Workers’ Compensation
Representing manufacturing, warehouse, and industrial workers along the Commerce Parkway, Broadway corridor, Walden Avenue, and Lancaster Industrial Park.
Lancaster’s manufacturing sector is the backbone of Western New York, but it takes a toll on the body. You may not have had one “dramatic” accident; instead, years of repetitive cycles on a press line or forklift route have taken their toll. That injury is compensable. Insurance carriers often fight cumulative trauma claims harder than any other, we are here to ensure you aren’t forced out of your livelihood without the benefits you’ve earned.
Free Case Review – No out-of-pocket fees
How Lancaster Manufacturing Workers Actually Get Hurt
In Lancaster, most workplace injuries aren’t “headline” accidents—they are the result of years of physical toll. We categorize the claims we see most often into three groups:
- Acute Injuries: Sudden machine-related accidents, falls, vehicle strikes and lifting trauma.
- Cumulative Trauma: Conditions that develop over years of repetitive cycles on the same press line, forklift route, or assembly station.
- Occupational Disease: Long-term damage from noise, dust, chemical, or fume exposure.
Why Lancaster Claims Require a Specific Strategy
Lancaster’s industrial base—metals processing, food packaging, aerospace fabrication, and blower/pump manufacturing—creates unique risk profiles.
If you work off Commerce Parkway, Central Avenue, Ridge Road, Walden Ave or the Broadway industrial belt, your injury profile is drastically different from the office-based claims insurance carriers see downtown.
Do not let an insurance adjuster treat your injury like it matters less because it wasn’t a “dramatic” event. Whether your shoulder finally gave out after fifteen years or a machine guard failed today, your claim follows the same New York Workers’ Compensation system, but the strategy to prove it requires deep knowledge of manufacturing environments. We know your workplace, and we know how to secure the compensation your labor earned.
What Your Body Part Is Worth Under NY Schedule Loss of Use
New York law uses a specific formula for permanent injuries to some body parts.
- The Math: Your award = (Statutory weeks for the body part) × (Medical percentage of loss).
- The Trap: The percentage assigned by your doctor is a medical judgment, and carriers fight this number aggressively.
- Resource: Review the NYS Workers’ Compensation Board SLU Guidance to see how these awards are calculated.
Note: Back, neck, and internal organ injuries are not “scheduled” and follow different, often lifetime, compensation structures.
Call (716) 854-2100 before you sign off on any percentage of loss of use finding.
Filing a Cumulative Trauma or Occupational Disease Claim
Many Lancaster workers assume they cannot file a claim for conditions that “just happened” over time. That is a mistake. Repetitive strain, hearing loss, and respiratory conditions caused by your job duties are fully compensable under New York law.
How Filing Windows Work
You are not penalized for the passage of time. The filing window for these claims begins when you knew (or reasonably should have known) that your condition was work-related—not when the exposure started.
Common “Invisible” Claims We Handle
- Repetitive Strain: If you’ve spent 15 years on a press line and your shoulder or hand finally “gave out,” that is a compensable injury.
- Noise-Induced Hearing Loss: Don’t accept that “everyone in the shop loses their hearing.” Hearing loss claims typically provide a lump-sum award plus lifetime medical benefits for hearing aids and battery replacements—expenses rarely covered by standard health insurance.
- Respiratory & Chemical Exposure: Especially in older shops with outdated ventilation, conditions resulting from dust, fumes, or chemical sensitization require a specialized second look.
Our Investigative Edge
These claims often fail when medical documentation is too vague. We bridge the gap by:
- Connecting the Diagnosis: Ensuring your medical file links the condition specifically to your repetitive job duties, not just “age” or “degenerative change.”
- Safety Standard Analysis: We utilize OSHA manufacturing standards and NIOSH safety resources to document the workplace hazards—like poor ventilation or inadequate machine guarding—that caused your condition.
If you are nearing retirement or changing jobs, call us before you leave. Hearing loss and cumulative trauma claims are often strongest during or immediately after the end of your employment.
When You Have Both Workers’ Comp and a Product Liability Case
If your injury was caused by a defective machine, inadequate guarding, or faulty design, you may have two concurrent cases:
- Workers’ Comp: A no-fault claim for medical bills and lost wages.
- Product Liability: A separate lawsuit against the machine manufacturer or supplier to recover damages for pain and suffering—something workers’ comp does not cover.
- Our Approach: We coordinate both cases so that a settlement in one doesn’t undercut your recovery in the other. If you were injured by a punch-press, robotic-arm, conveyor, or other device do not discard or repair the machine—it is vital evidence.
Getting Your Full Wage and Overtime Counted
Your average weekly wage for workers’ comp purposes should include base pay, shift differentials, overtime, holiday pay, attendance and safety bonuses, and any regular quarterly or annual production bonuses.
Your Average Weekly Wage (AWW) must include:
- Shift differentials (a machinist on second shift earns more than first shift).
- Overtime (if it is a normal part of your schedule).
- Production, safety, and attendance bonuses.
The Fix: We audit your C-240 wage form. If the carrier only used your base rate, your weekly check is lower than it should be for the entire life of your claim.
Partner Emily Janicz, one of the partners at Lewis & Lewis, P.C., came to law from an accounting background. Wage-form audits are one of the first things we do when a Lancaster worker brings us a claim already in motion.
When You Should Call a Lawyer
Not every injured Lancaster worker needs an attorney from day one. You do need one the moment the carrier contests the claim, schedules an Independent Medical Examination, disputes your wage, delays medical authorization, or offers a Section 32 settlement.
Additional situations where calling sooner is better:
- Your injury is a cumulative or repetitive-motion condition that developed over time
- Your injury involved a machine you think may have been defective or improperly guarded
- You believe you have permanent loss of use of a hand, arm, leg, foot, eye, or ear
- Your employer suggests you resign, retire, or take unpaid leave in place of workers’ comp
- Your wage rate was set using base pay only
Our Depew office is minutes from Lancaster, and we work regularly with clients from throughout the Erie County east suburbs. See nearby Depew workers’ compensation lawyers for Depew-specific claims and Cheektowaga workers’ comp claims for cross-suburb context.
Frequently Asked Questions
I lost the tip of my finger in a press at work. Is that a Schedule Loss of Use claim?
Usually, yes. Partial amputation of a finger typically produces a percentage loss of use assigned by your treating physician, which is then multiplied by the statutory weeks for that finger. The result is a lump sum in addition to any wage replacement you receive during recovery.
I have hearing loss after 20 years at a Lancaster manufacturing plant. Can I still file a claim if I’ve already retired?
In most cases, yes. New York’s occupational disease framework runs the 2-year filing clock from when you knew or reasonably should have known the condition was work-related. Retirement does not extinguish the claim, and hearing-loss claims typically pay a lump sum plus lifetime hearing-aid coverage.
The machine that hurt me was old and had no working safety guard. Does that change my case?
It may open a second claim. Workers’ comp still applies as your primary remedy against the employer, but if the equipment was defective or the guarding was inadequate, you may have a product liability claim against the manufacturer or supplier. Bring us photos and the make and model of the machine if you can.
My back injury doesn’t seem to fit the SLU chart. Is it worth less?
No. Back, neck, and internal-organ injuries do not fall under the Schedule Loss of Use framework, but they are compensated under a separate non-scheduled permanent partial disability structure that can pay for many years or, in some cases, for life. The path is different, not lesser.
How much does a Lancaster workers’ comp lawyer cost?
Nothing out of pocket. Attorney fees in New York workers’ compensation cases are set and approved by the Workers’ Compensation Board and paid from any awarded benefits, not from your existing funds. If we do not recover benefits, you owe no attorney fee.
Can my Lancaster employer fire me for filing a workers’ comp claim?
New York Workers’ Compensation Law §120 prohibits retaliation for filing a workers’ comp claim or testifying at a hearing. If you were disciplined, terminated, or reassigned after filing, document the timeline in writing and contact us.
Where do Lancaster workers’ comp hearings take place?
Claims from Lancaster are administered through the New York Workers’ Compensation Board’s Buffalo District Office. Since 2020, most hearings are conducted virtually. You will not usually have to travel downtown.
Do you handle Lancaster claims from the Depew office?
Yes. Our Depew headquarters is minutes from the Lancaster town line, and we meet with clients there and at our Buffalo office at 37 Franklin Street. See our workers’ compensation practice area for how our team handles claims across the region.
Talk to a Lancaster Workers’ Comp Attorney This Week
Lewis & Lewis, P.C. has offices in Depew, Buffalo, Niagara Falls, Batavia, Olean, and Jamestown. Our Depew office is the closest to the Lancaster Industrial Park and offers walk-in access for Erie County east-side workers.
Bring your incident report, medical records, and most recent pay stubs. We will read them together and tell you where the claim actually stands.
Call (716) 854-2100 for a free case review, or use the form on this page and one of our attorneys will contact you within one business day.
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Satisfied Client Stories
”I liked Lewis & Lewis from the beginning when they helped me sort through all the paperwork-related to my injury. They really helped me get organized. But what really impressed me was when my Lewis & Lewis personal injury lawyer obtained thousands of dollars in workers’ compensation benefits that I didn’t even know I was entitled to. My attorney worked hard to get me paid.
Fred T.Kenmore, NY - Steam Fitter
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