John H. Geaney
John H. Geaney, a shareholder and co-chair of Capehart Scatchard's Workers' Compensation department, 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 as distributed by NJICLE. If you are interested in purchasing the manual, 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 and is certified by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as a workers’ compensation law attorney. He is one of two firm representatives to the National Workers’ Compensation Defense Network. He has served on the Executive Committee of Capehart Scatchard for over ten (10) years.
A graduate of Holy Cross College summa cum laude, Mr. Geaney obtained his law degree from Boston College Law School. He has been named a “Super Lawyer” by his peers and Law and Politics. He serves as Vice President of the Friends of MEND, the fundraising arm of a local charitable organization devoted to promoting affordable housing.
Capehart Scatchard is a full service law firm with offices in Mt. Laurel and Trenton, 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.
What Does The Rebuttable Presumption Mean In A COVID-19 Claim?
The concept of legal presumptions in workers’ compensation is not new in New Jersey. The first presumption legislation in New Jersey was passed in 1964 concerning volunteer firefighters who contract respiratory disease in certain circumstances. The second presumption legislation was passed in 1988 in regarding to firefighters with cardiovascular or cerebrovascular injuries or death in […]
Book Review Of “Workers’ Compensation Emerging Issues Analysis”
For those readers who are interested in learning about current issues in workers’ compensation, I highly recommend the 2021 LexisNexis book entitled “Workers Compensation Emerging Issues Analysis.” I was asked to review this book and found it to be chock full of cutting-edge articles written for attorneys, employers, physicians, adjusters, carriers and third party administrators. […]
FCE Supported County’s Decision To Terminate Employee Following Workers’ Comp Injury
Functional capacity examinations (FCEs) can be very useful in determining the ability of a worker to perform essential job functions by removing the guesswork and instead providing accurate data on an employee’s physical abilities. In The Matter of Thalia Tretsis Middlesex County, Sheriff’s Office, No. A-3682-19 (App. Div. February 15, 2022) provides some important guidance […]
Superior Court Could Not Compel A Plaintiff Who Filed In Civil Court To Also File A Claim Petition In The Division of Workers’ Compensation
The case of Brian Smith v. Township of South Hackensack, No. A-3258-20 (App. Div. February 18, 2022), addressed an unusual procedural question seldom, if ever, seen before. The Appellate Division decision provides hardly any factual background at all other than this brief summary: “Plaintiff, a volunteer firefighter, was struck by a South Hackensack fire truck […]
Understanding The Deviation From Employment Defense
Workers’ compensation practitioners have all heard of the defense of deviation from employment. But where does the defense come from? The New Jersey Workers’ Compensation Act has well over 100 sections to it, but nowhere will you find any reference to the defense of deviation from employment. Yet the defense does exist. We know that […]
New Jersey Supreme Court Finds Parking Lot Accident Compensable
On January 18, 2022, the New Jersey Supreme Court concluded round three of Diane Lapsley v. Township of Sparta, a case that dates back to February 3, 2014. On that date Mrs. Lapsley, a librarian for the Township, left work early when the Township closed the library due to a snowfall. Her husband picked her […]
Key New Jersey Legislation In 2022: Expansion Of Compensability Of Parking Lot Injuries And Resumption Of Public Health Emergency
In the first few days of 2022, two major legislative developments have significantly impacted workers’ compensation law. The legislation effectively repealing the Supreme Court decision in Hersh v. County of Morris, 217 N.J. 236 (2014) will have a long-term impact on workers’ compensation in New Jersey; the resumption of the public health emergency will likely […]
New Jersey Workers’ Compensation Benefit Rates Are Skyrocketing
It is not widely known but the new 2022 workers’ compensation benefit rates are 10% higher than those in 2021! Yes, you read that correctly – 10% higher than in 2021. That is the highest jump in benefit rates since the early 1980s. The annual percentage increase in maximum and minimum benefits from 1990 to […]
Back Injury To School Nurse Found Not Compensable Where She Participated in Cardio Club Activity Before School
On December 8, 2021, the New Jersey Appellate Division affirmed the dismissal of a claim for serious back injuries filed by Meghan Ryan-Wirth, a school nurse, against the Hoboken Board of Education and the Pooled Insurance Program Joint Insurance Fund. Petitioner, a school nurse, was injured participating in a morning Cardio Club activity with teachers […]
Practical Advice In Defending COVID-19 Claim Petitions
Many claim petitions have been filed in the Division of Workers’ Compensation seeking awards of permanent partial and total disability as well as dependency benefits arising from exposure to COVID-19. The high number of COVID claim petitions reflects the fact that well over 1.2 million cases have been confirmed as COVID positive in New Jersey, […]
Why Good Adjusters Are Crucial To Success In Workers’ Compensation Court
Every defense lawyer knows that success in workers’ compensation court is the ultimate team sport. There are many key participants: employers, supervisors, adjusters, counsel, account managers, brokers, experts, IME doctors, physicians, nurse case managers and vendors such as investigators. All play important roles but more often than not, the adjuster is the quarterback. It has […]
Governor Signs Job Preference Law For Employees Who Have Reached Maximal Medical Improvement
Readers of this blog are aware that earlier this year the New Jersey Assembly introduced legislation to create employment rights under the New Jersey Workers’ Compensation Act for workers who reach maximal medical improvement but cannot perform their job any longer. Many employers have written to say they were shocked this bill was being introduced. […]
Injury to Employee Walking To Car In Leased Parking Lot Found Compensable
Cases involving parking lot injuries continue to generate divergent results in the Division of Workers’ Compensation and the Appellate Division. Walker v. Saker Shop-Rite, No. A-2770-19 (App. Div. Sept. 7, 2021) illustrates this point yet again. Ms. Walker, a 70-year-old employee, fell on December 11, 2018 while walking to her car in the leased supermarket […]
When Does The Special Mission Exception To The Premises Rule Apply?
One of the most misunderstood rules in workers’ compensation is the so-called “special mission” exception to the premises rule, which is New Jersey’s successor to the better known “going-and-coming rule.” The New Jersey premises rule says that one is at work when he or she arrives at the work premises. The main exception to that […]
Long Drive To Restaurant For Lunch Following Business Meeting Found Not Compensable
Andrew Mackoff worked as a salesman and account manager for New Brunswick Saw Services. One of his duties was to travel to the company’s businesses for meetings and service calls. On December 3, 2018, Mackoff left his home in Blackwood, Camden County, New Jersey and drove to West Caldwell in North Jersey for a 10:00 a.m. […]
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