Do I need a lawyer just to file a workers' comp claim on Long Island?

You can file alone, but carriers dispute Long Island claims constantly. A workers' compensation lawyer protects your medical evidence, your wage rate, and your hearing testimony. There is no upfront cost, and fees come out of the award only.

Can I sue anyone besides my employer for a Long Island work injury?

Often yes. Comp blocks a lawsuit against your employer, but not against a property owner, general contractor, equipment maker, or negligent driver. We explain exactly how that works in our guide to suing beyond workers' comp.

I fell on a construction site in Suffolk. Is comp my only option?

Almost certainly not. Falls from heights on New York job sites often trigger Labor Law §240, which holds owners and contractors strictly liable. Our Long Island construction accident team pursues those cases alongside your comp claim.

Where do you meet Long Island clients?

Our Long Island office is at 600 Old Country Road, Suite 450, in Garden City. If your injury keeps you home, we come to you. Consultations are always free.

Long Island Workers' Comp Lawyers

Hurt at Work on Long Island? Here Is What You Need in a Comp Lawyer

If you were hurt on the job in Nassau or Suffolk, two big questions pop up:

Will workers' comp cover my family?

And is comp all there is to recover?

Thousands of Nassau and Suffolk workers search for comp lawyers every month.

But what they don't realize is that they would benefit from experienced trial lawyers who can identify the money beyond comp.

Our workers' compensation practice handles the claim, the hearings, the medical coverage fights, and the wage benefits.

At the same time, our trial team investigates any other potential insurance policies that you can collect from.

How a Comp Claim Actually Moves in Nassau and Suffolk

Workers' compensation in New York is a no-fault system.

You do not have to prove your employer did anything wrong.

You do have to report the injury, file on time, and back the claim with medical evidence.

Insurance carriers dispute claims here every day. They question the injury, the treatment, the lost wages, and sometimes whether the accident happened at all.

Filing from Long Island means your hearings run through the Workers' Compensation Board offices serving Nassau and Suffolk.

A lawyer who works these hearings regularly knows the judges, the carrier attorneys, and the medical examiners the insurers send you to.

Here is the reason we investigate every Workers' Comp Case:

Workers' Comp only pays a portion of your wages and your medical care.

Often that is not enough to protect someone who was hurt.

A third-party case can pay for pain, suffering, and the full weight of what this injury took from you.

If nobody asks the right questions early, evidence disappears and deadlines pass.

Filing on Long Island and what to expect

Here are some scenarios that are common to comp cases:

Construction Injuries Carry Extra Rights

A huge share of serious Long Island work injuries happen on job sites. Falls from ladders and scaffolds, struck-by injuries, trench collapses, electrical contact. If that is your accident, comp is only the floor. New York's Labor Law can hold owners and general contractors liable, and Labor Law §240 makes that liability absolute for many height-related falls. We handle Long Island construction accidents as their own practice because the stakes and the rules are different.

Injured Driving for Work

Delivery drivers, home health aides, tradespeople moving between sites. If you were hurt in a crash while working, you likely have a comp claim and a case against the at-fault driver at the same time. Our car accident team runs that second case alongside the comp claim so neither one shortchanges the other. Commercial vehicle crashes often add trucking company liability on top.

What the Carrier Will Do

Expect the insurance carrier to send you to its own doctor. That doctor may say you can return to work sooner than your own physician believes. The carriers first offer might be less than your injury qualifies for. We prepare for every one of those those scenarios before they happen. That is why more than 900 clients have left us Google reviews. Families remember who fought for them.

Recent Results

$26,500,000

For an operating engineer seriously injured in a car wreck

$24,750,000

For a union laborer who suffered a double leg amputation

$9,500,000

for an elevator apprentice struck by the cab

Every Source of Recovery

Start with the claim you already understand. Our workers' compensation lawyers file it, protect the deadlines, and fight the carrier at every hearing.

Then we look wider.

If your injury happened on a job site, construction accidents on Long Island often support Labor Law cases against owners and general contractors, worth far more than comp alone.

Many injured workers never learn they had a second case until it is too late.

If you are wondering whether comp is really your only option, read whether you can sue beyond workers' comp.

The short answer is that comp blocks suits against your employer, not against anyone else who caused the harm.

Nassau and Suffolk families should not have to ride into Manhattan to get real trial lawyers.

Our Long Island team meets clients at the Garden City office. If you're not able to make it into the office, we come to you.

We've represented members of ...

How we work

Schwartzapfel Holbrook is a trial firm with a 45+ year track record that includes some of the largest recoveries in New York.

That same award-winning team is handling your case. Insurance carriers make decisions based on a firm's trial history. Our's speaks for itself.

Year after year we we deliver record-breaking results for our clients.

From Garden City, we cover Nassau, Suffolk, and all five boroughs. If you were hurt at work anywhere on the island, call us before you talk to the insurance company. The consultation is free, and you owe nothing unless we win.

Time Works Against You

Call Us —(516) 342-2200

Job sites change quickly. Evidence can be swept up after an accident, and equipment and records can disappear just as fast. New York gives you three years to file under CPLR § 214, but if a government entity owns the property, you have 90 days to file a Notice of Claim or lose your right to recover.