A Capehart Scatchard Blog

Private Sector EMTs and Paramedics Are Now Covered Under New Legislation Signed by New Jersey Governor Creating a High Rebuttable Presumption in Favor of Compensability of Strokes or Heart Attacks

By on January 26, 2024 in Legislation with 0 Comments
Private Sector EMTs and Paramedics Are Now Covered Under New Legislation Signed by New Jersey Governor Creating a High Rebuttable Presumption in Favor of Compensability of Strokes or Heart Attacks

The recent passage of A5909 has generated many questions from hospitals and private sector ambulance companies which provide EMT and paramedic services.  The questions focus on the recently passed legislative overhaul of N.J.S.A. 34:15.7.3.  That original 1988 law is entitled, “Cardiovascular or cerebrovascular injury or death of police, fire or emergency personnel in response to […]

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Respondent Defeats Alleged Claim of Aggravation and Motion for Medical and Temporary Disability Benefits Seeking Payment for Five Spinal Surgeries

By on January 2, 2024 in Benefits, NJ Workers' Comp with 0 Comments
Respondent Defeats Alleged Claim of Aggravation and Motion for Medical and Temporary Disability Benefits Seeking Payment for Five Spinal Surgeries

Cases involving aggravation of preexisting conditions are quite common in workers’ compensation and are often complex.  Adequately addressing such claims requires obtaining the pre-accident medical treatment records and obtaining expert opinion on whether the work accident aggravated the prior condition. Donald Smith v. H & H Transportation, Inc., No. A-3568-21 (App. Div. December 20, 2023) […]

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Appellate Division Holds Employee Who Worked and Attended School Is Eligible for Temporary Disability Benefits After Unemployment Benefits Terminated

By on December 18, 2023 in Benefits, NJ Workers' Comp with 0 Comments

There are not many cases involving eligibility for temporary disability benefits while attending school. The case of Soto v. Hoosier Care, Inc., No. A-0507-22 (App. Div. December 11, 2023) discusses this issue directly. The facts in the opinion are threadbare, and the reader will have many more questions than answers after reading this decision. The […]

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Medical Provider Cannot Sue Workers’ Comp Carrier for Breach of Contract to Get Around New Jersey’s Exclusive Remedy for Medical Disputes

By on November 20, 2023 in Claims, NJ Workers' Comp with 0 Comments

Medical claim petitions comprise an increasingly large percentage of New Jersey workers’ compensation claims with over 5,000 being filed in 2023 alone.  One of the problem areas remains jurisdictional issues when a New York or Pennsylvania workers’ compensation case is referred to New Jersey just for a one-time medical procedure. The recent case of Hudson […]

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Appellate Division Finds Accident in Pennsylvania Compensable As Petitioner Had Resumed Drive to Customer Location in New Jersey

By on November 6, 2023 in Compensability, NJ Workers' Comp with 0 Comments

Petitioner Mario Pozadas was injured on October 14, 2016.  He was the owner of the respondent Capital Iron Associates, LLC., which specialized in fabricating and installing welding materials.  Earlier in the day he was working on a home renovation project taking place in Hightstown, New Jersey.  Mr. Pozadas drove a flatbed truck carrying several workers […]

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Worker Who Became Unconscious While Working Could Not Prove Subsequent Physical Injuries Were Work Related

By on October 9, 2023 in Compensability, NJ Workers' Comp with 0 Comments

The recent decision in Sykes v. George Harms Construction Company, Inc., No. A-3320-20 (App. Div. September 28, 2023) addresses an unusual claim involving a worker who was found passed out on the job while operating an excavator.  The petitioner filed a motion for medical and temporary disability benefits seeking an MRI of the neck, low […]

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Governor Signs Bill Raising Fees of Evaluating Physicians for Claimants

By on August 2, 2023 in Legislation, NJ Workers' Comp with 0 Comments

On July 20, 2023 Governor Murphy approved an amendment to N.J.S.A. 34:15-64 raising the maximum amount that physicians may be paid for opinions regarding need for treatment or estimates of permanent disability.  The maximum fee had been previously set at $600.  Under the new amendment, the maximum fee is now $1,000.  The goal of the […]

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The “Silk City”

By on July 24, 2023 in NJ Workers' Comp, Other with 2 Comments

It is a city conceived and created by one of the most famous Americans in history.  He is perhaps even more well known today than ever following the success of the eponymous Broadway show “Hamilton” created by Lin-Manuel Miranda.  Yet it is a city that surprisingly few New Jersey residents know much about.  The city […]

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Should Employers Pay for Both Lawyers in the Workers’ Compensation Case?

When a workers’ compensation case settles in the New Jersey Division of Workers’ Compensation for a percentage of disability, the employer pays for its own lawyer and most of the fee of the injured worker’s lawyer.  New Jersey may be the only state that has this practice.  Judges generally assess 60% of the legal fee […]

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Navigating Cannabis Regulations and Employment Law in New Jersey

By on June 26, 2023 in NJ Workers' Comp, Other with 0 Comments

Legalization of Cannabis in New Jersey: In November 2020, New Jersey residents voted in favor of the legalization of adult-use cannabis. The New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act (“NJCREAMMA”) was subsequently enacted to regulate the cultivation, distribution, and use of cannabis in the state. While NJCREAMMA allows employers to randomly drug […]

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Recording and Taping IMEs in New Jersey Workers’ Compensation

The rules for recording and taping IMEs in New Jersey became much clearer with the June 15, 2023, New Jersey Supreme Court ruling in DiFiore v. Pezic, (Nos. A-58/59/60-21) (087091). While the case involved three separate civil court defense exams, there is no reason that the principles set forth in this consolidated decision will not […]

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A Practitioner’s Guide to Benefits Provided Under New Jersey Workers’ Compensation

There are three types of benefits provided by employers to employees in NJ workers’ compensation, in those cases that are accepted and not being questioned: 1. Medical benefits (a major benefit to employers in New Jersey is that the employer directs the medical care); 2. Temporary disability (“TTD”), which is for wage loss while an […]

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Supreme Court Decision Provides Overview of NJ Insurance Fraud Prevention Act and the NJ Workers’ Compensation Fraud Act

By on February 27, 2023 in Court Rulings, NJ Workers' Comp with 0 Comments

Liberty Insurance v. Techdan, LLC, (A-52-21) (086219), decided on February 15, 2023, is a case that practitioners, employers, third party administrators and insurance carriers should be aware of. It is the only New Jersey Supreme Court case which provides a comprehensive analysis of the New Jersey Insurance Fraud Prevention Act (IFPA) and the New Jersey […]

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A Practitioner’s Guide to Prior Injuries and Credits

By on February 22, 2023 in NJ Workers' Comp, Practical Advice with 1 Comment

Practical Advice in New Jersey Workers’ Compensation Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 34:15-12(d), “if previous loss of function to the body, head, a member or an organ is established by competent evidence, and subsequently an injury or occupational disease arising out of and in the course of an employment occurs to that part of the body, head, […]

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Supreme Court Finds Non-Waivable Duty on the Part of Insurance Brokers to Provide Notice of Available Coverage for LLC Members

By on January 10, 2023 in Court Rulings, NJ Workers' Comp with 0 Comments

When coverage is denied under a workers’ compensation policy for an LLC, one can be almost certain that a finger will be pointed, rightly or wrongly, at the insurance broker.  The more severe the injury, the more likely the potential for a civil suit.  This was the situation in Holm v. Purdy, New Jersey Supreme […]

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