I really thought I had this thing won, which is why I'm so crushed right now. I work at a manufacturing plant over in Highland, been there for about eleven years ...
I really thought I had this thing won, which is why I'm so crushed right now. I work at a manufacturing plant over in Highland, been there for about eleven years running industrial presses. Last year I started losing hearing in my right ear and my doctor said it's almost definitely from years of noise exposure at work—industrial hearing loss is a known thing in my field. I filed my claim, they denied it initially, and I appealed. I spent months gathering evidence, got statements from my supervisors, had my audiologist write up a detailed report. I was so confident going into the hearing. But the administrative law judge ruled against me last week, saying there wasn't enough proof that my hearing loss was specifically from this job and not from other noise exposure over the years. I was stunned. I had all this documentation and it still wasn't enough. Now I'm sitting here with permanent hearing loss, I've got a hearing aid I can barely afford, and I don't know if I have any options left. The denial letter talks about maybe appealing to the board but the language is so complicated I can't even figure out what my next step is supposed to be. My cousin went through something similar with a shoulder injury and she said that the appeals process is a whole different level and that trying to do it without a lawyer is basically setting yourself up to fail. She told me I should find a workers comp appeal lawyer Highland NY who can look at my case and tell me if I have any chance at the next level or if I should just give up. I'm trying not to lose hope but this feels like a gut punch after all the work I put in. Has anyone here actually won an appeal after losing at the hearing stage? I need to know if it's even worth the fight or if I should just accept that this is how it ends.