The Board ruled against you. That is not the end.

Three levels of appeal — and the deadlines that control each one.

Level one: appeal to a Workers’ Compensation Board panel. Under § 23 of the WC Law, any party can appeal a WCLJ decision within 30 days of receiving written notice of the decision. The application for review (Form RB-89) must be filed electronically through the Board’s web portal. The panel — three Board members — reviews the written record only; there is no new testimony at this stage. The panel can affirm, modify, or reverse the WCLJ decision.

Level two: Full Board appeal. If the panel rules against you, you have 30 days to request a Full Board review — all seven Board members reconsider the case. Full Board review is discretionary; the Board can decline to hear it. If they accept and issue a decision, that decision is entitled to greater precedential weight and is harder to overturn on further appeal.

Level three: Appellate Division, Third Department. After exhausting Board-level appeals, a party can appeal to the Third Department under CPLR Article 78. The court reviews whether the Board’s decision is supported by substantial evidence in the record. The Third Department does not re-weigh medical opinion; it asks only whether a rational Board could have reached that conclusion. Reversals happen — but they require skilled appellate briefing and a clear error of law.