Buffalo Workers’ Compensation for Physicians & Surgeons

Medical professionals dedicate their lives to healing others, but hospital environments present serious risks to their own health. If you suffered an injury while practicing medicine, a Buffalo workers’ compensation lawyer at Lewis & Lewis, P.C. can help physicians and surgeons protect their financial future. 

You invest decades into your education and training. An injury to your hands, spine, or immune system puts that investment at risk. Insurance carriers often fail to calculate benefits correctly for high-wage earners or misunderstand the specific physical demands of surgical work. 

You need a legal team that acts quickly to secure the benefits you need. Lewis & Lewis, P.C. represents doctors, surgeons, and healthcare providers who face career-altering injuries.

Schedule a Free Consultation

High-income medical providers face unique issues when filing a workers’ compensation claim. Lewis & Lewis, P.C. knows how to overcome these specific hurdles to get you the benefits you need.

Our Buffalo workers’ compensation lawyers represent physicians across Erie County, including those working in the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus and surrounding hospital systems.

Deep Roots in Buffalo’s Medical Community

Our firm knows the landscape of Buffalo’s healthcare systems. We handle claims involving incidents at major facilities like Buffalo General Medical Center and Oishei Children’s Hospital in the Medical Campus. We also represent providers injured in private practices from the Delaware District to Elmwood Village. 

We know the difference between an injury in a fast-paced ER and a repetitive strain injury in a private clinic. This local knowledge helps us gather relevant evidence for your case.

Experience With High-Wage Calculations

Physicians often earn income well above the maximum workers’ compensation benefit rate. However, properly establishing your average weekly wage remains critical.  We look at your work earnings, which may include bonuses, on-call pay, and wages from covered concurrent employment at multiple hospitals or universities. 

We fight to set your benefit rate at the highest possible level under New York law. Insurance adjusters often try to minimize these figures. We hold them accountable.

Protecting Your Professional Future

A hand injury might be a minor inconvenience for an office worker, but it can end a neurosurgeon’s career. We focus on the medical evidence that proves you cannot perform the specific duties of your job. 

We also look at how your workers’ compensation claim interacts with long-term disability policies and retirement planning. Your attorney works to safeguard your financial stability while you recover.

Contact a Buffalo workers’ compensation lawyer at (716) 442-8885 to start your claim.

Work-Related Injury Risks for Physicians and Surgeons

Hospitals and clinics contain hidden dangers. The public often views medical work as safe, but the reality is different. You face physical, biological, and environmental hazards daily. A single incident can change your ability to practice medicine.

Repetitive Stress Injuries in the Operating Room

Surgeons often hold uncomfortable positions for hours during complex procedures. This static loading puts immense stress on the neck, back, and shoulders. Additionally, using fine motor skills for prolonged periods leads to repetitive strain injuries in the hands and wrists. 

Orthopedic surgeons, for example, frequently suffer injuries from the physical force required during joint replacements. These injuries develop slowly. 

The insurance company might claim these conditions come from aging rather than work. We gather ergonomic data to link your condition to your specific surgical duties.

Biological Hazards and Infectious Disease

Doctors are constantly exposed to bloodborne pathogens and airborne illnesses. A needlestick injury during a chaotic trauma resuscitation puts you at risk. Exposure to drug-resistant bacteria or respiratory viruses also occurs frequently. 

Proving the exposure happened at work requires detailed records. We help you compile incident reports and infection control logs to support your claim.

Patient Handling and Violence

Physicians in emergency departments or psychiatric units may encounter combative patients. A sudden attack can cause fractures, concussions, or soft tissue injuries. Even in non-combative settings, assisting a patient during a transfer or catching a falling patient can injure your back. 

The Impact of Hand and Nerve Injuries on Surgical Careers

Your hands are your most valuable tools. An injury that limits dexterity or sensation can prevent you from performing surgery even if the hand functions normally for daily tasks. This specific loss creates a complex legal situation.

In New York, workers’ compensation assigns a schedule loss of use (SLU) value to permanent injuries of the extremities. For a surgeon, a 10% loss of use in a hand represents a massive professional setback. 

The insurance company’s doctor might argue that your hand healed well enough to return to work. We fight this characterization. Your Buffalo workers’ comp attorney can present medical evidence showing that “healed” doesn’t mean “functional” for a surgeon.

We also address nerve damage. Compression injuries like carpal tunnel syndrome or cubital tunnel syndrome affect grip strength and fine motor control. Surgical repair of these injuries often leaves residual weakness that prevents you from holding instruments steadily. 

We work with vocational reviewers and medical professionals to define the true extent of your disability. The goal is to maximize the value of your permanent impairment award.

Common Occupational Diseases for Medical Providers

Medical professionals often develop conditions over time rather than from a single accident. These occupational diseases are valid workers’ compensation claims. However, proving the link to your employment requires specific medical evidence.

Common examples of occupational diseases include:

• Latex and Chemical Allergies: Frequent exposure to latex gloves, disinfectants, and sterilization chemicals can trigger severe allergic reactions. These reactions can cause respiratory distress or debilitating skin conditions. 
• Bloodborne Pathogen Infections: Contracting Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, or HIV from a patient is a serious risk. New York law provides limited presumptions in certain situations. 
• Radiation Exposure Illnesses: Interventional radiologists, cardiologists, and orthopedists who use fluoroscopy face radiation risks. Long-term exposure can lead to cataracts or malignancies. 
• Work-Related Stress and Cardiac Issues: High-stress medical environments can precipitate cardiac events. While stress claims are difficult to prove in New York, a heart attack caused by extraordinary physical exertion or acute stress at work may be covered. 

Long-Term Disability vs. Workers’ Compensation

You might wonder why you should file for workers’ compensation if you have private disability coverage. Workers’ compensation can help cover your medical care and replace part of your lost wages after a work-related injury. 

Private disability insurance can help fill the gap if workers’ comp does not fully replace your income, especially for high earners. The interaction between these two systems is complex, but managing them correctly protects your total income.

Here’s how workers’ compensation and private disability insurance can interact: 

• Tax Implications: Workers’ compensation benefits are generally tax-free. Private disability benefits might be taxable depending on who paid the premiums. 
• Policy Offsets and Reductions: Many private disability policies contain an “offset” clause. This means the disability insurer deducts the workers’ compensation benefits you receive. If you do not file for workers’ compensation, the disability carrier might estimate what you would have received and deduct it anyway. Filing the claim prevents this phantom offset.
• Medical Coverage Differences: Private disability insurance replaces lost wages but doesn’t pay for medical treatment. Workers’ compensation covers 100% of your medical bills related to the injury. 
• Lump Sum Settlement Options: A workers’ compensation claim can eventually settle for a lump sum. Private disability policies rarely offer this. We can structure a workers’ compensation settlement to minimize the impact on your private disability benefits.

Returning to Work and Vocational Rehabilitation

While you may want to return to your practice, rushing back before you heal can cause reinjury. The workers’ compensation system has rules about light duty and vocational changes.

Light Duty Limitations in a Clinical Setting

Your doctor might clear you for light duty. In a hospital, finding true light duty is hard. You cannot perform light surgery. The hospital might offer you administrative work or teaching duties. If you refuse a valid light-duty offer, you could risk losing your cash benefits. 

The Right To Refuse Unsafe Work Assignments

Sometimes an employer pressures an injured physician to do more than they should. They might ask you to cover a shift that involves lifting or prolonged standing. You have the right to refuse work that violates your doctor’s orders. 

If the hospital retaliates against you for adhering to your medical restrictions, your Buffalo workers’ compensation lawyer will take action. We defend your right to heal without employer harassment.

Vocational Training for Career Shifts

If your injury permanently prevents you from practicing your specific specialty, you might need to change career paths. A surgeon might transition to hospital administration or research. Workers’ compensation for physicians and surgeons provides vocational rehabilitation services. 

Lewis & Lewis, P.C. can help you access these services. We also argue that your loss of wage-earning capacity in your original specialty entitles you to ongoing partial disability benefits, even if you find a new job

FAQ for Workers’ Compensation for Physicians and Surgeons

Do I Have To Use the Hospital’s Doctors?

You generally have the right to choose your own doctor. You don’t have to treat with a physician employed by the hospital system where you work or where you were injured. In fact, treating with an independent doctor often prevents conflicts of interest. 

The doctor you choose must be authorized by the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board to treat injured workers. Your Buffalo workers’ compensation lawyer can direct you to lists of authorized specialists who are independent of your employer.

Does Workers’ Compensation for Physicians and Surgeons Cover Infectious Diseases?

Yes, workers’ compensation for physicians and surgeons covers infectious diseases if you contracted them due to your employment. Your lawyer must prove that the exposure happened at work and that your illness resulted from that work exposure. 

We help you gather evidence such as patient charts, room assignment logs, and infection control reports to prove the connection between your work duties and your illness.

Does Private Practice Ownership Affect My Claim?

Owners of professional corporations or partnerships can be covered, but it depends on the insurance policy election. In New York, sole proprietors and partners are excluded unless they specifically opt into coverage. 

If you’re an employee of your own corporation, you’re typically covered. We review your business’s insurance policy declarations to determine your coverage status. We also analyze how your business income affects your average weekly wage calculation.

Can I Sue a Patient Who Injured Me?

You may be able to file a separate third-party personal injury lawsuit against a patient or visitor who caused your injury. Workers’ compensation prevents you from suing your employer (the hospital or practice), but it doesn’t protect negligent third parties. 

If a patient attacks you or a vendor leaves a hazard that trips you, you can pursue damages for pain and suffering through a third-party claim. We handle both the workers’ compensation claim and the personal injury lawsuit to maximize your recovery.

What if My Injury Ends My Surgical Career?

If you can no longer perform the duties of a surgeon, you may be classified with a permanent partial disability. You may be eligible for ongoing wage loss benefits for a specific number of weeks, capped by law. 

If your loss of wage-earning capacity is extreme, you might qualify for total disability. Our team fights to prove the severity of your vocational loss. We also look for other avenues of compensation, such as private disability policies and Social Security Disability, to support you.

Let Us Help Protect Your Medical Career 

You have spent years building your expertise. Don’t let an administrative error or an aggressive insurance adjuster dismantle your financial security. Let one of our Buffalo workers’ compensation lawyers stand between you and the insurance company. 

Lewis & Lewis, P.C. fights for the benefits you have earned. We’ll handle the legal details so you can focus on your recovery and your future. Call us now at (716) 442-8885 for a confidential consultation, or contact our team online.

Schedule a Free Consultation

Lewis & Lewis – Personal Injury Lawyer – Buffalo Office Location

Address: 37 Franklin Street #800 Buffalo, NY 14202
Phone: (716) 442-8987