Most people who call us about a workers’ compensation hearing are not worried about the law. They are worried about the room — who will be in it, what they will be asked, and whether they are about to say something that costs them their case.
Here is what actually happens, in order, and what is expected of you at each step.
Not every dispute starts with a hearing
Some disagreements never reach a judge. Where the issue is narrow enough, the Board routes it to conciliation instead. A Board attorney called a conciliator reviews the file and issues a proposed conciliation decision.
That proposal is not final for at least 30 days, and any party can object in writing during that window. Object, and the case goes to a hearing. Say nothing, and it becomes binding — and a finalized conciliation decision cannot be appealed. That is the trap. A proposed decision that arrives in the mail and looks like paperwork is a deadline.
If the carrier controverts, there is a pre-hearing conference first
When the carrier disputes the claim outright, the case is scheduled for a pre-hearing conference. This is not the hearing where you testify. It is where the issues get defined and the judge finds out what each side actually intends to argue.
Both sides file a Pre-Hearing Conference Statement (Form PH-16.2), and the Board is strict about it. Each party must file with the Board and serve the statement on all parties no later than ten days before the conference. The consequences are not symmetrical, and they are worth knowing:
- A carrier that fails to file and serve on time waives its defenses to the claim.
- Any witness left off the statement, or document not included, cannot be called or introduced later.
- A claimant’s representative who files late, incompletely, or leaves out a witness or document faces a mandatory, substantial reduction in the legal fee.
That last one is the Board putting the claimant’s attorney on the hook, and it is the reason this form is not delegated and forgotten. The first two are why a controverted claim is sometimes narrower by the time you reach the judge than the carrier intended.
The hearing is virtual, and it starts before it starts
New York hearings now run on the Board’s virtual hearing platform. You attend from home, from a phone, or from a Board location if you would rather not do it from your kitchen.
What you need is ordinary: a device with a camera, a reliable connection — wired if you have the option — an updated browser, and somewhere quiet. Turn off Do Not Disturb so the check-in prompts reach you.
Begin checking in at least 30 minutes before your scheduled time. You will land in a virtual waiting room, marked Available by default. If you need to step away, mark yourself Away — sit unavailable for more than 15 minutes and the system signs you out, and you have to start over.
Hearings do not run like appointments. Yours is one of many on that judge’s calendar, and waiting is normal. Plan the morning around it rather than the other way round.
If you testify, you must be on camera
This is the part people get wrong, and it is not negotiable.
The Board’s rule is that represented claimants and lay witnesses scheduled to testify in a virtual hearing are required to appear and testify by video, with their faces fully visible on screen. Attorneys and legal representatives must appear on video as well.
Dialing in by phone is not an option if you are testifying and you are represented. So if you are told you will be testifying, sort the camera out in advance — not at 9:25 for a 9:30 hearing. Test it the day before. If your only device is a phone, that is fine, but prop it up so your face is centered and stays there.
If you are attending but not testifying, the requirements are looser. You will be told which applies to you before the day.
Who is actually there
Fewer people than you are imagining. There is no jury and no gallery.
- The Workers’ Compensation Law Judge. The judge hears testimony, reviews the medical records and the wage information, and decides the issue and the amount of any award.
- Your attorney.
- The carrier’s attorney. Their job is to protect the insurance company’s position, which often means questioning you.
- You, and an interpreter if one has been arranged.
Your employer is usually not present. The carrier speaks for that side.
What you will be asked
Testimony in a comp case is narrower than people expect. You are generally there to establish what happened and what has happened since: how the injury occurred, what you were doing at the time, who you told and when, what body parts were hurt, what treatment you have had, what you can and cannot do now, and whether you have worked since.
Two pieces of advice that matter more than any other. Answer the question asked, then stop. Volunteering detail is how a five-minute examination becomes forty minutes on something irrelevant. And if you do not remember, say so — a guess that turns out to be wrong is worth far less to you than an honest “I don’t recall.”
You will be prepared before the hearing. Nobody should be hearing these questions for the first time while a judge is listening.
How it ends
Usually the judge decides and a written notice of decision follows within days.
Where the issues are complicated or the record is heavy, the judge may reserve decision — ruling in writing after reviewing everything, typically a week or more after the last hearing. That is not a bad sign. It usually means there is a genuine question being taken seriously.
Many cases take more than one hearing. Being told to come back is routine, not a setback. Separately, once permanency is at issue, that hearing has its own shape — covered on our page about what happens at a permanency hearing.
If the decision goes against you
A law judge’s decision is not the end, but the clock is short.
- Application for Board Review, Form RB-89 — filed within 30 days of the filing date of the judge’s decision, under Workers’ Compensation Law § 23. If you are represented, the form is mandatory. The other side may file a rebuttal, Form RB-89.1, within its own 30 days.
- A Board Panel of three Board members reviews the appeal.
- Reconsideration or Full Board Review — Form RB-89.2, with rebuttals on Form RB-89.3.
- The Appellate Division, Third Department — an appeal from a Board Panel decision may be taken within 30 days after the decision has been served on the parties.
Thirty days sounds generous until a decision arrives while you are dealing with everything else. More on the mechanics is on our page about denied claims and appeals.
Who shows up for you
At a lot of firms, whoever is free that morning covers your hearing. They read the file in the waiting room and meet you on screen.
That is not how this office works. The same attorney appears at every one of your hearings — the first one, the one after that, and the one where it matters most. We work the file together, because I am the one speaking with you and I know what the issues are. So the person standing up for you already knows your case, your restrictions, and what you told us in March.
I stay at the office rather than at the hearing calendar, which is deliberate: it means that when you call, you reach me. More on that on our page about who will handle your case.
Talk to a Staten Island workers’ comp attorney
If you have a hearing notice in your hand and no idea what it means, that is worth a phone call before the date, not after.
Call (718) 701-2776. The consultation costs nothing, and you will speak with me.
Nothing on this page is legal advice about your own claim, and Board procedures change. If a notice you received says something different from what you read here, the notice governs.