N.Y. Laws » CHAPTER Workers' Compensation / ARTICLE Compensation
New York Consolidated Laws

N.Y. Workers' Compensation Law § 21 (2026)

Presumptions

✓ current as of May 2026
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§ 21. Presumptions. In any proceeding for the enforcement of a claim
for compensation under this chapter, it shall be presumed in the absence
of substantial evidence to the contrary
  1. That the claim comes within the provision of this chapter;
  2. That sufficient notice thereof was given;
  3. That the injury was not occasioned by the willful intention of the
injured employee to bring about the injury or death of himself or of
another;
  4. That the injury did not result solely from the intoxication of the
injured employee while on duty.
  5. That the contents of medical and surgical reports introduced in
evidence by claimants for compensation shall constitute prima facie
evidence of fact as to the matter contained therein.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 47 cases (24 in the last 5 years), 1986–2026 · leading case: Matter of Docking v. Lapp Insulators LLC, 2020 NY Slip Op 201 (N.Y. App. Div. 2020).
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Matter of Docking v. Lapp Insulators LLC, 2020 NY Slip Op 201 (N.Y. App. Div. 2020). · cites it 5× “Following a hearing, a Workers' Compensation Law Judge (hereinafter WCLJ) found that the Workers' Compensation Law § 21 presumption applied, that the employer failed to rebut that presumption and, therefore, that claimant sustained a work-related injury and was entitled to…”
Matter of Leroy v. Brookdale Hosp. Med. Ctr., 2023 NY Slip Op 06428 (N.Y. App. Div. 2023). · cites it 3× “2 form (Pre-Hearing Conference Statement) and that any rebuttal of the presumption contained in Workers' Compensation Law § 21 was limited to testimony elicited during the cross-examination of claimant and/or her doctors and other witnesses.”
Matter of Flores v. Millennium Servs., LLC, 2023 NY Slip Op 02042 (N.Y. App. Div. 2023). “To the extent that claimant asserts that he is entitled to the presumption pursuant to Workers' Compensation Law § 21 (1) that an accident occurred in the course of his employment, we note that "the statutory presumption cannot be used to establish that an accident occurred in…”
Matter of Aungst v. Fam. Dollar, 2023 NY Slip Op 05771 (N.Y. App. Div. 2023). “Footnote 2: To the extent that claimant relies upon the presumption of compensability set forth in Workers' Compensation Law § 21, "such presumption does not entirely relieve a claimant from the burden of establishing that his or her injury [exists or that it] arose out of and…”
Claim of Richardson v. Fiedler Roofing, Inc., 493 N.E.2d 228 (N.Y. 1986). “The resulting statute provided that employees were to be *251 compensated on a "no-fault" basis, regardless of any negligence on their own part, for all injuries "arising out of and in the course of" their employment ( see , Workers' Compensation Law § 10). To further the…”
Matter of Belfiore v. Penske Logistics LLC, 2022 NY Slip Op 01863 (N.Y. App. Div. 2022). “Our review of the record indicates that, at the conclusion of the August 27, 2020 hearing, the WCLJ made certain oral findings, which included, among other things, establishment of the claim based upon the presumptions contained within Workers' Compensation Law § 21 and the fact…”
Matter of Gaspard v. Queens Party Hall Inc., 2020 NY Slip Op 07652 (N.Y. App. Div. 2020). “Contrary to claimant's contention, the presumption embodied in Workers' Compensation Law § 21 is inapplicable inasmuch as such presumption cannot be used to relieve claimant of his burden of demonstrating that an accident, in fact, occurred nor does it completely satisfy…”
Matter of McGee v. Johnson Equip. Sales & Serv., 2020 NY Slip Op 3165 (N.Y. App. Div. 2020). “[t]hat the injury was not occasioned by the willful intention of the injured employee to bring about the injury or death of himself [or herself] or of another" (Workers' Compensation Law § 21 [3]; see Matter of Delacruz v Incorporated Vil.”
Matter of Timperio v. Bronx-Lebanon Hosp., 2022 NY Slip Op 00711 (N.Y. App. Div. 2022). “Such proof was sufficient to rebut the presumption articulated in Workers' Compensation Law § 21 (1) [*5]and to establish that the assault on Timperio resulted exclusively from arbitrary, broad-sweeping and gravely maligned personal animosity and not from work-related…”
Matter of Forte v. Muccini, 2020 NY Slip Op 1881 (N.Y. App. Div. 2020). “Claimant's reliance upon the presumption contained in Workers' Compensation Law § 21 does not compel a contrary result.”
Matter of McLaughlin v. Sahlen Packing Co., Inc., 2021 NY Slip Op 01470 (N.Y. App. Div. 2021). “On November 6, 2019, the employer filed an application for review (form RB-89) by the Workers' Compensation Board, contending that it had overcome the presumption of Workers' Compensation Law § 21 and that claimant failed to show sufficient evidence that decedent's death was…”
Matter of Turner v. New York State Dept. of Corr. & Cmty. Supervision, 2020 NY Slip Op 05561 (N.Y. App. Div. 2020). “Preliminarily, we reject claimant's assertion that the Board erred in failing to apply the presumption set forth in Workers' Compensation Law § 21 (1). Although a presumption of compensability arises when an unwitnessed or unexplained death occurs during the course of one's…”
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