
If you got hurt yesterday, you are already inside that program. If you are reading this before getting hurt, you should understand what the program is and what it is built to do.
What you've probably heard from the contractor or site orientation and safety teams is not the full picture:
HERE ARE THE IMPORTANT POINTS:
First, when you report your injury to the ADR program you are not getting a hearing in front of the workers comp board.
This means the program does not give you a right to a lawyer. This is done on-purpose.
Your disputes get decided by a mediator and an arbitrator. Both are selected by the employer. The arbitrator's decision is final and binding.
Your medical treatment comes from a closed network of providers chosen by the program. It can require that the medical opinions and testimony in your case come from a separate closed panel.
It can install an "ombudsman" who is presented to you as a "neutral helper." In reality, this is another person who is not on your team. It can set rules about how, when, and whether you can use a lawyer.
Who is Actually on Your Team
While ADR programs can differ, it is likely you will be assigned a person called the ombudsman. The job is sold to you, in the program orientation, as a friendly resource: somebody to answer your questions, explain your rights, help you through the process.
The reality is that they are not loyal to you or even your advocate.
This "helper" is actually hired by the trust that runs the program. Their future job depends on staying acceptable to the joint committee that runs the program.
One more piece you should know: There is no attorney-client privilege with the ombudsman. Anything you tell the ombudsman about how the accident happened, what you were doing, whether you had reported earlier injuries, or what your symptoms are can be used by the program later. The ombudsman is not your lawyer. The conversations you have are not protected.
What the Program Says It Does
They claim to deliver benefits and medical care faster.
For certain, they limit your access to medical providers, and actively try and kill your claim against the general contractor.
The marketing materials ADR companies brag to contractors that they are reducing litigation. This is a system designed to keep you from recovering when you get hurt.
The second claim is that the process is faster and friendlier. There are fewer hearings, less paperwork, less back-and-forth with the carrier. For minor injuries that would have settled quickly under the regular system anyway, this is sometimes true.
What Comp and ADR Does Not Pay For
You already cannot sue your employer in New York. That is why Workers' Comp exists.
It pays your medical bills and a portion of your lost wages. The wage benefit is two-thirds of your average weekly wages, capped at the state maximum (currently $1,222.42 per week for the 2025-26 rate year).
It does not pay you for pain and suffering.
It does not pay you full lost wages.
It does not compensate you for the loss of a career, only for the loss of work-weeks measured by formula. I
It does not pay for the loss of future earnings you would have made had your career not been stalled, or cut short by an injury.
Third-Party Cases
The big pot, in any serious New York construction injury, is the third-party lawsuit against the property owner and the general contractor.
Under New York Labor Law § 240, the Scaffold Law, owners and GCs face absolute liability for gravity-related injuries when proper safety equipment was not provided. Under § 241(6), they are liable for violations of specific Industrial Code provisions covering scaffolding, ladders, falling objects, electrical hazards, and other construction safety rules.
The third-party case recovers what comp does not: pain and suffering, full lost wages with no two-thirds cap, future earning capacity, loss of enjoyment of life.
This is how injured people recover the millions of dollars they deserve when they get hurt on a job and can't work anymore
ADR programs are actively trying to prevent the third-party case, and you from recovering.
What the Next Two Articles Cover
The second article walks through how the program controls the medical record of your injury, and why the people calling themselves "medics" at the on-site clinic are not necessarily doctors, and are paid by the contractor.
The third article talks in-depth about how these programs are designed to discourage you from your right to a lawyer.
If you are reading this after being hurt on the job, connect with our team so we can move to protect your future. There is no reason to leave money you deserve in the insurance company's bank account.
