In this episode of Hard Hats & Justice, host Chris Gorayeb of Gorayeb & Associates takes listeners past the courtroom victory and into the battle that often follows: collecting what an injured worker is actually owed. Drawing on the New York State Workers' Compensation Board 2022 Annual Report, Chris highlights that 16,822 of 161,808 claims filed in New York were controverted or denied, a 10.4 percent dispute rate that exceeds the national average of roughly 7 percent. He explains why insurance companies fight payment even after verdicts, walks through the five most common denial tactics (preexisting condition exclusions, causation disputes, coverage disputes, procedural violations, and fraud allegations), and frames each within the realities of Labor Law 240 litigation, which the Rockefeller Institute of Government estimates costs New York $785 million annually.

Chris then pulls back the curtain on what actually happens after a judgment is entered, outlining how attorneys use demand letters, supplemental summons and judgment proceedings, asset discovery, garnishment, and liens to force insurers to pay. Three real world scenarios illustrate how preexisting condition denials collapse under proper medical documentation, how causation disputes are defeated with occupational medicine testimony, and how aggressive enforcement breaks through payment delays even on multimillion dollar verdicts. He closes with six practical steps every injured construction worker should take right now: document every interaction, refuse pressured partial settlements, secure immediate medical records, follow reporting procedures precisely, understand every available insurance policy, and hire an attorney who specializes in construction injury litigation and judgment enforcement rather than general personal injury work.

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New York Construction Accident Lawyers
If your accident happened on a construction site, a demolition job, a scaffold, a roof, or because an owner, general contractor, or other party failed to keep the site safe, do not wait for paperwork, missing evidence, or an early insurance offer to shape your case.

Learn more here: https://www.gorayeb.com/en/

Keywords

Labor Law 240, construction accident, insurance denial, workers compensation, claim dispute, judgment enforcement, scaffold injury, Gorayeb Associates, Chris Gorayeb, New York construction law