Workers’ compensation has a language all its own. Here are the terms and acronyms you’ll run into during your case, in plain English. Every case is different — call or email me if you have questions about how any of these applies to yours.
ACCES-VR — The state’s vocational rehabilitation program, which can help with retraining if you can’t return to your old line of work.
ACOE (Arising Out of and in the Course of Employment) — The basic test for whether an injury is covered by workers’ compensation — it must happen because of your job and while doing your job.
ANCR (Accident, Notice and Causal Relationship) — The three things that must be established for your case: a work accident (or occupational disease), timely notice to your employer, and a medical connection between work and your condition. A decision “establishing ANCR” means you won that fight.
Appeal / Board Panel — Either side has 30 days from a judge’s decision to appeal to a panel of Board commissioners. The carrier does not have to pay the disputed award while its appeal is pending, which is why we wait about 40 days after a favorable decision to know it’s final.
ATF (Aggregate Trust Fund) — A state fund a private carrier can be required to pay a lump-sum deposit into to cover the present value of future benefits in certain permanent disability cases. See the present value page.
AWW (Average Weekly Wage) — Your gross, pre-tax earnings in the 52 weeks before your injury, expressed as a weekly figure. Every cash benefit in your case is calculated from it — which is why getting it set correctly matters so much. See cash benefits.
C-3 — The “Employee Claim” form that opens your case with the Board. It must be filed within two years of your injury. See what to do after a work injury.
C-4.3 — The report your doctor files stating you have reached MMI and giving your percentage of permanent impairment — the report that drives an SLU award. See SLU awards.
C-8.1 — The form used when the carrier disputes a medical bill. The “Judge’s Attention” tab in eCase lists them.
C-257 — The form for requesting mileage and travel reimbursement for medical trips. See mileage reimbursement.
Carrier — The insurance company that pays — or fights — your claim on your employer’s behalf.
Classification — The finding of a permanent disability for injuries to the neck, back, head, or other “core” body parts, based on your loss of wage-earning capacity (LOWEC). Benefits run for a set number of weeks — up to 525, or for life at 100%. See classification.
Controverted claim — A claim the carrier formally disputes. The Board schedules a hearing, and nothing gets paid until a judge orders it. See what to do after a work injury.
DB / DB-450 — New York State short-term disability — a separate benefit for off-the-job disabilities. The DB-450 is its claim form, and it can matter while your comp case is being fought. See non-workers’ comp benefits.
Degree of disability — Your doctor’s opinion of how disabled you are, usually total (100%), marked (75%), moderate (50%), or mild (25%). It sets your weekly check. See cash benefits.
eCase — The Board’s online case file, where you can see every document, payment, and decision in your claim. See other resources.
FROI / SROI (First/Subsequent Report of Injury) — The carrier’s official injury and payment reports. The FROI/SROI tab in eCase is where to find what you have actually been paid. See the SLU calculator directions.
IME (Independent Medical Examination) — An exam by a doctor the carrier picks and pays. Attendance is mandatory — skipping one can suspend your benefits. See benefits overview.
Indexing — The Board’s opening of your claim once it has your C-3 and a medical report. The carrier then has 25 days to accept or controvert. See what to do.
MG-1 / MG-2 — The older forms doctors used to request treatment confirmation or a variance from the Medical Treatment Guidelines — now largely replaced by PARs filed through OnBoard. See medical benefits.
MMI (Maximum Medical Improvement) — The point where no further recovery is expected, typically about a year after surgery or injury. Permanency awards happen after MMI. See SLU awards.
MOD (Memorandum of Decision) — The judge’s written decision after a hearing.
MTG (Medical Treatment Guidelines) — The Board’s guidelines listing pre-authorized treatment. Care consistent with the Guidelines doesn’t need advance approval. See medical benefits.
NFA (No Further Action) — A decision marking that the Board is closing the file for now — not necessarily forever. Cases can often be reopened if your condition changes.
NYSAWW (New York State Average Weekly Wage) — The statewide average wage that sets each year’s benefit maximum and minimum. See the rate table on the cash benefits page.
NYSIF (New York State Insurance Fund) — The state-run insurance carrier that covers many upstate employers.
OD (Occupational Disease) — A condition that develops over time because of your work — repetitive motion injuries, exposure conditions, and the like — covered just like an accident.
OnBoard / PAR (Prior Authorization Request) — The Board’s online portal and the request doctors file through it for treatment and medication approval — the successor to the MG-1/MG-2 forms. See medical benefits.
OOW (Out-of-Work) benefits — Your weekly check while out of work: 2/3 × AWW × degree of disability, within statutory limits. See cash benefits.
PFL (Paid Family Leave) — A separate New York program for caring for family members — not workers’ compensation.
PFME (Prima Facie Medical Evidence) — The minimum medical report needed to move your case forward: a history of how work caused the injury, a diagnosis, and the doctor’s opinion connecting the condition to work. See what to do.
PHP (Protracted Healing Period) — Extra benefits available in rare cases where healing took longer than the schedule assumes. See the SLU calculator.
PPD / PTD — Permanent partial and permanent total disability. See classification.
RE (Reduced Earnings) — Benefits when you’re back at work but earning less because of your injury: 2/3 of the difference between your AWW and current earnings. See reduced earnings.
RFA-1 / RFA-2 (Request for Further Action) — The forms that ask the Board to schedule a hearing — RFA-1 for claimants, RFA-2 for carriers.
Section 32 — A negotiated settlement, usually a lump sum, that permanently closes some or all of your claim. It requires Board approval — get advice before signing one. See Section 32 and present value.
SLU (Schedule Loss of Use) — A cash award for permanent loss of use of an arm, leg, hand, foot, finger, or for hearing or vision loss — a percentage multiplied by a set number of weeks per body part. See SLU awards.
SSD offset — The reduction Social Security can apply when you collect both Social Security Disability and workers’ comp. See non-workers’ comp benefits.
Statutory minimum / maximum — The floor and ceiling on weekly benefits, set by your date of accident. See the table on the cash benefits page.
TPA (Third-Party Administrator) — The company that handles claims for a self-insured employer — functionally, your “carrier.”
TPD (Temporary Partial Disability) — Partially disabled while you recover — able to do some work, paid based on your degree of disability.
TTD (Temporary Total Disability) — Fully unable to work while you recover, paid at the 100% rate.
UEF (Uninsured Employers’ Fund) — The fund that pays claims when an employer illegally carried no workers’ comp insurance. You’re still covered even if your employer broke the law.
VFBL / VAWBL — The separate benefit laws covering volunteer firefighters and volunteer ambulance workers — common in our rural counties.
WCB (Workers’ Compensation Board) — The state agency that runs the workers’ compensation system and decides disputes: wcb.ny.gov.
WCB number — Your case ID, usually G followed by seven digits. Include it on everything you file. See other resources.
WCLJ (Workers’ Compensation Law Judge) — The judge who hears your case, makes awards, and approves fees and settlements.