New Yorkers getting more lump sum disability payments since 2007 comp reforms

There has been a decrease in cases that only receive permanent partial disability payments and an increase in cases that only receive a lump-sum payment since New York's 2007 workers compensation reforms went into effect, according to a new report by the Workers Compensation Research Institute.

From 2007 to 2010, cases that only received PPD payments decreased by about 15 percentage points, while cases with only a lump-sum payment increased by about 12 percentage points, according to a report released Thursday by Cambridge, Massachusetts-based WCRI. “Monitoring Trends in the New York Workers' Compensation System,” is the seventh report by the institute that tracks the state's comp system following the implementation of the 2007 reforms.

“Although the shift from lifetime benefits for workers injured before March 13, 2007 to time-limited nonscheduled PPD benefits is expected to produce significant cost savings for employers, it will likely be a number of years before significant changes will be reflected in the data because it generally takes several years for PPD benefits to be determined,” the report states.