How long do workers’ comp benefits last in New York?

The duration of your workers’ comp benefits in New York depends entirely on how the WCB classifies your disability. There are four main categories, and each has different time limits.

Temporary Total Disability (TTD): You cannot work at all while recovering. Benefits continue as long as your doctor certifies total disability, subject to a 7-year aggregate cap from the date of injury under current law. Weekly benefit equals two-thirds of your AWW up to the state maximum.

Temporary Partial Disability (TPD): You can do some work but not your regular job. Your benefit equals two-thirds of the difference between your pre-injury AWW and your current reduced earnings. This continues as long as the partial wage loss exists during recovery.

Permanent Partial Disability (PPD): Benefits last between 225 and 525 weeks depending on your assigned loss of wage-earning capacity (LWEC) percentage under NY Workers’ Comp Law §15(3). The 2007 Reform Act set these specific caps.

Permanent Total Disability (PTD): The most serious classification. Benefits continue until age 65, then are reduced by 50% for up to 10 years more under §15(6), unless you have no other retirement income. PTD is for catastrophic injuries — spinal cord damage, loss of both hands, blindness.

Reaching Maximum Medical Improvement does not automatically end your benefits. It shifts you from a temporary classification to a permanent one. The transition point is critical and is often when insurance companies push hardest for a Section 32 settlement.

If you are approaching any of these time limits or transitions, get legal advice before your benefits are cut.