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Assault Committed by Ex-Husband in Employer Owned Parking Lot Found Not Compensable

By on February 4, 2016 in Compensability, NJ Workers' Comp with 2 Comments

Jennie Rosario worked for the State of New Jersey as a caseworker for the Division of Youth and Family Services.  She left the Division’s Maplewood office intending to get into a State-owned vehicle on May 23, 2006 to perform her duties as a field case-worker.  As she was leaving the office, her ex-husband assaulted her with a knife, slicing her head.  A fellow Division employee managed to distract the ex-husband, who then stabbed himself with the knife.  Petitioner then filed a workers’ compensation claim for her injuries.

Days before the attack, petitioner Rosario had been granted a divorce judgment.  Rosario had also previously obtained a domestic violence final restraining order against her ex-husband for attempting to murder her mother. Her supervisor had a copy of the restraining order. Security guards were notified of the threat posed to Rosario.  Indeed, she asked for the transfer to the office in Maplewood from the East Orange Division office because she was worried about her ex-husband’s release from jail.  She feared that he would come to the East Orange office location.

When Rosario’s ex-husband got released from jail, he devised a plan to reach out to her in order to apologize to her for his past criminal acts.  On release from jail, her ex-husband contacted the Division’s East Orange office to find her.  The receptionist told the ex-husband that she had just been transferred to the Maplewood office. That information led the ex-husband to travel to the Maplewood office where the assault occurred.

The Judge of Compensation held that this attack was a purely personal risk, not incident to Rosario’s employment, and therefore not compensable.  Petitioner’s ex-husband testified that the reason that he went to see Rosario was both to apologize for his criminal behavior and to see if the two could reconcile.  The Judge of Compensation reasoned that this assault could have occurred anywhere.  The ex-husband tried calling petitioner on her cell phone first without success, and he only contacted the Division because he wanted to meet her in a public place.

Rosario argued that since the State disclosed her new location in Maplewood, this was no longer a personal risk.  She contended that the State’s actions led to the likelihood that the assault would occur at work.  Rosario’s contention was that the State had a duty not to disclose her location given that it was in possession of the restraining order.

On appeal, the court reviewed the case of Howard v. Harwood’s Rest. Co., 25 N.J. 72 (1957) for the proposition that when an attack arises out of a personal relationship, there is no right to workers’ compensation. The Court concurred with the Judge of Compensation that the attack stemmed not from work but from a personal relationship outside work.  The Court disregarded the argument that the State had been negligent in offering petitioner’s new location. “Whether an employer actually commits a negligent act is irrelevant to determining compensability – the sole issue is whether the injury is work-related.”

This case is now the second in a few months in which the Appellate Division has found assaults that occurred at work were not compensable because of the personal relationship between the criminal actor and the petitioner victim.  This case can be found at Rosario v. State of New Jersey, A-4526-13T3 (App. Div. January 28, 2016).

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About the Author

About the Author:

John H. Geaney, Esq. is a Shareholder and Co-Chair of Capehart Scatchard's Workers' Compensation Group. Mr. Geaney began an email newsletter entitled “Currents in Workers’ Compensation, ADA and FMLA” in 2001 in order to keep clients and readers informed on leading developments in these three areas of law. Since that time he has written over 500 newsletter updates.

Mr. Geaney is the author of Geaney’s New Jersey Workers’ Compensation Manual for Practitioners, Adjusters & Employers. The Manual is distributed by the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education (NJICLE). He also authored an ADA and FMLA Manual also distributed by NJICLE. If you are interested in purchasing “Geaney’s New Jersey Workers’ Compensation Manual for Practitioners, Adjusters & Employers,” please contact NJICLE at 732-214-8500 or visit their website at www.njicle.com.

Mr. Geaney represents employers in the defense of workers’ compensation, ADA and FMLA matters. He is a Fellow of the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers of the American Bar Association. He is one of two firm representatives to the National Workers’ Compensation Defense Network.

A graduate of Holy Cross College summa cum laude, Mr. Geaney obtained his law degree from Boston College Law School.

Mr. Geaney was selected to the “New Jersey Super Lawyer” list (2005-2017, 2021 in the area of Workers’ Compensation). Only 5% of attorneys are selected to “Super Lawyers” through a peer nominated process based on independent research and peer evaluation. The Super Lawyers list is issued by Thomson Reuters. For a description of the “Super Lawyers” selection methodology, please visit https://www.superlawyers.com/about/selection_process.html

For the years 2022-2024 Mr. Geaney was selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® list in the practice area of Workers’ Compensation Law - Employers. The attorneys on this list are selected based upon the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area. A complete description of The Best Lawyers in America® methodology can be viewed via their website at https://www.bestlawyers.com/methodology.

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Capehart Scatchard is a full service law firm with offices in Mt. Laurel and Hamilton, New Jersey. The firm represents employers and businesses in a wide variety of areas, including workers’ compensation, civil litigation, labor, environmental, business, estates and governmental affairs.

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