We know that being injured or disabled is often isolating, and the current public health crisis has only made that worse for many people. At Grey & Grey LLP, our attorneys and staff have been working remotely for the past several weeks while continuing to provide seamless representation for clients in all of our practice areas of workers’ compensation, personal injury, and Social Security Disability. Our robust and integrated information technology systems have allowed us to remain fully available to answer questions, solve problems, and provide the full range of necessary legal services to our clients.
For our workers’ compensation clients, the Workers Compensation Board has continued to schedule and hold hearings “virtually,” and we have continued to attend and represent our clients using this system. In a “virtual hearing,” the Judge, the lawyers and the client can all appear over the computer.
If you want to attend your hearing virtually, you can do so by going to the Board’s website at www.wcb.ny.gov/virtual-hearings/ to read about the system requirements and test your smartphone or computer before the day of your hearing. To attend the hearing, you need the “Virtual Hearing ID” which appears at the top of your hearing notice. After entering your hearing ID, you have to choose your role (“claimant”). You will then be in the “virtual waiting room” and notified when the case is called. Important: The volume on your phone or computer must be on so you can hear when your case is called.
You can “sign in” for morning hearings starting at 8:30 AM and for afternoon hearings starting at 12:30 PM. It’s best to sign in at least a half hour early to be sure you can access the system.
You can also attend your workers’ compensation hearing by phone. If you prefer to attend by phone, you should call our office about a week before your hearing date and make sure that we have a telephone number where you can be reached when your case is called. Our attorneys will call you at that number to discuss the case before the hearing, and the Judge will call you when the hearing is held. It’s important to note that some of these telephone calls may come from blocked numbers, 518 numbers, or even an 800 number – so if one of those comes in around the time of your hearing, be sure to take the call.
For our personal injury and Social Security Disability clients, we continue to schedule client appointments by telephone and by Zoom, following up with any necessary paperwork by email or regular mail (if original signatures are required for legal purposes). Although the state and federal courts are only open for very limited purposes, the Social Security Administration continues to process claims for disability benefits and we continue to receive favorable decisions for our clients on a daily basis.
If you have any questions about workers’ compensation, personal injury, or Social Security Disability, or if you believe that you may have a case, please feel free to contact us. More information is available on our web site at www.GreyAndGrey.com – and be sure to read our latest blog post on workers’ compensation coverage for the COVID-19 coronavirus.
And most importantly – stay safe and healthy!
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