APA Legal Updates

Law Office of Laurence Shaw
75 South Broadway
White Plains, NY 10601
Tele: (914) 428-8288Fax: (914) 428-8181   

Laurence Shaw
Northern Westchester Office      -----------                                                                                                                                           

832 South Street
Michael J. Hersh
Peekskill, New York 10566
Paul J. Fernandez
Tele: (914) 739-3117                                                                

11/11/2009

Robert C. Caralyus, 

As discussed,   Larry is the founding attorney of the Law Offices of Laurence Shaw, 75 South Broadway, White Plains, NY and 832 South Street, Peekskill.  He secured his law degree at Pace University School of Law at night, while working as the casualty claims manager for Liberty Mutual, Scarsdale, NY.  He has been in private practice since 1994, representing injured workers with their workers’ compensation, social security disability and disability retirement claims.  His firm has successfully secured benefits for many PBA members from Greenburgh, Scarsdale, Rye, Portchester, Harrison, Bronxville, Yorktown, Westchester and Rockland Counties.   

Sustaining a work-related injury and securing benefits can be a simple process:  incident report is filed, treatment is received, return to work is eminent and a settlement within 12-15 months is secured.  However, it can also be a complex process, with issues raised of ‘line of duty,’ availability of light duty, third-party suits, liens, and coordination of available benefits under NYS Workers’ Compensation Laws, Social Security Disability, NYS Disability Retirement and third-party recoveries.      

Changes that affect members of the APAwest including the March 1, 2007 amendments of the NYS WC Laws, effective July 1, 2007, are in some cases are favorable: increases in the weekly benefit rate from $400, to $500, to $550 to $600; while in other cases less favorable: ’caps’ in place on the number of years you can receive workers’ compensation benefits for permanent partial disabilities.   

Furthermore, with the decision in Burns v. Variale, calculating further benefit entitlement following third-party recoveries has been made more complex by the Court of Appeals.   In this present economic climate, all public entities, their insurance carrier’s and/or claims administrators, are more than ever, closely scrutinizing each claim.  Therefore, the basic approach of quality medical treatment coupled with zealous representation by your attorney, remains the best formula to protect your rights.               

Sincerely, 

Larry Shaw