County GPS System Defeats Petitioner’s Comp Claim on Appeal
A good Global Positioning System can make all the difference in certain kinds of cases. Longstreet v. County of Mercer, A-3361-152 (App. Div. June 20, 2017) illustrates how effective this technology can be for claims involving injuries while driving work vehicles. The case involved a claim by a heavy equipment operator against the County of […]
Answers to Often Bewildering Questions about New Jersey Comp Settlements
Clients often ask questions about the permanency phase of the New Jersey Workers’ Compensation system. Frankly our system with respect to awards of permanent partial disability is so vastly different than those of neighboring states that it is no wonder there is confusion. Here are some of the questions this practitioner regularly receives. Question (1): […]
Court of Appeals Holds Request for One-Year Leave of Absence is Unreasonable
A leave of absence can qualify as a reasonable accommodation under the ADA, but how long should employers consider granting such leaves? In Echevarria v. Astrazeneca Pharmaceutical, LP, 33 A.D. Cases 673 (1st Cir. 2017), some practical guidance emerges on this issue. The case involved a Pharmaceutical Sales Specialist named Taymari Delgado Echevarria (hereinafter Delgado) […]
When Is A Commute To A Job Site Covered For Workers’ Comp Purposes?
Don Drysdale, a skilled carpenter, works for Craftsmen Trades and seldom goes to the company office in Mt. Laurel, N.J. He generally spends weeks or even months working at major job sites. On May 1, 2017 he drives his personal vehicle from his home in Cherry Hill, N.J. to a job site in Woodbridge, N.J. […]
Employer Is Required To Inquire Of Employee Requesting Leave To Care For Grandfather Whether Grandfather Raised The Employee
While the ADA does not require an employer to inquire whether an employee needs reasonable accommodation, the FMLA does require an employer to reasonably determine whether the FMLA may apply to a leave request which does not even mention the FMLA. This burden can be very onerous on an employer as one can see in […]
Why New Jersey Comp Law Holds That One Who Has Been Fired Is Not Entitled To Temporary Disability Benefits Unless He Or She Would Have Been Working Another Job
One of the most controversial issues in New Jersey workers’ compensation has to do with whether an injured worker who has been fired is entitled to temporary disability benefits. The leading case is Cunningham v. Atlantic States Cast Iron Pipe Co., 386 N.J. Super. 423 (App. Div.), certif. denied, 188 N.J. 402 (2006). That case was […]
Court Rejects “On Call” Status As Justification For Alleged Work-Related Injury In Museum
Bo Liu worked for 4D Security Solutions, Inc. as an engineer. He was sent to test the company’s hardware and software at an army base in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). He worked alone on the base and after hours he would upload data to 4D in the United States using a company-issued Blackberry. One […]
Court of Appeals Affirms Termination of Employee Based on Employee’s Own Doctor Report
Walter Aston worked for Tapco International for 20 years as a shipping and receiving clerk, display builder and a maintenance worker. He suffered a heart attack in May 2010. The company granted 12 weeks of FMLA leave as well as an additional 14 weeks of short-term disability leave. The company policy was not to hold […]
Appellate Division Holds That New York Worker Who Accepted A Job Offer While In New Jersey Was Hired In New Jersey Conferring Jurisdiction In New Jersey
When an employee returns to work following a work injury, in many states that ends the workers’ compensation case, but not in New Jersey. In our state, that just moves the case to the final stage of permanency benefits for loss of function of the body member. The availability of loss of function awards following […]
Petitioner Had No Duty To Intervene In Altercation, Traumatic Brain Injury Following Wrestling Incident Not Compensable
The recent case of Benimadho v. Somerville Borough Fire Department, A-2351-15T3 (App. Div. April 10, 2017) is fascinating because it draws a line between horseplay, which is ordinarily compensable, and conduct that goes beyond what the employer approves when an employee is away from the normal place of employment. The case involved a serious brain […]
Petitioner’s Expert’s Findings in Physical Exam Constituted Objective Evidence to Support Increase on Reopener from 35% to 45%
The New Jersey statute permits claimants who receive an order approving settlement to reopen claims for additional medical, temporary or permanent disability benefits. In Holowchuk v. O’Sullivan Menu Publishing, A-5235-14T3 (App. Div. April 6, 2017), the petitioner, Robert Holowchuk, injured his low back lifting two, five gallon drums of chemicals in 2007. He received an award […]
Employee With Work Injury Was Properly Denied Reasonable Accommodation Request
Kim Mason was injured on March 22, 2011 falling off her UPS delivery truck and injuring her wrist, requiring surgery. She reached maximal medical improvement in October 2011. Several months later she requested accommodations for her wrist disability under the ADA. Her surgeon completed a form which indicated that Mason could not perform all the […]
The Going-And-Coming Rule And Multiple Employer Work Sites
An employee works regularly in Cherry Hill, N.J. but three or four times a year is required to work at the company’s north Jersey location in Parsippany. On the way to the Parsippany office, the employee is in a car accident and suffers serious injuries. The employer gets the claim and confers with the carrier […]
Job Description Of Sales Person Did Not State Driving Was An Essential Function So Jury Must Decide Whether Company Should Accommodate Request for Driver
Employers must carefully view job descriptions because ADA law suits often turn on the wording of those job descriptions. In Stephenson v. Pfizer, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 3863 (4th Cir. 2016), a long-time sales person for Pfizer developed vision problems which disqualified her from driving. Stephenson had been an extremely successful sales representative who had […]
What Impact Will New Jersey’s New Opioid Prescription Bill Have on Workers’ Comp?
On February 15, 2017 Governor Chris Christie signed a new law requiring health insurance coverage for treatment of substance abuse disorders and certain restrictions on the prescription of opioids and other Schedule II drugs. The bill is touted as one of the most aggressive in the nation, and compensation practitioners are asking what will be […]
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