A Section 32 settlement in New York generally takes anywhere from a few months to well over a year, measured from the first serious settlement discussion to the day your check arrives. A straightforward case with cooperative parties and no Medicare complications can wrap up in roughly three to six months. When a Medicare Set-Aside review is needed, add two to four months on top of that. Every stage of the process has its own mini-timeline, and knowing where cases tend to stall helps you see where yours stands.
Reaching Maximum Medical Improvement First
Nothing meaningful happens on settlement until your treating doctor determines you have reached maximum medical improvement, or MMI. That means your condition has stabilized and further treatment is unlikely to produce significant additional recovery. It does not mean you are fully healed. It means your doctor believes your medical condition is as good as it is going to get.
MMI is the point at which a doctor can assign a permanent impairment rating, and that rating drives the math behind any settlement offer. Without it, neither side can reliably calculate the value of your future lost earnings or disability benefits. The Workers’ Compensation Board’s impairment guidelines note that most injured workers reach MMI within about a year of the injury or last surgery, though this varies by case. If you are still actively healing, settlement talks are premature.
The Negotiation Phase
Once MMI is established and you have a permanent impairment rating, your attorney and the insurance carrier begin negotiating the lump sum. There is no set schedule. Simple cases with clear medical evidence and a cooperative carrier can settle in a few weeks. Cases with disputed disability ratings, disagreements over future medical costs, or an insurer that drags its feet can take many months.
The two biggest sticking points are usually the projected cost of future medical care and your long-term earning capacity. When both sides reach a verbal agreement on a dollar figure, this phase ends and the paperwork phase begins.
Drafting and Signing the Agreement
A Section 32 Waiver Agreement is a negotiated deal between you and the carrier to close your workers’ compensation claim in exchange for a lump sum or annuity. Once the Board approves it, whatever benefits are settled are closed permanently and cannot be reopened.1New York Workers’ Compensation Board. Section 32 Waiver Agreements That finality is why the paperwork has to be precise.
Your attorney drafts the agreement using Form C-32 (the Waiver Agreement) and Form C-32.1 (the Claimant Release). As of July 7, 2025, the Board only accepts the most current versions of these forms. Submissions using older versions are rejected outright, which can set you back weeks while your attorney refiles.2New York State Workers’ Compensation Board. Updates Regarding Section 32 Waiver Agreement Forms
The agreement itself must include your full name and address, the date of injury, the body parts affected, a description of the accident, the total settlement amount, and how that amount is split between indemnity benefits and future medical expenses. That allocation matters because your attorney’s fee is calculated only on the indemnity portion, capped at 15% and subject to Board approval.3New York State Senate. New York Workers’ Compensation Law Section 24 – Costs and Fees You sign, the carrier signs, and the completed agreement goes to the Board.
The 10-Day Withdrawal Window
This is where the most common misconception lives. The 10-day withdrawal period does not start after the Board approves your agreement. It starts the day the signed agreement is submitted to the Board. You have 10 calendar days from that submission date to change your mind, and you must notify the Board in writing to withdraw. If neither party withdraws during those 10 days, the agreement moves forward to review.4New York Workers’ Compensation Board. Section 32 Waiver Agreements Frequently Asked Questions
The Board cannot approve any agreement until this 10-day window has passed.5Workers’ Compensation Board. Section 32 Waiver Agreements Guidance Think of it as a mandatory cooling-off period built into the front end of the Board’s review, not tacked onto the back.
Board Review: Desk Review or Hearing
After the 10-day window closes, the Board reviews the agreement to confirm the settlement is fair and not the result of fraud or misrepresentation. By statute, the Board must approve the agreement unless it finds the deal unfair, unconscionable, or improper as a matter of law, or that it resulted from intentional misrepresentation of a material fact.6New York State Senate. New York Workers’ Compensation Law Section 32 – Waiver Agreements
How that review happens depends on your case. Since July 1, 2024, the Board uses a desk review for several categories of agreements, meaning a judge reviews the paperwork without scheduling a hearing. Desk review applies when the gross settlement is $10,000 or less and you have an attorney, when the agreement settles only indemnity benefits and leaves medical open, or when all parties jointly request one. The Board reserves the right to schedule a hearing regardless of category if the facts warrant it.7Workers’ Compensation Board. Subject Number 046-1683
If a hearing is required, a Workers’ Compensation Law Judge will ask you a series of questions to confirm you discussed the agreement with your attorney, understand the terms, and are entering the deal voluntarily. The judge also verifies the settlement amount is reasonable given your injury and disability level. Most hearings are brief and procedural rather than adversarial. How quickly you get in front of a judge depends on the Board’s calendar, and hearing backlogs vary by district.
When a Medicare Set-Aside Adds Months
The single biggest source of delay in Section 32 settlements is the Medicare Set-Aside Arrangement, or MSA. An MSA is a portion of your settlement funds set aside to cover future medical treatment that Medicare would otherwise pay for, protecting Medicare from picking up the tab for injury-related care after your case closes.
An important nuance: no federal statute or regulation actually requires you to submit an MSA proposal to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for review. CMS itself states that submission is a “recommended process,” not a legal mandate.8Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Workers’ Compensation Medicare Set Aside Arrangements Even so, all parties in a workers’ compensation case have obligations under Medicare Secondary Payer laws, and most attorneys and carriers treat CMS review as effectively mandatory because the consequences of getting it wrong fall on the injured worker.
CMS will only review MSA proposals that meet specific thresholds. If you are a current Medicare beneficiary, the total settlement must exceed $25,000. If you have a reasonable expectation of enrolling in Medicare within 30 months, the total settlement must exceed $250,000. Cases below these thresholds skip CMS review entirely, which removes this step from the timeline.8Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Workers’ Compensation Medicare Set Aside Arrangements
When CMS review is needed, expect it to add significant time. A specialized vendor analyzes your future medical needs, prepares a detailed proposal, and submits it to CMS. CMS aims to complete its review within 45 to 60 days of receiving all relevant documents.9Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Workers’ Compensation Medicare Set-Aside Arrangement Reference Guide In reality that clock does not start until CMS has everything it needs, and back-and-forth over missing information can stretch the total MSA process to three or four months. The Section 32 agreement generally cannot be submitted to the Board until the MSA amount is finalized.
The 10-Day Payment Deadline After Approval
Once the Board files its written decision approving your Section 32 agreement, the insurance carrier has 10 days to pay you. That deadline is enforceable. If the carrier misses it, the law imposes a penalty equal to 20% of the unpaid amount, paid directly to you, plus a $50 assessment paid into the state treasury.10New York State Senate. New York Workers’ Compensation Law Section 25 – Compensation, How Payable The Board’s own guidance confirms this penalty applies specifically to Section 32 settlements.5Workers’ Compensation Board. Section 32 Waiver Agreements Guidance
Your attorney’s 15% fee is typically deducted before you receive your check, so the amount deposited will be less than the total settlement figure. Any outstanding medical liens or bills addressed in the agreement may also be paid from the proceeds first.
What Slows a Case Down
Beyond the MSA process, several issues commonly stretch the timeline:
- Disputed disability ratings. If the carrier’s independent medical examiner and your treating doctor disagree on your permanent impairment rating, negotiations stall until one side concedes or additional evaluations are obtained.
- Outstanding medical liens. Unpaid bills and liens from health insurers or providers who treated your injury must be resolved before the settlement can be finalized. Tracking down lien amounts from multiple providers takes time.
- Outdated forms. Filing the wrong version of Form C-32 or C-32.1 gets the submission rejected. Avoidable, but it happens.
- Carrier responsiveness. Some carriers take weeks to return calls, review proposals, or sign documents. Your attorney has limited leverage beyond persistent follow-up.
- Hearing backlogs. If your case needs a hearing rather than a desk review, the Board’s calendar sets the pace.
The most useful thing you can do is respond quickly when your attorney asks for information or a signature, and make sure your medical treatment is documented thoroughly before settlement talks begin. Cases with clean medical records and a clear impairment rating move fastest through every stage.