Schedule Loss of Use, usually called SLU, is a New York workers’ compensation award for the permanent loss of function of a specific body part after your condition has stabilized. In plain English, it is the way New York workers’ comp puts a value on lasting damage to scheduled body parts such as an arm, hand, leg, foot, fingers, toes, eyesight, or hearing.
If your doctor starts talking about MMI, permanency, percentages, or an SLU exam, you are usually in a late stage of the claim. This is often when injured workers feel the most confused. The insurance carrier has its own doctor. Numbers start getting thrown around. Nobody seems to explain what those numbers actually mean or how they affect the value of the case.
Talk to Katz, Leidman, Freund & Herman before you assume the carrier’s number is fair. A careful review at this stage can make a real difference in how the claim is valued and how the case moves forward. Contact us today to get started.
This guide explains what an SLU award is, which injuries may qualify, how the percentage is evaluated, how the award is calculated, and where workers often lose value in New York workers’ compensation cases.
What Is a Schedule Loss of Use Award?
A Schedule Loss of Use award is money paid for the permanent functional loss of a body part that New York law treats as a scheduled member. It is separate from medical treatment benefits, and it is different from temporary wage-loss checks you may receive while you are out of work.
The key question is not just whether you were injured. The real question is how much permanent function you lost after reaching the point where doctors believe you have healed as much as you reasonably can.
That is why two workers with similar accidents can receive different SLU percentages. One worker may recover most of the body part’s function. Another may be left with limited motion, weakness, numbness, grip problems, instability, or other lasting deficits. The award is based on that permanent loss.
Which Injuries Can Qualify for an SLU Award in New York?
SLU awards usually apply to permanent injuries involving body parts that are covered by New York’s schedule.
- Arm
- Hand
- Wrist and forearm
- Shoulder, when the permanent loss is evaluated as part of the arm
- Leg
- Knee and hip, when the loss is evaluated as part of the leg
- Foot and ankle
- Fingers and thumb
- Toes
- Eyesight
- Hearing
There may also be compensation for certain serious disfigurement involving the face, neck, or scalp, but that is evaluated differently from the percentage-based SLU award most people mean when they talk about Schedule Loss of Use.
For many New York workers, including construction workers, transit employees, sanitation workers, hospital workers, corrections staff, and other first responders or public employees, an SLU issue comes up after treatment has gone on for months and the case shifts from short-term disability to permanent loss.
What Injuries Usually Do Not Qualify for Schedule Loss of Use?
One of the biggest misconceptions in New York workers’ comp is that every permanent injury leads to an SLU award. That is not true.
Injuries to the back, neck, head, brain, internal organs, lungs, heart, or body as a whole are usually not handled as Schedule Loss of Use cases. Those claims are generally classified under different disability rules instead.
That does not mean those injuries are minor or uncompensated. It only means the legal path is different. A worker with a serious back injury may still have a strong case, but the claim is usually not valued through the SLU schedule.
When Does an SLU Evaluation Happen?
Usually, an SLU evaluation happens after you reach Maximum Medical Improvement, often called MMI.
MMI does not mean you are fully healed. It does not mean you are pain-free. It means your condition has improved as much as doctors expect it will improve with reasonable treatment. Once that point is reached, a doctor can give an opinion about what permanent loss remains.
In many cases, this happens about a year after the injury or about a year after surgery, but there is no single rule that fits every case. Some workers reach MMI sooner. Others need more time because treatment is still ongoing, recovery is uneven, or another procedure is being considered.
If an SLU opinion is given too early, the percentage may understate the real loss. That is one reason workers need to take this stage of the case seriously.
How Does a Doctor Determine the SLU Percentage?
The doctor is supposed to examine the affected body part, review the medical records, and apply the New York Workers’ Compensation Board impairment guidelines.
Depending on the injury, the doctor may look at:
- Loss of range of motion
- Strength deficits
- Sensory loss or numbness
- Tendon, ligament, or nerve damage
- Surgical history
- Grip loss or reduced dexterity
- Instability or weakness
- Ongoing functional limitations after treatment
The doctor then gives an opinion in percentage terms, such as 10% loss of use of the hand or 25% loss of use of the leg.
That number matters, but it is not automatically final. The insurance carrier often sends the worker to an independent medical examination, or IME, where the carrier’s doctor may assign a lower percentage. If the medical opinions conflict, a Workers’ Compensation Law Judge may have to decide which one is more persuasive.
How Is a Schedule Loss of Use Award Calculated?
New York uses a formula built around three main parts:
- The body part involved
- The percentage of permanent loss
- Your compensation rate, which is based on your average weekly wage
Each scheduled body part has a maximum number of payable weeks assigned by law. Some common examples include:
- Arm: 312 weeks
- Leg: 288 weeks
- Hand: 244 weeks
- Foot: 205 weeks
- Thumb: 75 weeks
- Index finger: 46 weeks
- Eyesight: 160 weeks
- Hearing in one ear: 60 weeks
- Hearing in both ears: 150 weeks
The Board takes the maximum weeks for that body part and multiplies them by the SLU percentage. For example, if a worker has a 20% loss of use of the hand, the calculation starts with 20% of 244 weeks, which equals 48.8 weeks. That figure is then multiplied by the worker’s compensation rate.
The final dollar amount depends on the worker’s average weekly wage and the applicable compensation rate for the claim.
Does an SLU Award Mean I Automatically Get a Lump Sum?
No. An SLU award does not automatically mean a single large check is coming right away.
Sometimes an award is paid in a lump sum. In other cases, it is paid through ongoing workers’ compensation checks over time. The payment structure can depend on where the case stands procedurally, whether prior benefits were paid, and whether there are other issues being resolved at the same time.
The safer way to think about it is this: an SLU award is a value assigned to permanent loss. How that value is paid can vary from case to case.
Can Temporary Disability Payments Reduce an SLU Award?
In many cases, yes. Prior temporary disability payments can affect how much of the SLU award remains payable.
This is a common source of frustration. A worker hears a percentage, looks at the schedule weeks, and expects that entire amount to arrive as new money. Then the carrier claims credit for benefits already paid under the case.
That does not automatically mean the SLU award disappears. It means the payment history may matter. The amount and timing of any credit can become a dispute, especially when there are disagreements about classification, disability periods, or overlapping benefits.
Can I Receive an SLU Award If I Returned to Work?
Often, yes. An SLU award is about permanent loss of function, not just whether you are currently missing paychecks.
A worker may return to the job and still qualify for an award because the arm, hand, leg, shoulder, foot, hearing, or vision never returned to normal. For example, a worker may go back to work but still have reduced shoulder mobility after surgery, grip weakness in a hand, or measurable hearing loss after a job-related incident.
Going back to work does not erase permanent damage. That is an important point in many New York workers’ compensation cases.
Is Schedule Loss of Use the Same as a Section 32 Settlement?
No. These are different things.
A Schedule Loss of Use award is a Board-based valuation of permanent loss to a scheduled body part.
A Section 32 settlement is a negotiated settlement agreement that may close out some or all parts of a workers’ compensation claim in exchange for a lump sum.
Some cases involve both concepts at different stages, but they are not interchangeable. If someone says your SLU is the same as your settlement, that is usually an oversimplification.
What Can Delay or Lower an SLU Award?
The evaluation happens too early
If the permanency opinion is given before you truly reach MMI, the percentage may be too low.
The carrier’s IME doctor assigns a lower percentage
This happens often. Your treating doctor may see significant permanent loss, while the carrier’s doctor gives a much smaller number.
The medical records are weak
If the file does not clearly document surgery, therapy, ongoing complaints, objective findings, and lasting limits, the carrier has more room to attack the claim.
The dispute is about the wrong legal category
Sometimes the fight is not just over percentage. The carrier may argue the injury should not be treated as a schedule case at all.
The worker assumes the first number is final
It often is not. In many cases, the first percentage is only the beginning of the dispute.
What Should I Do If My Doctor Says I Am Ready for an SLU Exam?
The next phase of the claim deserves close attention. Here are practical steps that can help protect the value of the case:
- Ask for a copy of the doctor’s SLU report
- Confirm that the report clearly states you reached MMI
- Make sure the correct body part is being evaluated
- Compare the percentage to your actual ongoing limitations
- Keep records of surgeries, therapy, injections, imaging, and work restrictions
- Attend any IME the carrier schedules, but understand that the carrier doctor may be trying to minimize the loss
- Speak with a New York workers’ compensation lawyer before accepting the carrier’s number as fair
An SLU issue may look technical, but it can have a major impact on the value of the claim.
Why Do Insurance Carriers Fight So Hard Over SLU Percentages?
Because the percentage affects the money.
A 10% award and a 30% award for the same body part can produce very different results. That is why carriers often push for lower IME findings, earlier MMI dates, or narrower interpretations of the medical record.
Common carrier arguments include:
- The worker is not actually at MMI yet, so the report should not count
- The permanent loss is less severe than the treating doctor says
- Some limitation is from a prior condition rather than the work injury
- The injury should not be handled as a schedule claim
- Prior benefits should reduce most of what remains payable
Those arguments do not automatically mean the carrier is right. They show why workers often need strong medical support and careful legal review at the SLU stage.
Frequently Asked Questions About Schedule Loss of Use in New York
Does surgery guarantee a higher SLU award?
No. Surgery may support the seriousness of the claim, but there is no automatic percentage just because an operation happened. The legal issue is the permanent functional loss that remains at MMI.
Can I get an SLU award for my back or neck?
Usually no. Back and neck injuries are generally handled outside the schedule under different disability rules.
Do I have to be out of work to qualify for an SLU award?
No. Many workers return to work and still qualify because the award is based on permanent loss of function, not current wage loss alone.
Is the first doctor’s percentage final?
Usually not. The carrier may get its own IME, and the Board may have to resolve conflicting medical opinions.
How long does it take to get paid?
That depends on whether the percentage is disputed, whether prior benefits are credited, and where the case stands procedurally. Some awards move relatively smoothly. Others take longer because the medical evidence is contested.
How Katz, Leidman, Freund & Herman Helps With Schedule Loss of Use Cases
By the time an SLU issue comes up, many injured workers are worn down. They have already been through treatment, time away from work, paperwork, carrier delays, and conflicting medical opinions. That is often when the insurance company hopes the worker will accept a low number just to move on.
Katz, Leidman, Freund & Herman helps New York workers protect the value of the claim when permanent loss is finally being measured. Depending on the case, that can include:
- Reviewing whether the worker has truly reached MMI
- Evaluating treating doctor SLU reports for weak language or missing details
- Challenging low IME opinions
- Addressing disputes over whether the injury belongs on the schedule
- Reviewing the carrier’s position on credits and prior payments
- Preparing the case for hearings if the medical opinions do not line up
The goal is not just to obtain an award. The goal is to make sure the permanent loss is measured fairly and supported by the right medical evidence.
Talk to a New York Workers’ Compensation Lawyer About Your SLU Award
If your doctor says you are at MMI, the insurance company scheduled an SLU exam, or you were given a percentage that does not seem right, this is the time to ask questions. The number attached to an SLU can affect the value of the claim in a major way.
Talk to Katz, Leidman, Freund & Herman before you assume the carrier’s number is fair. A careful review at this stage can make a real difference in how the claim is valued and how the case moves forward. Contact us today to get started.