WorkersNew York runs two entirely different disability systems side by side, and which one applies to you depends entirely on which body part was hurt. Understand that split first, and the rest of a New York claim makes a lot more sense.
System One: Scheduled Loss of Use (SLU)
For injuries to arms, legs, hands, feet, eyes, ears, fingers, and toes, New York doesn't use a whole-person impairment percentage at all. Instead, state law assigns a fixed number of weeks to each body part at 100% loss. Your doctor rates your percentage of functional loss for that specific part, and the award is simply: percentage of loss × scheduled weeks × your weekly rate.
💡 A 50% loss of use of an arm produces a very different — often larger — award than the same functional limitation rated under a whole-body percentage system used in states like California or Illinois.
A Worked Example
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 |
| Hearing (one ear) | 60 weeks |
| Thumb | 75 weeks |
| Index finger | 46 weeks |
| Great toe | 38 weeks |
System Two: Non-Schedule Injuries
Injuries to the spine, back, neck, head, or psychological injuries don't get a scheduled-weeks award at all. Instead, New York uses Loss of Wage Earning Capacity (LWEC) — an assessment of how much the injury actually reduces your ability to earn going forward, factoring in your age, education, and job skills, not just a medical percentage. Non-schedule cases tend to move more slowly and involve more negotiation, since LWEC is inherently a judgment call rather than a lookup-table calculation the way SLU is.
This split matters enormously for claim strategy: a shoulder or knee injury (scheduled) resolves very differently than a back injury from the same accident (non-schedule), even when both feel equally serious to the worker.
Weekly Benefit Rate
Independent of which system applies, ongoing wage-replacement benefits in New York pay 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, since higher prevailing NYC wages push Average Weekly Wage figures upward before the cap even applies.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Scheduled Loss of Use?
A New York-specific award for permanent loss of function in a specific body part (arm, leg, hand, etc.), 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.
What is the difference between scheduled and non-schedule injuries?
Scheduled injuries (arms, legs, hands, eyes, etc.) use a fixed weeks-per-body-part formula. Non-schedule injuries (spine, back, head, psychological) use Loss of Wage Earning Capacity, a broader assessment of how the injury affects your future earning ability.
Why do back injuries settle differently than arm injuries in New York?
Back injuries fall under the non-schedule Loss of Wage Earning Capacity system, which is a negotiated, evidence-based assessment — unlike arm or leg injuries, which use a fixed, predictable weeks-based schedule.
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