Content reviewed by:
Alex Shulman
Corrections officers are expected to control violent situations, restrain detainees, respond to emergencies, and stay alert through long shifts. One assault, fall, or forceful restraint can cause an injury that keeps you from working. Years of lifting, climbing stairs, and wearing heavy equipment can also damage your back, knees, shoulders, and other joints.
Shulman & Hill Injury Lawyers has represented injured New Yorkers since 2013. Our Bronx corrections officer injury lawyers have more than 200 years of combined experience handling workers’ compensation and related injury claims.
Contact Shulman & Hill for a free consultation with one of our Bronx workers’ compensation lawyers today.
Injuries Corrections Officers Face at Work
A corrections officer may be injured during a planned operation or an incident that erupts without warning. The injury does not have to result from an inmate assault to qualify as work-related.
Our Bronx personal injury lawyers represent officers injured while:
- Breaking up fights or responding to disturbances.
- Restraining, escorting, or transporting detainees.
- Defending themselves or another employee from an assault.
- Running to an emergency within a facility.
- Lifting equipment, supplies, or an injured person.
- Slipping on wet floors or damaged walking surfaces.
- Climbing stairs or working in poorly maintained areas.
- Training with restraints, defensive equipment, or tactical gear.
- Performing repetitive physical duties over months or years.
A claim may be based on one incident, repeated trauma, or an occupational condition tied to your assigned duties.
Physical and Psychological Injuries May Both Qualify
Corrections work can produce injuries that are visible immediately and conditions that appear later. You should report all symptoms to your medical provider, including those that began after the incident.
Common claims involve:
- Back and neck injuries.
- Torn shoulder, knee, or wrist ligaments.
- Head injuries and concussions.
- Fractures, cuts, sprains, and dislocations.
- Nerve damage and chronic pain.
- Exposure to blood, chemicals, or infectious disease.
- Hearing or vision damage.
- Post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, or depression following a work event.
Psychological claims require medical evidence connecting the condition to the employment. A physical injury can also lead to depression, anxiety, sleep problems, or trauma symptoms that become part of the workers’ compensation claim.
Our Bronx corrections officer injury attorneys work with the medical record to show how the incident or work duties affected your health and ability to perform your job.
What Workers’ Compensation Can Pay
New York workers’ compensation may provide authorized medical treatment and cash benefits when a job-related injury limits your earnings. You do not usually have to prove that your employer acted carelessly.
Benefits may include:
- Emergency treatment and follow-up medical care.
- Surgery, medication, therapy, and approved equipment.
- Wage benefits while you are unable to work.
- Partial benefits when you return at lower earnings.
- Awards for certain permanent injuries.
- Benefits for eligible family members after a fatal incident.
You may qualify for medical benefits even if you never miss a full shift. If you remain at work on light duty or restricted duty, you may still have rights under the workers’ compensation system.
Corrections officers may also have sick leave, disability, pension, union, or line-of-duty benefits through their employer. Those programs are separate from workers’ compensation and may affect how payments are coordinated. We review the available sources of recovery so you understand what each one covers.
Repetitive Injuries Are Not Limited to One Accident
Repeated restraints, stair climbing, prolonged standing, heavy belts, and lifting can gradually damage the body.
A repetitive trauma or occupational disease claim may require proof of:
- The duties you performed regularly.
- How often you performed them.
- How long you worked in that assignment.
- When you first noticed symptoms.
- When a medical provider connected the condition to your work.
Our corrections officer injury attorneys in Bronx can help organize this history and present the medical and employment evidence in a direct way.
Why Clients Choose Our Bronx Corrections Officer Injury Lawyers at Shulman & Hill
Corrections injury claims demand more than basic paperwork. We study the officer’s assignment, physical duties, incident history, medical findings, pay records, and return-to-work restrictions.
Shulman & Hill can:
- File and develop your workers’ compensation claim.
- Challenge denied treatment and reduced wage benefits.
- Correct disputes involving your average weekly wage.
- Prepare medical and factual evidence for hearings.
- Address permanent injury and future work restrictions.
- Review possible claims against outside parties.
- Coordinate related benefits and injury claims.
Our firm has recovered more than $1 billion for over 26,000 clients. We provide the resources of an established New York injury firm while giving Bronx officers direct access to a legal team that understands public-sector workers.
Claims Against Someone Outside Your Employer
Workers’ compensation is usually the only claim against your employer for an ordinary workplace injury. A separate lawsuit may be available when an outside person or business caused the accident.
For example, a claim may involve:
- A driver who caused a collision during a transport assignment.
- An outside contractor that left a dangerous condition inside the facility.
- A building owner responsible for an unsafe area not controlled by your employer.
- A company whose negligent repair work caused a fall or other injury.
We do not assume that workers’ compensation is the only available claim. Our attorneys investigate who controlled the location and who contributed to the incident.
Protecting Your Claim After an Injury
Take these steps as soon as your condition allows:
- Report the incident to a supervisor.
- Give written notice to your employer.
- Request a copy of the incident report.
- Seek treatment and identify the injury as work-related.
- Tell your doctor about every affected body part and symptom.
- Follow medical restrictions.
- Save wage statements, leave records, and insurer letters.
- Keep the names of witnesses and responding staff.
New York generally requires workers to file a claim with the Workers’ Compensation Board within two years. Other filing periods may apply to an occupational condition, appeal, or lawsuit against an outside party.
Speak With a Corrections Officer Injury Attorney in the Bronx
Your job requires you to protect others in conditions that can change in seconds. When that work causes an injury, we can help you pursue the medical care, wage benefits, and additional compensation available under New York law.
Contact Shulman & Hill today for a free consultation with one of our corrections officer injury lawyers in the Bronx. New York, We Got You.
