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Monthly Archives

January 2018

2017 New York State Workers’ Compensation Changes

By Uncategorized

On April 10th, 2017, Governor Cuomo and the New York State Legislature made changes to the New York State Workers’ Compensation Law. The law suggests several changes affecting injured workers since the enactment of the NYS Workers’ Compensation Reform Act of 2007.

The first change involves injured workers looking for work. This change reports that injured workers diagnosed with permanent partial disability (PPD) are no longer required to prove they were looking for work. This new change eases the stress of injured workers and eliminates the risk of losing lost income benefits.

A second change to the law affects first responders. First responders who suffer mental injuries on the job are now entitled to secure Workers’ Compensation benefits. Previously, first responders who suffered mental injuries were not entitled to WC benefits because their stress was not distinct in comparison to other first responders.

A third change involves permanency of injuries. Injured workers who have reached maximum medical improvement (MMI) are entitled to start collecting lost income benefits once permanent injury is classified.

Please do not hesitate to contact our offices with concerns regarding the new changes to the New York Workers’ Compensation Law.

LOSI & GANGI ADDS THREE ATTORNEYS

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Buffalo, NY – Lost & Gangi, a Buffalo-based workers compensation and personal injury law firm has added three new associate attorney to the firm’s workers’ compensation practice. The announcement was made by Jeffrey D. Gangi, managing partner for Lost & Gangi. The new attorneys include Philip Scaffidi, Bryan Brooks and David Derrico.

Philip Scaffidi has been practicing law since his admission to the New York State Bar in 1996. A graduate of the University of Rochester where he earned a B.A. in economics, he obtained his law degree from Tulane Law School in New Orleans, Louisiana. Scaffidi has focused his legal work on representing injured workers. Mr. Scaffidi is a member of the Injured Workers’ Bar Association and the New York State Bar Association. He is also a member of the Bar Association of Erie County where he served as Chair of the Workers’ Compensation Committee. He has been recognized in Buffalo Business First’s “Who’s Who in Law” and was recently honored by the Center for Elder Law and Justice with their “Attorney Excellence Award” for his work assisting refugees with worker’s compensation claims.

Bryan Brooks is a 1999 graduate of SUNY Fredonia where he earned a BA degree in history and political science. He attended the University of Dayton School of Law and graduated in 2003. After practicing law in Washington State, Brooks relocated to New York and was admitted to the bar in 2005. Mr. Brooks has been practicing workers’ compensation law exclusively since 2007. He joined Losi & Gangi in September, 2017 to focus his practice exclusively on the protection of the rights of injured workers in Western New York.

David Derrico, a Buffalo native, earned his undergraduate degree from SUNY Buffalo in 1990 and his juris doctor from the University of Pittsburg School of Law in 1993. He has been admitted to practice law in New York, Washington State, the District of Columbia, and in Illinois. Derrico began his legal career representing individuals facing a wide range of criminal matters as an Assistant Public Defender. His practice has also included work in Chapter 7 and 13 bankruptcies, and during the foreclosure crisis he worked as an attorney for the Western New York Law Center representing homeowners struggling with the gravity of a pending foreclosure. More recently he began representing carriers in workers’ compensation matters prior to joining Losi & Gangi. His practice will now focus on representing injured workers and helping these individuals navigate workers’ compensation law.

About Lost & Gangi

Lost & Gangi is a leading workers’ compensation and personal injury law firm representing clients during all stages of a workers compensation of personal injury case. The firm employs 10 attorneys.