What Is NYS Workers’ Comp Schedule Loss of Use?

A Schedule Loss of Use award under NYS workers’ comp is a cash payment for workers who suffer permanent loss of function in a specific body part because of a job injury. The amount comes from a formula: the statutory week value for the injured body part, multiplied by your percentage of impairment, multiplied by two-thirds of your average weekly wage. It compensates you for lasting physical damage, not for the time you spent out of work recovering.¹

Which Body Parts Qualify

Workers’ Compensation Law Section 15(3) lists the body parts eligible for a Schedule Loss of Use (SLU) award and assigns each one a maximum number of compensable weeks. The higher the week value, the more the law weighs that body part’s role in your ability to earn a living.²

Arm: 312 weeks
Leg: 288 weeks
Hand: 244 weeks
Foot: 205 weeks
Eye: 160 weeks
Hearing, both ears: 150 weeks
Thumb: 75 weeks
Hearing, one ear: 60 weeks
First finger: 46 weeks
Great toe: 38 weeks
Second finger: 30 weeks
Third finger: 25 weeks
Toes other than great toe: 16 weeks each
Fourth finger: 15 weeks

Shoulders, hips, wrists, and ankles do not appear on this list as separate entries. Under the NYS Impairment Guidelines, a shoulder injury is evaluated as a percentage loss of use of the arm, and a hip injury is evaluated as a percentage loss of use of the leg. A rotator cuff tear that permanently limits shoulder function is measured against the arm’s 312-week maximum. A hip replacement is measured against the leg’s 288 weeks.³

Injuries to the spine, pelvis, lungs, heart, and brain are not eligible for an SLU award. Those fall under a separate category called non-schedule permanent disability, which uses a different evaluation process and a different payment structure.⁴

When the Clock Starts: Maximum Medical Improvement

No SLU evaluation happens until your treating doctor determines you’ve reached Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI). That means your condition has stabilized and no further significant recovery is expected, even with continued treatment. MMI typically comes months after the injury, and longer for surgical cases.³

MMI doesn’t mean you stop all medical care. You might still need pain management or physical therapy. It means the underlying impairment is unlikely to change. If your doctor declares MMI and you think it’s premature, you can present competing medical evidence at a hearing before a Workers’ Compensation Law Judge, who weighs your treating physician’s opinion against any contrary findings.⁵

How Your Percentage of Loss Gets Set

Once MMI is established, your treating physician completes Form C-4.3, the Board’s official report of permanent impairment. The doctor examines the injured body part, measures range of motion, and compares those measurements against the values in the NYS Impairment Guidelines to arrive at a percentage of loss. If the doctor finds a 25 percent loss of shoulder function, that translates to a 25 percent loss of use of the arm for calculation purposes.⁶

Form C-4.3 is submitted electronically through a Board-approved electronic submission partner, attached to the CMS-1500 billing form as the medical narrative. The submission partner sends both documents to the Board and the insurance carrier. You should not send the C-4.3 separately to the Board.⁷

After the C-4.3 is filed, the insurance carrier usually requests an Independent Medical Examination (IME). The IME doctor performs a separate evaluation and often arrives at a different percentage than your treating physician. This is where most SLU cases become contentious. If the treating doctor says 30 percent and the IME doctor says 15 percent, the gap directly affects your payout by thousands of dollars. When the parties can’t agree, a Workers’ Compensation Law Judge holds a hearing, reviews both medical reports, may take testimony, and decides which percentage to adopt or sets a figure somewhere in between.⁵

How the Award Amount Is Calculated

The SLU formula has three moving parts:

(Maximum weeks for the body part × percentage of loss) × (average weekly wage × 2/3) = total SLU award

The two-thirds factor matters and is often overlooked. The statute sets compensation at sixty-six and two-thirds percent of your average weekly wage, not the full wage.²

Your average weekly wage (AWW) comes from dividing your total gross earnings for the 52 weeks before your injury by 52. Gross earnings include overtime and other compensation, not just base pay.⁸

A Worked Example

Suppose you have a 25 percent loss of use of your arm and your AWW is $900. Compensable weeks: 312 × 25% = 78 weeks. Weekly benefit rate: $900 × 2/3 = $600. Total: 78 × $600 = $46,800. That’s the gross SLU award before any deductions.¹

The Maximum Weekly Benefit Cap

Your weekly benefit rate cannot exceed the state maximum. For injuries occurring between July 1, 2025 and June 30, 2026, the maximum weekly benefit is $1,222.42. If two-thirds of your AWW exceeds that cap, your benefit is limited to the maximum.⁹

Deductions for Prior Payments

Temporary disability payments you already received get subtracted from the gross SLU award. If your employer paid your regular wages while you were out, those amounts may also be deducted so the employer can be reimbursed. Using the example above, $15,000 in prior temporary benefits brings the net SLU payment down to $31,800.¹

Lump Sum or Weekly Checks

SLU awards are not paid as a lump sum automatically. By default, you receive regular workers’ compensation checks at your weekly benefit rate until the full amount is paid out. If you want a single check, you must ask for it, either at the hearing when the decision is rendered or in writing to the Board afterward. The Board then directs the insurer to issue one payment.¹

Under Workers’ Compensation Law Section 25, lump-sum SLU payments are made without commutation to present value. You receive the full calculated amount with no discount for early payment.¹⁰

What You Actually Take Home

Attorney Fees

Attorney fees for SLU awards are set by statute at 15 percent of the compensation due after subtracting any amounts the carrier already paid. The fee comes out of your award rather than being billed separately. On a $46,800 gross award with $15,000 already paid in temporary benefits, the fee is 15 percent of $31,800, which works out to $4,770.¹¹

Federal Taxes

SLU awards are not subject to federal income tax. Under 26 U.S.C. § 104(a)(1), amounts received under workers’ compensation acts as compensation for personal injury or sickness are excluded from gross income. This applies to the full SLU payment whether you take it as a lump sum or in weekly installments. You won’t receive a 1099, and you don’t report the payment on your tax return.¹²

Social Security Disability Offset

If you receive Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), an SLU award can reduce your SSDI payments. The Social Security Administration treats SLU payments as workers’ compensation income for offset purposes, even when paid as a lump sum, and converts a lump-sum award into an equivalent weekly rate to calculate the reduction.¹³

The combined total of your SSDI and workers’ compensation benefits generally cannot exceed 80 percent of your pre-disability earnings. If your SLU award pushes you over that threshold, SSDI gets reduced. The timing and structure of the payment can change the offset, so it’s worth working through with your attorney before requesting a lump sum.

1
New York State Workers’ Compensation Board. Understanding Your Schedule Loss of Use Award
2
New York State Senate. New York Workers’ Compensation Code 15 – Schedule in Case of Disability
3
Workers’ Compensation Board. New York State Workers’ Compensation Guidelines for Determining Impairment
4
New York State Workers’ Compensation Board. Workers’ Compensation Awards for Loss of Use or Permanent Disability
5
Workers’ Compensation Board. Workers’ Compensation Issue Resolution
6
New York State Workers’ Compensation Board. Doctor’s Report of MMI/Permanent Partial Impairment
7
New York State Workers’ Compensation Board. Updated Form C-4.3
8
New York State Workers’ Compensation Board. Schedule Loss of Use Award
9
New York State Workers’ Compensation Board. Subject Number 046-1754
10
New York State Senate. New York Workers’ Compensation Code 25 – Compensation, How Payable
11
New York State Senate. New York Workers’ Compensation Code 24 – Costs and Fees
12
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 104 – Compensation for Injuries or Sickness
13
Social Security Administration. DI 52120.175 – New York Workers’ Compensation