John H. Geaney
John H. Geaney, an executive committee member and shareholder with Capehart Scatchard, 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.
The Perez Trio of Cases and Proof of Permanent Partial Disability
It is a remarkable coincidence that the three cases that best explain entitlement to permanent partial disability benefits in New Jersey all involve claimants with the last name of Perez. The most important of the three Perez cases is Perez v. Pantasote, 95 N.J. 105 (1984). This case addressed the key statutory definition in N.J.S.A. […]
New Jersey Supreme Court Rules That Volunteer Firefighter Is Entitled To Maximum Temp Benefits Even Without Proof Of Employment Or Lost Wages
Jennifer Kocanowski, a member of the Finderne Fire Department in the Township of Bridgewater, was injured in March 2015 while carrying equipment in response to a multi-alarm fire. She fractured her fibula, tore ligaments in her ankle, and injured her back. Prior to the injury, Kocanowski had not worked for over a year. She had […]
Appellate Division Holds Officer’s Injury to Knee Wearing 25 Pounds of Equipment Was Not Idiopathic
The idiopathic defense is not an easy one for employers to prevail on in New Jersey. The basic concept is that the injury is not a result of any particular work effort and could happen anywhere, such as walking along a work corridor and suddenly feeling pain in one’s knee without falling or tripping. But […]
Injuries Post Job Termination
What happens if an employer terminates the employment of a worker, who then has an accident before leaving the work premises? Is there workers’ compensation coverage? Does it make a difference if the employee quits as opposed to being fired and then has the injury on premises while leaving? Does the moment of job termination […]
Health System Properly Withdrew Job Offer Due to Failure of Applicant to Complete Vaccine Testing
Janice Hustvet worked for Courage Center, which merged with Allina Health System in 2013. Hustvet worked for 15 years at Courage Center as an Independent Living Skills Specialist, educating, supporting and assisting clients with disabilities including spinal cord and brain injuries. On May 13, 2013, Hustvet completed her pre-placement health assessment. She acknowledged that she […]
Medical Providers Have Six Years To File Claims in Division of Workers’ Compensation
The New Jersey Appellate Division decided an important case on January 17, 2019 entitled The Plastic Surgery Center, PA. v. Malouf Chevrolet-Cadillac, Inc,. The case centered on how long a medical provider has to file a claim petition in the Division, namely whether providers have two years, like claimants, or six years. The case has […]
The Very Sensible Premises Rule In New Jersey Workers’ Compensation
Until 1979 New Jersey had a doctrine known as the “going and coming rule,” and that rule basically said that employees were not covered for workers’ compensation when they were going to work or coming from work. Scores of exceptions emerged over the years, creating a patchwork of inconsistency, thus prompting the New Jersey Legislature […]
County Did Not Violate ADA When It Proposed A Half-Time Office Job With Full Pay But Refused To Grant Other Accommodations Requested By Plaintiff
One of the most difficult issues for employers to deal with is the work injury which leaves an employee with lasting difficulties in performing job duties. Employers encounter this frequently with occupational claims such as carpal tunnel or epicondylitis where the employer settles the compensable workers’ compensation claim and then places the employee back in […]
Triennial Recalculation Issue Decided in Favor of Respondents and 2nd Injury Fund
The Honorable Joshua Friedman decided an issue this month that has been pending for several years regarding calculation of the Social Security Disability offsets in workers’ compensation cases for petitioners under the age of 62. A petitioner’s attorney had brought motions in five cases including one handled by our office, asserting that the SSD offset […]
Section Twenty Settlements and Subrogation Rights
Section 20 settlements are not technically payments of workers’ compensation benefits except for insurance rating purposes. These settlements are popular with employers because the file can be closed for good with no potential for a reopener claim. In many states, the Section 20 settlement is called a full and final settlement. But does a Section […]
Appellate Division Approves Suit By Comp Carrier Against Third Party Tortfeasor Even Where Injured Worker Had A Verbal Threshold Policy
One of the most significant cases to be decided by the Appellate Division with respect to subrogation rights was issued on December 4, 2018 in New Jersey Transit Corporation v. Sanchez, A-0761-17T3 (App. Div. December 4, 2018). The case will have an impact on how employers deal with a very common scenario in New Jersey. […]
The Amazing Rise of Medical Claim Petitions in New Jersey Workers’ Compensation
Just six years ago, former Governor Chris Christie signed into law a bill which vested exclusive jurisdiction within the Division of Workers’ Compensation over any disputed medical charge arising from any claim for compensation for a work-related injury or illness. That was the beginning of what we now call “Medical Claim Petitions” or MCPs filed […]
Do Voluntary Offers Still Make Sense in New Jersey Comp?
By now all workers’ compensation practitioners know of the law change in 2018 with respect to voluntary offers or bona fide offers of permanency. The new law amended the 1927 law that allowed employers to make voluntary offers within certain time limits free from counsel fee. The law passed in 2018 provides that if there […]
New Jersey Plaintiff Failed to Prove His Obesity Met Standard of an ADA Disability
Richard Helmrich worked as an Assistant Director of Food and Beverage at Mountain Creek Resort. He was a large man, six-feet-tall with a body mass index between 40.27 and 47.53, above the threshold for obesity. During his employment with the Resort he informed his boss of his weight and heart conditions. His doctor diagnosed him […]
UBER Style Business Found To Be Employer of Driver
Julio Pendola fractured his ankle in 2014 picking up a customer and filed a petition in the Division of Workers’ Compensation. He asserted that he worked exclusively as a driver for Classic, which had over 100 cars. He purchased his own car after consulting with Classic. The company required Pendola to paint the car silver […]
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