New York produces the second-highest average workers' compensation settlements in the country, and the reason is specific: the state's Scheduled Loss of Use (SLU) system, which pays some of the largest awards nationwide for permanent injuries to arms, legs, hands, and other scheduled body parts.
How Scheduled Loss of Use Works
Unlike states that calculate permanent disability purely from a "whole person" impairment percentage, New York assigns a fixed number of weeks of compensation to each body part by law — an arm, for example, is scheduled at 312 weeks at 100% loss. Your doctor rates your percentage of loss for that specific body part, and the award is calculated as that percentage times the scheduled weeks times your weekly rate.
💡 A 50% loss of use of an arm in New York (312 scheduled weeks) produces a very different — often larger — award than the same functional limitation rated under a whole-body percentage system used elsewhere.
Weekly Benefit Rate
New York pays 66.67% of your Average Weekly Wage, capped at $1,145.43/week for 2026. New York City claims in particular tend to settle above the statewide average due to higher prevailing wages pushing AWW figures upward.
Common Scheduled Body Parts
| Body Part | Scheduled Weeks (100% loss) |
|---|---|
| Arm | 312 weeks |
| Leg | 288 weeks |
| Hand | 244 weeks |
| Foot | 205 weeks |
| Eye | 160 weeks |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Scheduled Loss of Use?
A New York-specific award for permanent loss of function in a specific body part, calculated as your percentage of loss times a fixed number of weeks assigned by law to that body part, times your weekly rate.
How much does New York pay per week?
66.67% of your Average Weekly Wage, capped at $1,145.43/week in 2026 — one of the higher maximums nationally.
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