01 / BackgroundFrom defense to plaintiff's side.
I served as Deputy Chief of the Workers' Compensation Division at the New York City Law Department, where I supervised attorneys defending the City in injured-worker claims. Day to day, that meant evaluating thousands of files, deposing claimants, negotiating settlements, and litigating in front of Workers' Compensation Law Judges across all five boroughs.
Few attorneys representing injured workers have spent that much time on the other side of the table. Most learned the system from the claimant's perspective; I learned it from the defense's perspective first. I know what insurers look for when they decide whether to controvert a case. I know which AWW arguments they roll over on and which they fight to the appeal. I know how IMEs are scheduled, briefed, and used.
The defense bar's job is to find the cheapest lawful resolution. Knowing how they get there is the fastest way to make sure your file isn't the cheap one.
02 / ApproachDirect attorney access. Your file. Start to finish.
When you bring your case to me, I am the attorney who handles it — from intake through hearings, IMEs, permanency findings, and any Section 32 settlement. You don't get bounced between associates who don't know your medical history or paralegals who haven't read your file. The relationship is direct.
That work is done through my firm, Finkelstein, Meirowitz & Eidlisz LLP, which provides the institutional infrastructure — staff, resources, professional liability insurance, the kind of operational support that lets me focus on your case rather than administration. Your retainer is with the firm; I am the attorney on your file.
03 / FirmAbout Finkelstein, Meirowitz & Eidlisz LLP.
Finkelstein, Meirowitz & Eidlisz LLP is the New York firm where I practice. It's a workers' compensation–focused firm with the institutional resources to handle complex cases — disputed permanency findings, contested causation cases, Section 32 settlement structuring, and the procedural infrastructure that serious workers' comp matters require. The firm and I share a single goal: getting injured workers the benefits they're entitled to.
Each week I break down a recent Workers' Compensation Board decision and walk through what the defense actually did, what worked, and what it means for your claim. Read the latest issues →
04 / Who I RepresentWorkers, not employers.
I represent injured workers across New York State. The bulk of my caseload comes from:
- MTA, NYCT, and Long Island Rail Road employees
- Municipal workers — parks, DOT, public health, NYCHA, NYC Health + Hospitals
- NYC and NYS DOCCS correction officers (and court officers)
- FDNY EMS — EMTs, paramedics, EMS officers
- Port Authority workers and other authority/agency staff
- Civil service workers facing disability-pension decisions
- Construction trades and union laborers (Labor Law §240 cases too)
- Healthcare workers (patient-handling, needlestick, workplace violence)
- Office and service workers with repetitive-stress and ergonomic injuries
- Anyone whose claim was denied, undervalued, or stalled
05 / FeesThe 15% rule, in plain English.
New York workers' compensation attorney fees are set by statute (WCL § 24). You don't pay me out of pocket. You don't get a bill. The Workers' Compensation Law Judge approves a fee — almost always 15% — that comes out of the indemnity benefits or settlement money I help you secure. If I don't move money on your behalf, there's no fee.
The 15% fee comes from moved money — past-due benefits the carrier hadn't been paying, retroactive awards, schedule loss of use awards, or a Section 32 settlement. It does not come from your ongoing weekly checks once they're flowing routinely.